LAHAINA — Landers Nolley II peeled off a screen and, without hesitation, let a 3-pointer fly from the wing. The ball dropped, giving Virginia Tech the cushion it needed to hold off No. 3 Michigan State.
One big shot, one massive victory for the Hokies.
Nolley hit that crucial 3-pointer in the final minute and scored 22 points, helping Virginia Tech outlast the Spartans 71-66 at the Maui Invitational on Monday.
“They believed in me,” Nolley said. “And I hit the shot.”
Virginia Tech (6-0) had low expectations — at least outside the program — in coach Mike Young’s first season in Blacksburg, picked to finish 14th in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll.
The Hokies grinded through a back-and-forth second half before going up 10 with 4½ minutes left. Michigan State fought back to pull within one, but Nolley responded with a 3 for a 68-64 lead with 47 seconds left.
Virginia Tech made just enough free throws down the stretch to earn a spot in Tuesday’s semifinal against Dayton.
“That’s a really good player making a big-league play,” Young said. “It probably went a long way in getting us out of here with a win.”
Michigan State (3-2) trailed 32-28 at halftime after preseason All-American Cassius Winston was limited to eight minutes due to two fouls.
Winston helped sparked a late run, but the Spartans couldn’t finish it off. Aaron Henry led Michigan State with 18 points and Winston was held to seven on 2-of-8 shooting.
Michigan State has had a rough start to the season. The preseason AP No. 1, the Spartans lost starting guard Joshua Langford to a foot injury before the first game, and a week later, Winston’s brother, Zachary, was hit and killed by a train.
“He was a shell of himself today,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of Winston. “I think it’s been a lot on him. I couldn’t have gone through what that kid has gone through, no way. He just looked tired the whole time, I think because of the mental stress he’s going through.”
Michigan State lost its opening game to No. 9 Kentucky, but bounced back with three straight wins, including a hard-fought victory at No. 13 Seton Hall.
Virginia Tech started the season 5-0 for the second straight season — a first since 1981-82 — but has a revamped roster under Young, who took over after Buzz Williams left for Texas A&M.
The new-look Hokies made a school-record 21 3-pointers against Delaware State in their previous game but had to play a more grinding style against the gritty Spartans.
Taking advantage of Winston’s foul trouble, Virginia Tech pressured the Spartans into numerous mistakes, scoring 12 points off 11 turnovers before halftime.
“It’s difficult to sit that long,” Winston said. “I’ve got to be smarter than that, make better decisions for my team.”
No. 4 KANSAS 93,
CHAMINADE 63
LAHAINA — Devin Dotson scored 19 points, Udoka Azubuike added 15 despite early foul trouble and Kansas cruised to a victory over Division II Chaminade at the Maui Invitational.
The Jayhawks (4-1) jumped on the Silverswords (2-1) with a huge early run and never let up, shooting 55% while making 12 of 29 from 3-point range. Kansas scored 36 points off Chaminade’s 27 turnovers and had a 50-22 advantage in the paint.
Isaiah Moss had 13 points for the two-time Maui champion Jayhawks, who move on to face UCLA or BYU in Tuesday’s semifinals.
Andre Arissol had 18 points and Tyler Cartaino 17 to lead Chaminade.
No. 10 OHIO STATE 71, KENT STATE 52
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Kaleb Wesson scored 17 points and Ohio State recovered after a furious second-half rally from Kent State to pull away.
The Buckeyes (6-0) led by as many as 17 points early in the second half. But the Golden Flashes (5-1) rallied to tie it midway through the second half. Ohio State then answered with 17 straight points to regain control.
Duane Washington Jr. added 16 points and Luther Muhammad chipped in 13 for the Buckeyes.
Danny Pippen had 19 points and Antonio Williams scored 17 for Kent State.
No. 17 TENNESSEE 58, CHATTANOOGA 46
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Lamonte’ Turner had 17 points and 12 assists as Tennessee beat Chattanooga to extend the longest active home winning streak in Division I to 30 games.
Tennessee (5-0) hasn’t lost at Thompson-Boling Arena since a 94-84 defeat to Auburn on Jan. 2, 2018.
Although he shot just 4 of 16 from the floor, Turner scored or assisted on 16 of Tennessee’s 19 baskets. The senior had just one turnover along with his 12 assists, two off the career high he set Nov. 12 against Murray State.
Turner improved his season average to 9.2 assists per game. He entered the game ranked third among Division I players in that category.
Tennessee’s Jordan Bowden had 13 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. John Fulkerson scored 14 points.
Matt Ryan and David Jean-Baptiste each scored nine points for Chattanooga (3-3), which shot 33.9%.
No. 18 AUBURN 84,
NEW MEXICO 59
NEW YORK — Samir Doughty scored 19 points to lead Auburn to a rout of New Mexico in the second game of the Legends Classic.
Auburn improved to 6-0 and will meet Richmond in the championship game Tuesday.
Austin Wiley had a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Isaac Okoro chipped in with 12, and Anfernee McLemore had 10.
New Mexico (5-2) lost for the second time in its last three games. Makuach Maluach led the Lobos with 14. Keith McGee had 13 and Vance Jackson contributed 10 points.
No. 20 VCU 78,
ALABAMA STATE 62
RICHMOND, Va. — Marcus Evans scored 25 points and VCU closed the first half on a big run in a victory against Alabama State.
Evans had 18 points in the first half, including 10 during the 26-7 burst that gave VCU (6-0) a 46-28 lead. The Rams led by 19 after halftime, and when the Hornets closed within 12 with 9 minutes left, the Rams turned up their defense and scored the next seven points.
Tobi Ewuosho scored 17 points and Kevion Stewart 14 for Alabama State (0-5), which has played three AP Top 25 teams in its first five games.
The Rams trailed 21-20 before Mike’L Simms’ 3-pointer sparked the big run over the final 8:18 of the half. Evans scored 10 and Simms eight during the burst.
