Associated Press

Clemson's Trevor Booker (35) drives for the basket as Virginia Tech's J.T. Thompson (33) and Dorenzo Hudson (5) defend.

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Seeking to claw its way back onto the NCAA tournament bubble, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team responded with one of its biggest wins of the season.

The Hokies knocked off a nationally ranked team on the road for the second time this year, fending off No. 12 Clemson 80-77 on Wednesday at Littlejohn Coliseum.

"Hopefully it turns it around," said A.D. Vassallo, who had 21 points. "We needed a win. We all talked about we needed at least two more wins to try to get into the tournament, and this is the first step right here.

"It was a must-win for us, and we were not going to let it get away."

The Hokies (17-10, 7-6 ACC) raised their arms in triumph after snapping a three-game losing streak.

"We kind of forgot how it felt to win a game," said Malcolm Delaney, who had 26 points. "This is the first game all season where we buckled down and got stops at the end of the game."

The Hokies, who won at then-No. 1 Wake Forest last month, have three more chances for quality wins before the ACC Tournament. They will host Duke and North Carolina in back-to-back games, followed by a visit to Florida State in the regular-season finale.

"We're still trying to make it to our goal. We need one more game at least," Delaney said.

It was Tech's fourth win against a team currently in the top 50 of the Rating Percentage Index, as well as the Hokies' third ACC road victory.

Clemson (22-8, 8-5) had beaten Tech four straight times, including an 86-82 win last month in which Tech blew a 15-point second half lead. This was the eighth time these teams have met as ACC rivals; all of the games have been decided by five points or fewer.

"These games have turned into epic games," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "We were tougher today than we've been."

Clemson's Terrence Oglesby (22 points) made back-to-back 3-pointers to tie the score at 68 with 7:04 left, but Tech scored four straight points and led the rest of the way.

Vassallo made two free throws to extend Tech's lead to 80-77 with 12.5 seconds to go.

"I was going to make them both. I was going to force them to hit a 3-pointer," he said. "There was no way they were going to beat us on a buzzer-beater."

Clemson wanted Oglesby to take a 3-pointer on the final possession. But Oglesby, guarded by Dorenzo Hudson, ended up passing the ball instead of launching a 3-pointer.

"When he pump-faked, I stayed down and he couldn't get his shot off," Hudson said.

"We got the ball where we wanted," Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said. "I thought he actually had enough room, but that's his judgment."

Demontez Stitt, guarded by Terrell Bell, missed an off-balance 3-pointer with one second left.

"I was really proud because we haven't been able to get that stop ... to finish a game, and today we did," Greenberg said.

Hank Thorns, making his first start of the season, tied his season high with 10 points.

"I felt like I should've been starting [before]," Thorns said. "When you play with a chip on your shoulder, that's what happens."

Greenberg started Thorns so he could have both his ball-handlers in the lineup against Clemson's pressure defense. The strategy worked; Tech had 12 turnovers to Clemson's 15.

"We wanted to throw over the press and have scorers up the floor, and I thought he did just a great job," Greenberg said of Thorns.

Virginia Tech MP FG FT R A F PT

Vassallo 39 6-14 5-6 5 2 1 21

Allen 27 2-11 1-4 8 3 4 5

Diakite 12 1-3 0-0 3 2 1 2

Thorns 30 3-4 3-4 3 4 3 10

Delaney 38 8-19 6-7 4 6 3 26

Bell 6 1-2 1-2 3 0 1 3

Hudson 13 2-2 0-0 0 0 2 6

Davila 18 2-2 0-4 5 0 1 4

Witcher 2 0-0 1-2 1 0 2 1

Thompson 15 1-3 0-0 2 1 4 2

Totals 200 26-60 17-29 39 18 22 80

Clemson MP FG FT R A F PT

Rivers 33 4-7 0-0 10 3 3 11

Booker 34 8-18 5-6 13 1 3 21

Sykes 21 0-1 0-0 3 1 2 0

Stitt 30 5-13 4-4 3 5 4 14

Oglesby 26 6-14 6-7 3 0 2 22

Smith 14 1-2 0-2 1 0 2 2

Young 12 0-3 0-0 1 1 0 0

Potter 15 1-3 0-0 0 0 5 2

Grant 15 2-3 1-4 5 0 3 5

Totals 200 27-64 16-23 41 11 24 77

Rebounds include team rebounds.

Score by periods:

Virginia Tech 35 45 -- 80

Clemson 38 39 -- 77

Three point goals: Virginia Tech 11-19 (Delaney 4-7, Vassallo 4-9, Hudson 2-2, Thorns 1-1), Clemson 7-20 (Oglesby 4-7, Rivers 3-5, Potter 0-1, Smith 0-1, Young 0-2, Stitt 0-4)

Turnovers: Tech 12 (Thorns, allen 3), Clemson 15 (Rivers, Booker 3).

Blocked shots: Tech 3 (Vassallo, Diakite, Delaney), Clemson 6 (Grant 3).

Steals: Virginia Tech 12 (Thorns, Thompson 4), Clemson 6 (Stitt 2).

Officials: Hess, Eades, Nestor.

Attendance: 9,728.