Virginia Tech 65, Alabama A&M 55: Christian Beyer had a career-high 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a rare start as the host Hokies shuffled their lineup to snap a two-game slide.

Justin Bibbs scored 11 points for Virginia Tech (5-4), which had lost two of its last three home games to non-power conference opponents, including a setback against Radford last Saturday. Will Johnston, like Beyer a former walk-on inserted into the starting lineup, tied a season-high with eight points while Ahmed Hill matched him and recorded two of the Hokies' five steals.

Ladarius Tabb led Alabama A&M (1-6) with 20 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Nicholas West chipped in 17 points and 11 boards for the Bulldogs, who had a 42-28 advantage on the boards but turned the ball over 18 times.

Matthew Cotton's 3-pointer gave Alabama A&M a 20-19 lead late in the first half before Virginia Tech got hot, ending the half on a 17-0 run to take a 36-20 lead into the break. The surge reached 20 straight points on Johnston's 3-pointer seconds into the second half but, Alabama A&M responded with a 19-8 stretch to get within single digits with 13 minutes to go.

The Bulldogs kept on coming, pulling within 52-46 on Marcus Merriweather's free throws with seven minutes remaining before an 8-2 response pushed the Hokies' advantage back to 12. Alabama A&M had one last rally to make it a six-point game inside of two minutes but Malik Muller and Satchel Pierce had layups to give the hosts a comfortable cushion.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The teams combined to make 10-of-40 3-pointers. ... Virginia Tech entered ranked 341st in the country in foul shooting (57.5 percent) and went 10-of-20 in this one. ... Hokies F Shane Henry had six points, six rebounds and two of his team's three blocked shots off the bench.