The Hokies used nine points from mighty-mite guard Hank Thorns in overtime to win at boston college for the first time ever. Here’s more on the game from Wick…

One thing I’ve learned over the last few years about Coach Greenberg’s teams is to expect the unexpected. Today I expected an ugly outcome for the Hokies — real ugly. As Niemo pointed out in his preview, we got the shaft by the ACC when they scheduled a trip to Beantown less than 48 hours after our home tilt against duke. [Niemo's Note: VT is 2-0 the last 2 years when having to play on the road less than 48 hours after a previous ACC game, having beaten miami last year... maybe we should ask for more screw jobs like this?] In addition, the Hokies were 0-6 at bc coming into this game.

But to my surprise, the Hokies came out with fresh legs and out hustled the eagles on many occasions during the first half. This led to 14 second-chance points compared to 2 for bc. Another key stat from the first half: turnovers — the Hokies only committed 3. The interior defense was solid, led by Chieck Diakite and J.T. Thompson. Richmond native Tyrese Rice did burn it up from the outside on 6-of-7 shooting, but the rest of the team shot 29% from the floor in the first half.

It was almost the third straight road game that the Hokies allowed an opposing player to score over 30 points. That is an unbelievable stat, almost inconceivable. Chalk it up to our inexperience on the defensive end at the guard position, but that’s just pathetic. Richmond native Tyrese Rice single handedly kept the eagles within striking distance throughout the first half and the beginning of the second half as the Hokies could never extend their lead beyond 8. Then at the 9:24 mark, Rice nailed a dagger of a 3 over Hank Thorns to cut the Hokie lead to 1. It was Rice’s 27th point at the 9:24 mark. One possession later, bc took the lead and it was a see-saw affair for the last 8 minutes.

However, that three pointer was Rice’s last points of the game. Unfortunately, bc’s other starting guard, Rakim Sanders, picked up the slack by scoring the last 7 points for the eagles including a 3 pointer with 4 seconds left to tie the game at 66.

At this point, I expected a loss in OT. The Hokies absolutely blew it at the end of regulation from the line. Both Delaney and Vassallo (the Hokies’ best free throw shooters) had chances to ice the game, but each trip to the charity stripe resulted in only 1 of 2. The Hokies were 10 of 23 from the line during regulation. That is totally inexcusable.

Of course, the Hokies did exactly what I did not expect in overtime. They hit all six of their shots from the line, and didn’t let bc carry any momentum into the extra period. Hank Thorns scored the first five points of OT including a well defended three ball to start the scoring. Not what I expected. Unbelievable.

One positive to come out of Jeff Allen’s suspension is the opportunity presented to J.T. Thompson. He followed up a nice performance against duke with player of the game honors today. Thompson’s performance today was reminiscent of A.D. Vassallo’s breakout game in the 2005-06 season at wake forest: Almost two years ago to this date, the Hokies were without starters Coleman Collins and Deron Washington, and A.D. broke through with a 29-point performance to lead the Hokies to a 76-70 win. Without Jeff Allen, Thompson was 7-of-11 from the field with 12 boards. I can write with confidence that if Allen had played today, the outcome would not have been any better. Thompson was that good. J.T. contributed to a very balanced offensive attack, with four other Hokies in double figures (Washington, Vassallo, Delaney, and Thorns).

It’s hard to believe that this team, which could not win on the road against penn state, odu, and richmond, has now won 2 ACC road games in 4 tries — winning for the first time in 40 years in Charlottesville, and the first time ever in Chestnut Hill. Just another reminder to expect the unexpected.

Niemo’s Notes:

* What an impressive two games for J.T. Thompson filling in for Jeff Allen. The freshman had only played 16 minutes total in the three games leading up to duke, but played 60 minutes in the duke and bc games combined. In those games, J.T. combined for 27 points and 20 rebounds, including career highs of 14 points and 12 boards on Saturday.
* Vassallo also had a double-double in this game with 14 points and 11 rebounds. More importantly, he had just 1 turnover.
* The Hokies only had 8 turnovers for the whole game! This tied their season low (elon) and is only the third time they’ve been in single digits in turnovers. They did an amazing job of protecting the ball. Delaney and Thorns both handled the rock well.
* Dorenzo Hudson’s minutes keep shrinking as Thorns’ minutes go back up. Hudson just looks tentative on the court now, something he wasn’t showing in previous games.
* VT had a halftime lead, 41-33, for the first time all season in ACC play. However Tech only managed 25 second half points, mainly due to a lack of transition game, missed threes, and a horrible job from the free throw line. VT answered with 15 points in OT.
* The Hokies have two wins on the road in ACC play in four games. Three years ago (the team I like to compare this team to), VT only had two road wins all season.
* Stat of the game: The Hokies had 20 offensive rebounds! This bettered the Hokies previous high by 5. They outrebounded bc by 9 overall and 6 on the offensive glass. VT, believe this or not, has won the rebounding margin in all 6 ACC games.

Coming up Next: Two home games this week — fsu on Tuesday at 9 PM, and uva next Saturday at 1 PM. Both games are on Raycom. In other words, VT has a realistic shot at getting to 5-3, although, with their youth, the Baby Hokies could be 3-5 by this time next week. I’d consider a split a good week.

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