BLACKSBURG — Sean Pedulla scored 28 points, MJ Collins added 15 points and eight rebounds and Virginia Tech held off Notre Dame 82-76 Saturday, the final day of the regular season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Virginia Tech, which has won three straight, led by five points at halftime and never gave up the lead in the second half, although Notre Dame was within two points several times.
Markus Burton’s layup had Notre Dame within 74-72 with 1:23 remaining, but Pedulla scored in the paint on back-to-back possessions to give the Hokies a six-point lead with 37 seconds left.
Burton made another layup, then made 1 of 2 free throws to get the Irish within 78-75 with 22 seconds remaining. Notre Dame then had to foul, and Collins and Tyler Nickel each went 2 for 2 at the line to wrap up the victory.
Burton scored Notre Dame’s last eight points and finished with 24. Tae Davis had 13, Julian Roper II 11 and Braeden Shrewsberry 10 for the Fighting Irish (12-19, 7-13).
Nickel had 15 points for Virginia Tech (18-13, 10-10).
Virginia Tech raced to a 22-12 lead in the first nine minutes of the game. Nickel led the way with a three-point play and one of the Hokies’ four 3-pointers in the early stretch. But Notre Dame hit 4 of 5 shots in a 10-0 run that tied the score with less than nine minutes left in the half.
There were six more ties and four lead changes in the next eight minutes before a three-point play by Pedulla and a buzzer-beating dunk by Collins gave the Hokies a 43-38 halftime lead.
There were 30 3-point attempts in the first half, with Virginia Tech making 6 of 18 and Notre Dame going 6 for 12. The teams combined to go 2 for 16 in the second half.
The ACC Tournament begins Tuesday at Capital One Arena in Washington.
