Virginia Tech let North Florida hang around for most of the first half, but blew out the Ospreys over the final 20 minutes to win 84-55. The Hokies improved to 9-3 with the with, while North Florida dropped to 5-7.
This was a one point game 19 minutes into the first half, but the Hokies closed the half with an 8-0 run that was bookended by three-pointers from Robert Brown and Jarell Eddie. With that quick run, Virginia Tech took a 40-31 lead into the intermission. From there, they blew the game open in the second half.
Tech was 32-of-59 (54.2%) from the floor, and 7-of-17 (41.2%) from three-point range. They were also 13-of-16 (81.3%) from the free throw line. The Hokies are shooting very well at this point in the season, and hope to continue that when ACC play begins.
Dorenzo Hudson finished with 16 points in 27 minutes. Junior point guard Erick Green had 12 points and eight assists. Green wasn’t able to get much going offensively in the halfcourt, but he obviously did a good job setting up his teammates. Backup point guard Marquis Rankin added four assists, two rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes.
Freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith had a good all around game, finishing with 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Cadarian Raines came off the bench to chip in with four points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Freshmen Robert Brown and C.J. Barksdale were good contributors off the bench as well. Brown had 14 points, including a dominant right-handed tomahawk dunk over a defender in the first half. Barksdale finished with eight points, two rebounds and two steals in 16 minutes.
The Hokies return to action on Thursday night when they host Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is scheduled for 7pm, and the game will be televised on the internet by ESPN3.
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