OXFORD (AP) — For the second game in a row, Ole Miss worked overtime and left its home court with nothing to show for it.

Chris Clarke scored 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds off the bench Saturday as Virginia Tech rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to defeat Ole Miss 83-80 in overtime.

Virginia Tech (7-1) placed five players in double figures, led by Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 17 points. Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Justin Robinson had 13 points apiece, while Justin Bibbs added 11. The Hokies have won five consecutive games.

“The most satisfying thing is we play a lot of young players and there were five or six times when we could have faded away,” Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said. “We didn’t. The free throws were really important, too.”

Ole Miss (4-3) lost its second consecutive overtime game, following a 99-97 setback against South Dakota State earlier in the week. It was the Rebels’ third loss in four games overall.

“We have got to find a way to make winning plays,” Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy said. “We were close. We are right there. We have to make a play.”

P.J. Horne hit the go-ahead basket, 79-77, with 2:37 left in overtime and the Hokies sealed it with a pair of free throws from Robinson and Alexander-Walker. Virginia Tech was 26-of-37 (71 percent) from the free throw line, including a 13-of-15 effort that spanned the second half and most of overtime.

“They made more free throws than we attempted. They really took it to us to get to the free throw line,” Kennedy said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to make plays at the finish and we just didn’t do that.”

Terence Davis and Breein Tyree scored 17 points apiece for the Rebels, who led 47-31 with 18:01 remaining and 39-29 at halftime. Davis scored 12 of his points in the first half.

Markel Crawford and Deandre Burnett added 13 and 11 points, respectively, as Ole Miss led for 37 of the game’s 45 minutes but couldn’t close it out.

“We led the game for over 80 percent of it,” Kennedy said. “We have to close out the game.”
Virginia Tech finished 25-of-57 (44 percent) from the floor, including 7-of-22 (32 percent) from 3-point range. Ole Miss was 29-of-73 (40 percent) and 9-of-31 (29 percent) from 3-point range. The Rebels were 13-of-24 (54 percent) from the free throw line.

“They put their head down and started going to the basket,” Kennedy said. “We were unable to keep them in front of us. Shooting 54 percent from the free throw line in your own building gave them opportunity after opportunity. We just could not get it done.”

The Hokies completed a week with consecutive wins over Power Five conference teams outside the ACC for the first time since the 2012-13 season, by defeating Iowa and Ole Miss.

In the second half Saturday, Virginia Tech had a crucial 16-3 surge highlighted by 3-point shots from Clarke and Bibbs to set up the tight finish. Robinson was 7-of-8 from the free throw line and added eight assists.

“We approached these last two games as an opportunity to grow up,” Williams said. “We grew up a lot today, but really we had no choice. This is a very important road win.”

Ole Miss will have a week to regroup before its next game, Dec. 9 at at Middle Tennessee State. It will be the first true road game of the season for the Rebels. They played Utah and Rice in the MGM Resorts Main Event tournament in Las Vegas Nov. 20-22.