Boxscore

Wow, what a rollercoaster game that was. The Hokies started the game 0/16 from field, falling behind by 12 early, battled back to go up 6 in the 2nd half, fell behind by 4 with 20 seconds left, but still had an Erick Green shot at the end to tie the game (blocked) and a 3-pointer by Robert Brown to win it at the buzzer (off the mark). Virginia Tech falls to 1-5 in 2012, with four of those losses by 4 points or less, and in three of which Tech had a shot to tie or win in the final 10 seconds.

This marks Tech’s third straight loss at home, the first time that’s happened since 2008-09 when VT lost to fsu, duke, and unc in a row late in the season.

The story of the game was free throw shooting. In a tightly called game, which this was, you have to make your FTs. Tech was the better team coming in, and were at home, but byu just could not miss. They finished 21/24 (88%) from the line, while VT went 15/23 (65%). There’s your difference. Davies and Hartsock were a combined 18/20 from the line, and those are their bigs!

This game started out uglier than a Proactiv before video. I mentioned the Hokies started 0-16 from the field. byu wasn’t doing much better, starting 2/10. But as they got going the Hokies kept missing. Tech did not make their 1st field goal until the 10:20 mark of the 1st half. VT trailed 13-1 before that make.

Virginia Tech did improve after that, hitting 8/15 the rest of the half. Tech used a 9-0 to turn a 15-3 deficit into a manageable 15-12 margin with 6:40 left in the 1st half. VT fell back behind by 10 at 27-17 but back-to-back 3-pointers by Eddie and Hudson got the Hokies within 2. byu went into the half up 29-25.

The Hokies were already thin at guard with Marquis Rankin out with an illness. That further became an issue when Erick Green picked up his 3rd foul with 4:39 left in the half. Dorenzo was forced to play point and committed a couple of turnovers, leading to 9 first half giveaways for Tech. Green had 0 points at the half while Brandon Davies had 12 on 8/8 FTs for byu.

Tech exploded offensively in the second half, attacking the rim. They were in the double bonus by the halfway mark of the half. Tech shot 64% for the 2nd half and jumped to a 45-39 lead with Davies on the bench with 4 fouls for the cougars.

But Noah Hartsock, byu’s leading scorer, took over the game. He scored 16 2nd half points (22 overall to lead byu) and was just dominate in getting byu back in the game. The cougars went on an 11-0 run with Davies on the bench to turn that 45-39 deficit into a 50-45 lead.

The Hokies battled back to tie the game at 55 on a Zo jumper. The teams would trade baskets after that for a while. VT went ahead 59-57 with 4:20 to play on a Green layup, but byu seemed to control the game after that.

The shot of the game was a 3-pointer by Brock Zylstra with 26 seconds left to break a 66-66 tie. It was Brock’s only points of the game.

Hudson turned the ball over with 20 seconds left and Anson Winder put byu up 4 with 15 seconds to go. Green easily drove and scored with 11 seconds to go to make it 70-68 cougars. Tech forced a turnover on the inbounds (it actually went off VT but we were due a call). That gave the Hokies the ball out of bounds with 10 seconds to go. VT launched a pass into the backcourt that was nearly picked off. Green ran it up court, drove inside, had his layup blocked, gathered the loose ball, kicked it to Eddie in the corner, but he was off balance so he threw it to Robert Brown at the left wing. Brown had a good look, but he was fading away slightly and was out at NBA range. The shot clanked off the rim and Tech had another devastating defeat.

Hudson paced the Hokies again, with 14 points off the bench. Davila and Eddie each had 12, while Erick Green scored 11 extending his double-digit point streak to 21.

byu had 22 by Hartsock and 17 by Davies (their two main low post players). VT just could not handle their bigs inside. byu started 1/14 from behind the arc (just like uva), but unlike the hoos, they hit 4/9 down the stretch and that helped them win.

Tech, who had 10 offensive rebounds in the 1st half, had just 1 in the 2nd.

Not to pick on Dorian Finney-Smith, but Doe Doe put up another no no. The kid went 0/8 from the field tonight, including a missed dunk. Here are his numbers in 2012:

• wake – 0 (0/1)
• fsu – 9 (4/9)
• bc – 0 (0/4)
• unc – 2 (0/5)
• uva – 0 (0/1)
• byu – 0 (0/8)
• That’s 11 points in 6 games, going 4/28 from the field.

But hats off to Jarell Eddie – he grabbed a career high 14 rebounds to go with his 12 points, his first career double-double. He now has 20 points and 24 rebounds in the last two games.

Well, congrats to all you cougar fans out there. Have a victory Scotch on me… Well, go enjoy whatever it is you do.

Tech heads to maryland for their fourth straight ACC weekend road game (total BS!) on Saturday afternoon.

SCORES AT THE MEDIA TIMEOUTS:

1st Half:

• Under 16: byu 4-0
• U12: byu 11-1
• U8: byu 15-8
• U4: byu 23-15

HALF: byu 29-25

2nd half:

• U16: byu 34-33
• U12: VT 43-39
• U8: byu 50-47
• U4: Tied at 62