Virginia Tech got off to a hot start and held on, never trailing as the Hokies beat the Highlanders 74-65 on Wednesday night. Tech improved to 6-3 on the season, while Radford dropped to 5-5.
Radford came into the game having already defeated Georgetown and Penn State on the road. However, the Hokies played their best first half of basketball of the season, jumping out to a 28-8 lead at the 10:28 mark of the first half. Though Radford would cut the lead to six points late in the second half, Virginia Tech dominated the game in general. The Hokies were never seriously threatened.
Despite playing well for most of the game, the Hokies were outrebounded for for the first time this season. Radford held the edge on the boards 39-33. However, Tech shot 28-of-56 (50%) from the field, and had a 17-to-8 assist-to-turnover ratio, easily their best mark of the season. The Highlanders had 14 turnovers to just 10 assists.
Four Virginia Tech players scored in double figures…
Seth Allen: 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 23 minutes
Kerry Blackshear: 13 points, 8 rebounds, 32 minutes
Jalen Hudson: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals, 23 minutes
Justin Bibbs: 11 points
Zach LeDay added seven points, nine rebounds and three assists.
Virginia Tech’s defense was very good for most of the game. Though the Highlands did a good job scoring on the rare occasion they got the ball into the paint, the Hokies forced them into bad shots for the most part. Radford was 26-of-60 (41.7%) from the field, and just 3-of-20 (15%) from three-point range.
This was one of the biggest home games in Radford school history, as the Highlanders drew a crowd of over 4,000 despite the fact that the Dedmon Center technically seats only 3,200 fans.
Virginia Tech’s next two games are against Lamar and Grambling State, and they should get to 8-3 before traveling to Brooklyn to take on St. Joseph’s.
The Hokies take on Lamar this Sunday at 3pm. Tipoff is scheduled for 3pm, and the game can be seen online on ESPN3.
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My youngest daughter & SIL are both RU Grads, so I root for them when they don’t play Tech.
There’s a lot to like about this team. I’ve enjoyed watching them. Go Hokies!
If we could get some outside shooters like the ladies, we would be dangerous.
Anyone have an idea how many Tech fans/students were there?
Like the comment Buzz made about inviting the RU students over to the Tech games.
For anyone to criticize VT for going to RU I think they should see the attendance and realize that this was a really cool thing. Bet it was a fun one to attend.