BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ahmed Hill scored 18 points to lift Virginia Tech to a 79-55 victory over Iowa on Tuesday night.

Hill hit 6 of 13 from the floor, including three 3-pointers, for the Hokies (6-1), who blew open a tied game at halftime with a big run early in the second half. P.J. Horne added 16 points for Virginia Tech, and Justin Bibbs had 14.

A combination of Virginia Tech’s stingy defense and the Hawkeyes’ icy shooting led to Iowa’s demise on this evening. The Hokies broke things open with a 20-1 run early in the second half, with Bibbs scoring nine of Virginia Tech’s points in the run.

Iowa (4-3), which lost for the third time in four games, made its first basket of the second half — a jumper by Tyler Cook with 19:11 remaining — but then missed 17 consecutive shots. During a span of more than eight minutes, the Hawkeyes scored just a point, which came on a free throw by Cook with 12:52 remaining.

After shooting 51.7 percent in the first half (15 of 29), Iowa made just seven field goals in the final 20 minutes. The Hawkeyes’ 33.3 percent shooting (22 of 66) was their worst of the season.

Cook paced the Hawkeyes with 16 points.

The Hawkeyes return to action Saturday for their Big Ten home opener against Penn State.