Virginia Tech 73, Liberty 63: Joey van Zegeren had 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Adam Smith and Devin Wilson had 13 points apiece as the Hokies beat the visiting Flames.

Justin Bibbs also scored in double figures, adding 10 points as Virginia Tech improved to 2-0. The Hokies shot a blistering 73.7 percent from the floor in the second half to finish 25-of-41, including 7-of-13 from 3-point range.

Tomasz Gielo had 13 points and Ryan Kemrite added 11 points off the bench for Liberty (2-1), which had opened the season with a pair of home wins. Point guard Joe Retic, who played most of the second half with four fouls, chipped in 10 points for the Flames, who had 21 turnovers and were whistled for 21 fouls.

Virginia Tech led 31-28 at halftime but methodically pulled away, outscoring the visitors 26-16 over the first 10 1/2 minutes of the second half. The Flames pulled to within 65-59 on James Johnson’s jumper with a little more than four minutes remaining, but the Hokies scored eight of the game’s final 12 points.

It was a back-and-forth battle early, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Malik Muller and Smith put Virginia Tech ahead 19-13 midway through the half. The Flames outscored the Hokies 15-12 the rest of way in the sloppy first half, which featured a combined 24 turnovers – 13 by Liberty.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Virginia Tech improved to 46-5 against current members of the Big South Conference, including 14-3 against Liberty. … The Flames were a combined 29-of-39 from the free-throw stripe in their 2-0 start but got to the line only 10 times Wednesday, hitting seven. … The game was the opener of the Cancun Challenge for both teams, who will each play a pair of contests in Mexico next week.