NASSAU, Bahamas — Paulius Murauskas scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half, when Joshua Dent scored 11 of his 14, and Saint Mary's beat Virginia Tech 77-66 on Thursday in the Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals.

Saint Mary’s is 8-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 team started 9-0.

Saint Mary's led 31-20 at halftime after Virginia Tech went 7 of 33 from the field (21.2%), including 1 of 15 from 3-point range. The Hokies rallied early in the second half to get within 40-36 following a 12-3 run. But that's as close as Virginia Tech would get the rest of the way.

Murauskas made a 3-pointer from the right corner to give Saint Mary’s a 69-59 lead with 1:54 left. The Gaels went 6 of 6 at the free-throw line down the stretch, with four makes from Dent, to stay in front.

Andrew McKeever al

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