Virginia Tech Outruns Tribe, 80-63

Hokies Use Late First-Half Run to Pull Away

11/28/04 5:09PM

WILLIAMSBURG, VA - Sophomore guard Jamon Gordon poured in a game-high 20 points and senior swingman Carlos Dixon added 18 to lead Virginia Tech’s men’s basketball team to an 80-63 victory over the College of William and Mary Sunday afternoon at William and Mary Hall.

With the win, Tech is off to a 3-0 start in its first season in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Tribe drops to 2-2.

As the first ACC team to visit W&M Hall since 1996, the Hokies outscored W&M 18-5 over the final five minutes of the first half to extend a four-point lead to a 42-25 advantage at the break. Junior forward Hawley Smith (Jacksonville, FL) knocked down a pair of free throws with 5:40 remaining in the opening half to pull the Tribe within 24-20, before the Tech run began.

Dixon scored eight of his 11 first-half points in a 14-3 Hokie spurt, after a put-back layup from Smith cut the Tech lead to 28-22 with four minutes remaining.

Freshman guard Edwin Ofori Attah (Davidson, NC) buried a three-pointer, his only field goal of the first half, with just under three minutes remaining that made the score 32-25, but Virginia Tech held the Tribe scoreless the rest of the way, using a 10-0 run to close the period.

Gordon was a perfect three-for-three from behind the arc in the second half, as the Hokies opened up as much as a 22-point lead and held off any chance of a Tribe comeback.

After sophomore forward Corey Cofield (Newton, MA) sank a pair from the foul line with 12:38 remaining in the game to cut the Tribe’s deficit to 53-39, Gordon hit on back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead back to 20.

W&M closed to within 16 at the 7:22 mark after a pair of free throws from junior guard Adam Dutton (Winchester, VA), but Dixon answered with another three for the Hokies, who shot 50% (9-for-18) from behind the arc in the game.

Senior guard Nick D’Antoni (Myrtle Beach, SC) cut the deficit to 73-56 with two free throws with 3:55 remaining, but Gordon responded with his final trey, again extending the lead back to 20.

Smith recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, surpassing his previous career-high of seven boards with eight in the first half alone, while Cofield paced the Tribe with 14 points, including an eight-for-eight effort at the charity stripe.

Junior center Nate Loehrke (Kalamazoo, MI) narrowly missed his first career double-double with 10 points and a career-high nine rebounds in 18 minutes, and freshman guard Nathan Mann (Overland Park, KS) tallied 11, spurred by a 3-for-4 effort from three-point range, to give W&M four in double-figures.


Box Score


Post-Game Quotes from W&M Head Coach Tony Shaver
“They [Virginia Tech] are talented. I’m disappointed in our execution. One thing we can’t do in practice is simulate the type of athletes and quickness we’re going to see out here on the court. I think, particularly for young players, that’s a hard adjustment to make. They’re used to one speed in practice, and you get against these guys and it’s a whole different world, it’s a different step up.”

“The 20 turnovers is huge, because it leads to layups and dunks on their end and gets them excited and ready to go. We’ve got good players turning the ball over right now. Almost every time, [turnovers] lead to a transition basket against a team like Virginia Tech. We got it down to 12 or 13, and then a bad turnover leads to a fast-break basket, and here they go again.”

“Another key factor is that [Virginia Tech] shot the ball exceptionally well. Maybe we need to contest those shots a little bit better. We needed them to shoot poorly from the perimeter and obviously they didn’t.”