Hokies Get by Rams with Big Second Half

Virginia Tech got off to a slow start, but took control of the game in the second half and beat Rhode Island 78-67 on the road on Wednesday night. The Hokies are now 6-3 on the season, while the Rams dropped to 1-8.

Erick Green didn’t start the game for disciplinary reasons (effort and attitude during practice, according to Seth Greenberg in his postgame interview), but he took his punishment to heart by playing a great game. Green finished with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting, and he also had three steals in 33 minutes.

Victor Davila started the game, but struggled again. He didn’t score and had just one rebound and two turnovers in 13 minutes. Cadarian Raines and C.J. Barksdale came off the bench to replace him, playing 25 and 17 minutes respectively. Raines finished with 12 points, four rebounds, three steals and an assists, while Barksdale had six points, seven rebounds and two assists.

Freshman forward Dorian Finney-Smith led the team with 35 minutes, and he finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

Jarell Eddie put up great numbers, finishing with 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and block and a steal. He had a huge stretch in the second half that propelled the Hokies to the win …

7:27: Eddie made two free throws
6:20: Raines with a huge dunk off a great pass by Eddie
5:41: Eddie with a huge block on a dunk attempt and a defensive rebound
5:33: Hudson finds Eddie for a 3-pointer to make the score 61-51
5:17: Eddie pulls down a defensive rebound
4:17: Eddie drills another three-pointer to make the score 64-53
3:40: Eddie finds Raines for a wide open layup to make the score 66-55
2:08: Eddie pulls down a defensive rebound
1:32: Eddie scores on a layup off an assist from C.J. Barksdale

Eddie’s play over that six minute span in the second half was the difference in the game for the Hokies.

Tech shot 54.5% from the field and 43.8% from three-point range, but they couldn’t manage to blow out the Rams because at times they struggled to inbound the ball, and their help defense was slow at other times.

The Hokies will return to action this Sunday when they host Norfolk State, who is 6-3 on the season with a 2-point loss to Marquette and a win over a TCU team that beat UVA. Tip-off is scheduled for 4pm, and the game will be shown on the internet on ESPN3.