The Essentials
The Game
The Hokies started off the game with back to back layups to give Tech a 4-0 lead but the Keydets of VMI battled back to take a 7-6 edge over the Hokies with just over 17 minutes left to play. However, the next five minutes belonged to Virginia Tech as the Hokies went on a 20-3 run in that stretch, maximizing the lead to 26-10. VMI began to wear down Tech near the end of the half and was able cut the Hokies lead down to seven as the two teams entered halftime.
It was more of the same out of the gate in the 2nd half as Tech started on a 10-0 run before VMI came battling back again. The Keydets slashed Tech’s lead down to 13. However, it just wasn’t meant to be for VMI tonight as that 13-point margin was as close as they would get in the 2nd half. The Hokies dominated the rest of the way and won the game 98-73.
What Does It All Mean?
Playing VMI is a lot like playing Georgia Tech in football, they’re offense is hard to gameplan for and they are truly one of the only teams that still run the fast pace style of offense. For the Hokies not only to win tonight, but to dominate VMI like they did in the 2nd half, that tells me that this team possesses the ability to adjust to different matchups and be able to find a way to win the game. That ability has been missing from this Virginia Tech team since both Jamon Gordon and Zabian Dowdell graduated.
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Surely VMI won’t be received as a quality win by most but this could have been a “bad loss” in March. These are the types of games that Tech has normally lost in the past but to come out tonight and truly dominate the way they did, this Tech team could be headed towards bigger and brighter things this year.
Bullet Points
- Dorenzo Hudson picked a great night to extended his career high in points to 24. With Delaney ailing on the bench and none of the Freshman willing to step up, Hudson did a great job keeping the score out of reach in the 1st half where he scored 19 of his 24 points.
- Malcolm Delaney was held in check for most of the night but that had more to do with the thumb injury he suffered in the first half, more so than the defense VMI was playing. Malcolm played through the pain tonight but was clearly ineffective from the floor, hitting just 3-14 of his shots from the floor.
- Last year I was often critical of Terrell Bell as he seemed to be out of sync with the rest of the team. This year, Bell has slowly turned into the player I was expecting him to be coming out of high school. Bell has become the Hokies best on ball defender and back court shot blocker. Last year, Bell hoisted up too many long three-pointers and was a bit of a ball hawg at times. However, tonight was his perfect game. He made just two of his four shots from the field, contributed with just seven points, but he made his mark felt on defense with eight rebounds and four blocks.
- Speaking of blocked shots, tonight was a block-fest as the Hokies racked up 15 blocks while the Keydets held their own with nine. Bell led all players with four but the most surprising stat of the night has to be Erick Green chipping in with two blocks in this game. Nice to see one of Tech's freshmen stepping up and making some plays this early in the season.
- Ben Boggs had a bit of a rough night but he battled through some of his freshman mistakes and it appears he has garnered the trust of Coach Greenberg. Boggs played 22 minutes tonight, which was twice as much as Erick Green who played just 11 minutes in the game.
Stats
Up Next
Next up for the Hokies is a trip up to Happy Valley on Saturday to face the Nittany Lions of Penn State. The game tips at 7 p.m and will be televised on ESPN2.
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