Virginia Tech got off to a terrible start offensively on Saturday against Baylor and they could never recover, losing 84-66 in Cassell Coliseum in the second round of the NIT. The loss ends Tech’s season, and they finish with a 19-15 record.
The Hokies were just 23-of-71 (32.4%) from the field for the game. Malcolm Delaney and A.D. Vassallo each shot just 4-of-17 from the floor. Though Delaney led Tech with 14 points, and Vassallo followed with 12, their off games got the Hokies off to a bad start offensively, from which they could never recover. Delaney did tie a career high with 10 assists, but it obviously wasn’t enough.
The Hokies started just 1-of-17 from the field, and their only field goal in that stretch was a dunk by Jeff Allen. They didn’t score their second field goal until the 7:37 mark of the first half.
Dorenzo Hudson and Jeff Allen added nine points each for the Hokies, while J.T. Thompson finished with eight points and five rebounds.
The Hokies outrebounded Baylor 34-33, including an amazing 21 offensive rebounds, and they had just 10 turnovers to Baylor’s 16. The game came down to shooting, and Tech obviously couldn’t do it. The Hokies were strong defensively early, as Baylor had just 16 points 10 minutes into the game, but the frustrations of a bad shooting day eventually took their toll, and Tech began to break down defensively as well.
With eight minutes remaining in the first half, Baylor took a 22-5 lead on a jumper by Kevin Rogers. However, that wasn’t their biggest lead of the half. Though the Hokies woke up a bit and Cheick Diakite and Malcolm Delaney made back-to-back baskets, Tech still couldn’t get over the hump down the stretch. They trailed 41-21 at halftime.
This time, there was no early second half rally. The Bears kept their foot on the gas and gradually extended their lead to 28 points, leading 62-34 on a three-pointer by Anthony Jones with 9:18 left in the game.
Virginia Tech did manage to cut the lead to 12 points in the second half during a 21-5 run. Malcolm Delaney’s three-pointer with 4:59 remaining made the score 67-55. However, the Hokies did not have enough in the tank to cut into the lead down the stretch, and they eventually fell 84-66.
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