Virginia Tech Blows By Radford 95-68

Nickeil Alexander-Walker Virginia Tech
Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Virginia Tech easily beat Radford. (Ivan Morozov)

Virginia Tech used big games from Justin Bibbs and Kerry Blackshear to easily defeat Radford 95-68 in Cassell Coliseum on Wednesday night.  The Hokies improved to 8-1 with the victory, while the Highlanders dropped to 4-4.

Radford came into this game with victories over mid-major programs such as James Madison and East Carolina.  They were also very competitive against Power 5 programs such as Ohio State and Vanderbilt, losing by 10 points and 12 points, respectively.  However, outside of an early four-point lead in the first minute of the game, they were easily handled by the Hokies.

Justin Bibbs and Kerry Blackshear both scored 20 points, and each player was very efficient.  Bibbs was 8-of-10 from the field, including 4-of-5 from three-point range in 30 minutes.  Meanwhile, Blackshear was 4-of-6 from the field, made his only three-point attempt, and was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line.  That’s a very impressive night from Tech’s 6-10 center.

Blackshear spearheaded a very impressive night at the charity stripe for Virginia Tech.  As a team, they were 25-of-31 for a mark of 80.6%.  That number would have been even more impressive, but the Hokies missed four of their final five free throws down the stretch after the game got out of hand.

Not only did Tech excel from the free throw line, but they also were great from the field.  They were 31-of-50 (62%) as a team overall, and 8-of-15 (53.3%) from three point range.  It’s hard to lose games when you are that efficient on the offensive end.

“It was the first game with zero, what we deem, bad shots,” Buzz Williams said after the game. “That was our lowest turnover rate. So I think those two things are always tied together.”

Justin Robinson added 11 points and nine assists for the Hokies.  He played 30 minutes.

“Our maturity level keeps going up each week, each game,” Robinson said.

The Hokies return to action this weekend when they take on Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday, December 10 at 3pm in Cassell Coliseum.  The game can be seen online on ACC Network Extra.

Box Score

Game Notes from Virginia Tech

Kerry Blackshear was 11-for-11 from the free throw line. This is the ninth time in school history that a Hokie has shot at least 10 free throws in a game and made every free throw attempted. The record is 18-for-18 from the line by Rod Wheeler against Richmond on Dec. 28, 1990.

Justin Bibbs scored 20 points. He has scored in double figures in all seven games in which he has played this season. He has scored at least 20 points in three games this season.

With his 20 points in the game, Bibbs passed Dick Sayre and Rolan Roberts into 34th place in career scoring at Virginia Tech, with 1,176 career points.

Bibbs has now made at least one three-point field goal in the last 23 games in which he has played, tops currently in the ACC. Ahmed Hill has made at least one three-pointer in each of his last 10 games, second-best in the ACC behind Bibbs.

Blackshear also scored 20 points. It is the sixth time this season he has scored in double figures. It is the third time this season he has scored at least 20 points.

Justin Robinson scored 11 points. It is his fifth double figures game of the season. He dished out a season-high nine assists.

Justin Bibbs scored 20 points and Blackshear scored 20 points. It’s the fourth time this season that at least two Virginia Tech players scored at least 20 points in the same game.

The Hokies shot 62.0 percent from the field in the win. This is the fourth time this season that Tech has shot at least 60 percent from the field. Tech entered the game leading the nation and the ACC in field goal percentage.

The Hokies committed a season-low eight turnovers in the game.

The Hokies are now 8-2 all-time against Radford and 7-2 against the Highlanders in Cassell Coliseum.

 

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