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Hokies lose Virginia Beach’s Chris Clarke to torn ACL

Posted at 7:13 PM, Feb 13, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-13 19:18:53-05
Chris Clarke and Luke Maye #32 of the North Carolina Tar Heels track down a loose ball alog the baseline during the game at the Dean Smith Center on January 26, 2017 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

Chris Clarke will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Virginia Tech’s leading rebounder is done for the season.

In a release, Hokies head men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams announced an MRI performed on sophmore Chris Clarke, a Virginia Beach native (Cape Henry Collegiate), indicates a tear in the anterior cruciate ligament in the left knee and surgery will be required.

The Virginia Tech sports medicine department will schedule surgery in the coming days, to be performed by team orthopedist Dr. Christofer Catterson. There is no timetable for recovery, but Clarke will miss the remainder of the season.

“Our hearts hurt for Chris,” Williams said in a statement. “He has worked really hard to become an outstanding player and an incredibly important teammate to what we are trying to build. I am confident that he will turn this situation into good and return next year an even better player, better student and better person.”

Chris Clarke will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images)

Chris Clarke will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images)

Clarke suffered the injury in the second half of the Hokies’ 80-78 double overtime victory over No. 12 Virginia Sunday night in Cassell Coliseum. He leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 rebounds per game and is fourth on the team in scoring, at 11.4 points per game. He leads the team in steals with 30 and is second on the team in assists, with 79.