BLACKSBURG, Va. | The Grambling State University men's basketball led by as many as 10 points midway through the first half on Saturday at Virginia Tech, but suffered a cold-shooting spell toward the end of the half as the Tigers fell to the 24th-ranked Hokies, 74-48, at Cassel Coliseum.

Grambling State (6-4) led 21-11 with 10:49 left in the first half, but the Tigers could not hit a bucket from the floor as Virginia Tech (11-1) used an 18-2 run over the next eight-plus minutes as GSU could not recover.

Carte'are Gordon paced the Tigers with 12 points, on 4-of-8 shooting, with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Cameron Christon added 10 points, six boards, two assists and one steal. Shawndarius Cowart pulled down a team-high seven boards, along with five points and two assists.

Sean Pedulla led Virginia Tech with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, along with six assists, five rebounds and two steals. Hunter Cattoor recorded 13 points, four boards and one assist, while Justyn Mutts tallied 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Grambling State used a small 8-3 run, capped by a Cowart 3-pointer, as there Tigers led 11-6 with 15:55 remaining in the opening half.

GSU pushed the advantage to 16-9 after a Cameron Christon free throw with 13:23 left and stretched the margin to 21-11 on a Gordon trey with just under 11 minutes to play.

The Hokies, on the heels of a 18-2 run, took advantage of Grambling State's cold shooting spell and grabbed a 29-23 advantage after a 3-pointer by Pedulla with just over three minutes left in the half.

A dunk by Malik Lamin snapped an eight-plus minute cold spell for the Tigers and cut the margin to 29-25 with 2:17 remaining.

However, Virginia Tech scored the final five points of the half as the Hokies took a 34-25 lead into the break.

Grambling State got back-to-back buckets by Christon and Virshon Cotton as the Tigers trailed, 38-29, with 16:46 remaining.

Virginia Tech answered with a 12-2 run, capped by a Grant Basile layup to extend the advantage to 50-31 with 12:38 left.

The Hokies stretched the lead to 63-36 with just over eight minutes remaining as Virginia Tech proved to be too much as Grambling State saw its three-game win streak come to an end.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Grambling State shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the field and 62.5 percent (5-of-8) from the free-throw line
• Carte'are Gordon paced the Tigers with 12 points, on 4-of-8 shooting, with four rebounds and a pair of assists
• Cameron Christon added 10 points, six boards, two assists and one steal
• Shawndarius Cowart pulled down a team-high seven boards, along with five points and two assists
• The Tigers finished with 22 points in the paint,13 bench points, 12 second-chance points, eight points off 13 Virginia Tech turnovers and five fast break points
• Virginia Tech went 26-of-51 shooting (51 percent) and 11-of-20 (55 percent) from the charity stripe
• Sean Pedulla led Virginia Tech with 21 points, including four 3-pointers, along with six assists, five rebounds and two steals
• Hunter Cattoor recorded 13 points, four boards and one assist
• Justyn Mutts tallied 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals
• The Hokies finished with 24 points in the paint, 23 points off 19 Grambling State turnovers, 15 bench points, nine second-chance points and three fast break points

UP NEXT 
Grambling State continues its road swing on Monday night as the Tigers visit Liberty. Tip-off against the Flames is set for 6 p.m. from Liberty Arena.

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