Jailen Bedford and Virginia Tech weathered a storm and held off Charlotte on Sunday. (Ivan Morozov)

Virginia Tech held off late-surging Charlotte on Sunday afternoon for an 84-76 win, its fourth of the season.

“We weren’t our best offensively, needless to say,” Hokies head coach Mike Young said. “… But last time I checked, fellas, they want you to win. We post another one to move to 4-0, and we get a chance to do it again on Wednesday.”

The Hokies (4-0) led 44-32 at halftime, but the 49ers (2-2) fought back in the second half and made it a nailbiter. They held Tech without a field goal for seven-plus minutes and used a swift 19-3 run to pull within 58-57 with 9:31 remaining.

Charlotte had an opportunity to take the lead, but guard Dezayne Mingo missed two free throws and the Hokies weathered the storm. They did so again when a quick 4-0 run from the 49ers’ 7-foot-2 center Anton Bonke made it 68-66 with 3:57 remaining.

Tech’s response came from Jaden Schutt, who drilled a corner three that provided a shot in the arm, and six straight free throws from Neoklis Avdalas pushed the margin to 10 and provided some breathing room. It coasted to the win from there.

“Would I have liked to have won by 30? You bet, sign me up, but we had to make some plays down the stretch,” Young said. “We had some full-court out of bounds under plays we had to execute, we had to go to the foul line and make foul shots, we did that at a very high clip. We got some things out of that game that maybe we didn’t against St. Joe’s, but again, I credit [Charlotte head coach Aaron Fearne] and the 49ers. He’s got a good-looking outfit.”

It was a choppy contest that featured 46 fouls and 60 free throws. Both Amani Hansberry and Tyler Johnson fouled out for the Hokies in the waning moments.

The 49ers, who play at the slowest pace in the country at 65.9 possessions per game, according to Ken Pomeroy, disrupted Tech with their tempo. Young’s teams have historically played slowly, but this group, led by Avdalas, is more comfortable in transition. As a result, it struggled to find a flow, particularly in the second half, when it shot 31 percent (9-for-29).

“I thought we got a little hurried,” Young said. “Their tempo bothered us. It slowed the game down, to [Charlotte’s] credit. We’ve got to be able to withstand different styles.”

Avdalas also had a quiet afternoon, finishing with just 10 points, two assists and one rebound on 2-for-7 shooting and six free throws. Charlotte blitzed his ball screens well.

“He didn’t have a very good rhythm today,” Young said of Avdalas. “I still thought he played a great game. It was good to see him make six frees going down the stretch. He looked like he pressed a little bit, but still, he was good.

“He’s not going to be Superman. He’s really, really good, but if you think for a second the kid’s going to kick in 22 points and hand out 12 assists every night, you’re wrong. Other teams do a good job and there’s some film out on him now, and Neo will continue to improve and continue to make adjustments as we go along.”

It wasn't pretty, but Tobi Lawal and Virginia Tech found a way to grind out a victory against the 49ers. (Ivan Morozov)

Still, the Hokies found a way to win. Young said his bunch was down on itself in the locker room after the game, disappointed in how things unraveled, but he reminded them that victories of any kind are celebrated. He also preached how important an experience like this could be down the road.

“They looked sad in the locker room,” Young said. “I said, ‘Hey, man. Winning is hard, and we’ll celebrate them all. We weren’t our best, Charlotte had something to do with that. Get that smile on your face and let’s come back and get better tomorrow in practice.’”

Tobi Lawal and Jailen Bedford led the way for Tech. Lawal posted his second double-double in four games with 18 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. Meanwhile, Bedford dropped 21 points on 7-of-12 shooting, which included a 4-for-8 mark from behind the arc.

It’s been a seamless transition for the UNLV transfer, who started his career at Trinidad State at the JUCO level and had a stop at Oral Roberts. The fifth-year senior is averaging 15 points per game and is 10-for-16 (62.5%) from long range.

“He’s been to 17 places,” Young joked about Bedford. “New surroundings aren’t new to him. He’s played a lot of basketball, he’s seen a lot of different levels and leagues, and that league last year [the Mountain West] is a really well-coached league, good players’ league. It’s his fifth year in college basketball. Nothing surprises him. He’s got a great approach to the game. He was really, really good again. I’m pleased with JB.”

“This is my fifth year and I have a little bit of experience,” Bedford said, “but I feel like the transition has been so much easier because I’ve just trusted coach’s plan and just my teammates in general.”

Schutt, who knocked down four 3-pointers and is 12-for-22 on the year (54.5%), chipped in 12 points. Hansberry also added nine while Johnson contributed six and Antonio Dorn had five.

The Hokies limited their turnovers to six and had 16 assists on 22 made field goals, though it was at a 36.7 percent clip (22-for-60). Yet, they thrived at the stripe, converting 30 of their 36 free throws.

Damoni Harrison led Charlotte with 18 points while Bonke had a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double. Ben Bradford posted 15 while Mingo scored 10. Kuluel Mading accounted for 12 points off the bench, too.

Tech is back in action on Wednesday vs. Bryant, the reigning America East champions, at 7 p.m. ET in Cassell Coliseum. It’s the Hokies’ final tune-up before next week’s trip to the Bahamas for Battle 4 Atlantis, where they’ll face their best competition to date.

“That game will serve us well as we look ahead here going forward,” Young said of the Charlotte win.

Box Score: Virginia Tech 84, Charlotte 76