Jason Edwards helps Vanderbilt pull away from Virginia Tech

Jason Edwards scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half to help propel Vanderbilt to an 80-64 victory over Virginia Tech in the SEC/ACC Challenge on Wednesday night in Blacksburg, Va.

MJ Collins Jr. scored 15 points against his former team and Grant Huffman added nine points and four steals for the Commodores (8-1), who are off to their best start since the 2007-08 season.

It was a satisfying win for Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington, who grew up nearby in Salem, Va., and was an assistant at Virginia Tech during the 2012-13 season.

Collins, who started 44 games the previous two seasons for Virginia Tech, made a fiery return to Blacksburg as he barked at his former teammates throughout.

Collins scored all of his points in the first half as he helped Vanderbilt take a five-point halftime lead.

Jaden Schutt scored 15 points on five 3-pointers and Mylyjael Poteat added 14 points and seven rebounds to lead Virginia Tech (3-5).

It was the fifth straight loss for the Hokies, each coming by double-digit margins.

A putback basket by Tyler Johnson less than five minutes into the second half cut Vanderbilt’s lead to 45-43. But Virginia Tech failed to get any closer.

Edwards scored all but two of the points in a 9-0 run as the Commodores extended their advantage to 54-43 with 12:19 left.

Huffman helped seal the win as he made steals on consecutive possessions. He passed to Tyler Tanner for a breakaway layup on the first steal and Huffman scored on a fastbreak layup on his second swipe to put Vanderbilt up 71-57 with 4:54 left.

In the first 10 minutes of the game, neither team led by more than three points before Collins warmed up.

In a span of 53 seconds, Collins made a trio of 3-pointers to help Vanderbilt take a 26-16 lead, its largest lead of the half.

Poteat scored 10 points in the final eight minutes of the period as the Hokies cut to 39-34 at halftime.

–Field-level media