Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG — Ben Burnham came off a potent Virginia Tech bench to score a season-high 17 points, five in the final four minutes, as the Hokies held off a Navy comeback bid to earn an 80-72 nonconference victory Sunday inside Cassell Coliseum.
Virginia Tech's bench had three players score in double figures and contributed 46 points. In the last two games, the Hokies (5-6) have produced a combined 101 bench points.
The Midshipmen (3-8) trailed by five at the break but Lysander Rehnstrom's 3-pointer at the 12-minute mark pulled them even at 59. Jaydon Young answered with a 3, and after an almost three-minute stretch where neither team scored, Jaden Schutt hit a 3 and the Hokies pushed their lead to nine after Burnham turned in a three-point play.
Coming off his career-best 17 points against North Carolina A&T, freshman Ben Hammond had his second straight double-digit performance with 11 points. Sophomore Rodney Brown Jr., who had played just 11 minutes all season before subbing in to score 13 points and grab seven boards against North Carolina A&T, added 11 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished three assists and had two steals.
Mylyjael Poteat scored 12 points and Jaden Schutt added 11. The Hokies, who snapped a six-game losing streak with the win over the Aggies, shot 52.9% (27 of 51), including 10 of 18 from long range (55.6%). They erased a 12-point deficit midway through the first frame as Brown Jr. connected on his second trey of the game to punctuate a 12-0 Tech surge.
Rehnstrom came off the Navy bench to hit 4 of 9 from long range and score 14. Jordan Pennick scored 14 points, Austin Benigni had 13 points and five rebounds while Jinwoo Kim contributed 12 points.
Tech closes out its nonconference schedule against Saint Joseph's Saturday at noon. It will be Mike Young's first visit to The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa.