Deron’s dunk was #1 on the SportsCenter Top 10.  Good to see the 6’11″ Tyrelle Blair learned his lesson after getting dunked on by D-Dub in Boston and just got out of the way this time.

That’s how you do it!  That’s how you debate!  The Hokies (19-8, 9-4) came out in the second half and just plain smacked the eagles (18-9, 9-5) in the mouth.  They did just what they had to do: used their athleticism to get out in transition against the bigger, slower, eagles.  The result was a TON of dunks.  The Hokies move into a 2nd place tie with uva thanks to this woodshed win and uva’s loss to miami.  Tech also snapped a six game losing streak against bc and now have beaten every team in the ACC since joining the league.  This also clinches VT’s first winning conference record since 1995-96 (A-10) and just their second winning conference record since 1985-86 (Metro).  VT is now an eye-popping 7-1 against the ACC’s top seven teams on the season.

Ahead 36-32 at the break, Tech scored the first 14 points of the second half and had a 30-4 run overall to start the half to blow the eagles house down and take a 66-36 lead.  VT did a great job of penetrating and either getting dunks, or dishing to Vassallo for an open jumper.  The eagles missed their first 10 shots of the second half and only had one made field goal at the 8:00 mark, while VT hit 10 of their first 11 from the floor in the second half.  The second half turned into a dunk show for the Hokies and after a Markus Sailes dunk to put Tech up 30, you could see guys laughing on the court.

Deron Washington was the story of the game and is my Player of the Game.  He did a lot a bit of everything in this one, picking up where he left off in the second half in Boston (he had 15 second half points there).  For the game, he had 19 points on 8/12 shooting with 8 rebounds and 3 blocks.  He also had a poster dunk that is sure to be on SportsCenter’s Top 10.  Deron also showed some good post moves, a new aspect of his game, spinning baseline on one play for a layup and twirling into the lane for a hook on another occasion.

Zabian Dowdell also played a masterpiece.  After scoring in double-digits in his first 41 ACC regular season games, he had been held under 10 in two of the last three.  But tonight he poured in 23 points on 10/16 shooting and also chipped in 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.  The X-factor, A.D. Vassallo, hit all three of his second half three-pointers, including two in the first two minutes of the second half.  Vassallo finished with 18, one of three Hokies to score 18 plus.  He was 4/6 on three’s for the game and VT was 6/11 for the game.  Cheick Diakite was a key star off the bench with 4 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

The Hokies frustrated potential ACC Player of the Year, Jared Dudley, and the rest of the eagles, on defense.  Washington, aka: the Big Flopper, drew two offensive fouls on Dudley.  VT also had eight blocked shots to just one for the eagles.  Tech’s swarming defense held bc to just 38% shooting while the Hokies shot 56%.  Sean Marshall, ACC Super Punk, was just 2/11 from the field.  Dudley led the eagles with 15, but this was just half of the 30 he scored in Boston.  VT limited the three amigos (Marshall, Dudley, and Rice) to just 38 points.  They had been averaging 75% of bc’s points over the last 9 games.  Tech, the worst rebounding team in the ACC, outrebounded bc by 4 though you tempo-free stat freaks would tell me this is because bc missed many more shots than VT.  The Hokies did limit the eagles to just 11 offensive rebounds, not bad considering bc missed 34 shots (under 33% offensive rebound % is good).

Both teams started out sloppy in the first half, missing many layups and short jumpers.  For the second time in a row at the Cassell, VT had to play the final 15 minutes of the first half without one of their Senior guards.  Jamon Gordon went out with two fouls at the first TV timeout.  But after that point, Tech started using a full court trap that led to a 18-2 run to put VT up by 13.  Dowdell had 11 at the half and Vassallo and Washington chipped in 9 each.  Collins had 7 points in the first 7 minutes to get Tech going.  bc made the intermission score close by closing the half with a 9-0 run to make it VT 36-32.  Tech is now 7-0 in ACC play when leading at the half.

Stats of the Game
Box Score

Up next for the Hokies is miami in the Cassell, whom Tech has already beaten this year. The canes have lost eight of their last 10, but did beat #24 uva on Wednesday, 68-60.

Random: How many movies with ‘snake’ in the title can Samuel L. Jackson do?