Box Score

Can we stop talking about football now?

What an OUTSTANDING victory tonight by the Hokies. This has to be the fourth biggest win in Coach Greenberg’s tenure as Hokie basketball coach, behind last year’s W’s against the #1 heels at home, #4 heels on the road, and the #5 dookies on the road. Not too shabby considering those were all Top 5 opponents. I’ll be the first to admit that I did not expect this at all tonight, and tonight is a perfect example of why I love basketball so much. Anything can happen on any given night, and nothing is sweeter than having a bunch of hoos stare at you with daggers in their eyes as you stand and holler in victory!

For the hoos, it was another stellar performance by sean singletary. However, in my first time seeing the hoos in ‘08, they REALLY miss j.r reynolds. Niemo hit the nail on the head in his preview — if ss had any sort of sidekick tonight, like reynolds has been the last three years, the Hokies would be toast — but he didn’t get any help. The next best effort came from joseph who had 11 points, but on 4 of 13 shooting in 39 minutes of play. Think of the MJ days in the mid 80s when he had no help from his teammates in Chicago. Lots of points and highlights, but no results. That was sean singletary’s life tonight.

The Hokies never gave up tonight when they easily could have folded up the tent. They were down between 5 and 8 points between the 5- and 10-minute marks of the game, but scrapped back to tie it up and have a chance to win. My one beef tonight, btw, is the shot selection at the end of regulation. Why do we keep going to the freshmen? Delany should have kicked that ball out to A.D., who was WIDE open on the wing for three. OK, sorry, enough b*tchin.

It has been a couple months since this has come up in a recap, but did you notice that the Hokies had to score more than 69 to win tonight? Over the past two years, the Hokies are 23-4 when they score more than 69 points. One point less and we might be talking a different outcome. [Editor’s note: Does anyone else want to point out that with one point less it would have been a tie? Who writes this stuff!?]

No player of the game tonight — that goes to the entire team. Check out this box score. It’s not the prettiest box score, but the numbers show how evenly matched this game actually was. Both teams shot between 35 and 40 percent from the field. Both teams made 12 free throws. Both teams had 39 rebounds each.

When it comes down to it, the hoos had plenty of chances to ice this game, but they could not convert on several occasions at the end of regulation and overtime. When you give any team multiple chances to take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes, chances are they are eventually going to convert. That’s what happened tonight. The Hokies converted at the last possible moment to flush the hoos down the john and into the ACC cellar. Meanwhile the Hokies travel to Hotlanta against a yellow jacket team that might be facing a letdown game after an emotional battle against the #1 heels at home.

More on the game tomorrow.

Niemo’s Notes:

• Should we start calling VT the Cardiac Kids? Three ACC games, all decided at the buzzer.
• uva, after taking a 69-64 lead in OT, did not score in the final 3:30 of overtime.
• uva only scored 2 points in the final 7 minutes of regulation. In fact, they led 59-50 with 9:47 to go and only got 4 points after that.
• Props: the game-winning shot was the lead-in on SportsCenter and was the #1 play in the Top 10. Also, “Darren” Washington’s put-back dunk was #4 on the Top 10.
• Tech was abysmal from the foul line, going just 12/21. And Tech’s best FT shooters were getting to the line and still missing (Deron, A.D., Malcolm).
• Kudos to J.T. Thompson and Terrell Bell. Both had to play a good bit in the first half due to foul trouble for other guys and did a solid job. J.T. is a high energy guy that really gets after it and attacks the rim with no fear. Well, maybe he should have some fear at times - he was called for traveling on consecutive posessions the first half. But still, I like how he plays. He adds a spark. And Terrell never hesitates to pull the trigger from outside. Both these guys are solid bench players that make the most of their minutes (less than 10 minutes per game).
• I think the officiating stunk. Seemed like there were several times they swallowed their whistles when they could have called over-the-back or hacking fouls on uva. Then, they’d turn around and call ticky-tack fouls on VT.
• singletary, who had 23 first-half points, could do this every game if he wanted to. There really is no way to stop him — he’s too quick. He decided tonight he was going to take it at the Hokies on every possession, and there wasn’t much VT could do. I’ll be glad when he graduates. Tech tried Thorns, Delaney, and Washington on him and it didn’t matter. He went right by them or shot over the top.
• Four rebounds may not sound like much, but when a 5′9″ guy gets them, they are impressive. Thorns did a great job on the boards helping out. On one possession, he battled for an offensive rebound in traffic, got it, and scored inside.
• My Mom actually asked me if I knew VT hadn’t won at uva since 1968. I asked her if she read my preview (where I mentioned that) and she said, “I read it more than your father.” Good answer, Mom.
• That win tonight ranks #3 on my all-time VT buzzer-beater victories, behind the n mex st @ VT NIT game in ‘95, and the marquette vs. VT NIT finals game in ‘95.
• I did a Bear Fight to celebrate the win: one JAYger bomb and one car bomb back-to-back.
• I love the Hokies. Wear your colors out.

Cope-acabana’s Thoughts:

The last two wins for the Hokies, both by one point, are the kind that build a program. We’re talking about seven freshmen, three sophomores, two juniors and a senior who have pulled off a pair of exciting and emotional wins against tough ACC opponents - one at home and one on the road. These kids did something that Zabian Dowdell, Coleman Colins and Jamon Gordon never did - beat the hoos in Charlottesville. These kids handed the hoos their first ACC home loss in the new JPJ arena. I think it’s safe to say that we may be witnessing the beginning of a very special era in Virginia Tech basketball. That’s not to say that there won’t be tough losses or other bumps in the road, but this team has proven is can play in pressure-packed games on the road.

Around the World (Wide Web):
A tale of two basketball teams | The Sports Dominion
Virginia Falls to Hokies in Overtime Heart-breaker | WCAV - Charlottesville
Tech’s overtime victory a ‘freak’ show | Lynchburg News Advance