Virginia Tech held visiting Eastern Michigan to nine first half points and coasted their way to the 71-50 win in Blacksburg on Thursday night. The Hokies are now 10-3 on the season, and they won’t play again until a New Year’s Eve showdown with Oklahoma State. The Eagles dropped to 5-7.
Eastern Michigan was a bad offensive team before they visited Blacksburg, and they left even worse. The Eagles scored their ninth point of the game at the 11:22 mark of the first half, and didn’t score again until the 17:44 mark of the second half. They shot just 28.1% from the floor and 24% from three-point range. They made just three field goals and two free throws in the first half of Thursday’s game.
The Hokies faced a 2-3 zone from Eastern Michigan for 40 minutes, and though they weren’t as proficient offensively as they had been the previous four games, it was enough to get the job down. Tech shot 45.3% from the field, 31.8% from three-point range and 72.7% from the free throw line.
Tech was led by Erick Green, who finished with 12 points and four assists. Cadarian Raines was the only other Hokie in double figures with 10 points and four rebounds. The rest of Tech’s scoring was spread throughout the rest of the playing rotation. Here’s how it broke down …
Dorenzo Hudson: 8 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 22 minutes
Jarell Eddie: 6 points, 7 rebounds, 24 minutes
Victor Davila: 5 points, 4 rebounds, 25 minutes
Dorian Finney-Smith: 6 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 31 minutes
Robert Brown: 9 points, 17 minutes
Marquis Rankin: 6 points, 1 assist, 1 block, 18 minutes
C.J. Barksale: 6 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 18 minutes
That’s excellent production across the board, especially from Tech’s backup post players. Raines and Barksdale combined for 16 points and 14 rebounds. Six of Barksdale’s 10 rebounds were offensive boards.
Overall, Virginia Tech outrebounded Eastern Michigan 43-31, and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds in the process. The Hokies scored 28 points in the paint and had 16 second chance points.
Tech will return to action on New Year’s Eve when they face Oklahoma State in Stillwater at noon on ESPN2. This will be the second meeting of the season between the Cowboys and Hokies. Virginia Tech won the first meeting 59-57 in the consolation game of the NIT Season Tip-Off in Madison Square Garden.
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