Virginia Tech 80, Georgetown 65
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 2/11/04
Blacksburg, VA -- Virginia Tech got a balanced scoring attack, led by 20 points from freshman Coleman Collins, and beat Georgetown for the first time in over 16 years, 80-65. Collins shot 9-of-13 from the field on the way to his second straight game of 20 points or more. All five Hokie starters scored in double figures.
The Hokies (10-10, 3-6 Big East) had lost four straight to Georgetown (13-7, 4-6), with an 87-82 win by the Bimbo Coles-led Hokies of the 1987-88 season being the last time Tech had defeated the Hoyas. With the victory, and a loss by Miami to Boston College, the Hokies moved into 12th place in the Big East, a half-game ahead of the Hurricanes. The 10-10 record represents the first time the Hokies have been at .500 or better after February 1st since ending the 1999-2000 season, their last season in the Atlantic 10, at 16-15.
Tech's Bryant Matthews, the fifth-leading scorer in the nation at 23.6 points per game, struggled with foul trouble, playing just 24 minutes and scoring 14 points. Matthews fouled out late in the game but still managed to lead all rebounders with 10.
Matthews spent significant portions of both the first and second halves on the bench, but his teammates bailed him out. Collins, showing renewed aggressiveness in the last two ball games, led the way with 10 points in each half, and Zabian Dowdell poured in 13 of his 15 points after intermission. Markus Sailes (12 points) and Jamon Gordon (11 points) were the other two Hokies in double figures.
Tech shot 54.9% (28-of-51) for the game and outrebounded Georgetown 37-26. VT followed up their strong defensive effort against Providence (39% by the Friars) with another strong defensive effort, holding Georgetown to 42.3% (22-of-52). Tech also had 13 steals and five blocks. The only Hoya to have significant success in the game was guard Gerald Riley, who had 24 points, hitting on 5-of-9 three pointers. Two Georgetown starters, Ashanti Cook and Darrel Owens, shot a combined 0-of-10 and scored just three total points.
VT broke open a tight 16-14 game with a 12-3 run, going up 28-17 with 5:26 to go in the first half. Georgetown closed the gap to 32-27, but the Hokies stretched it back out to 36-27 at half time. The Hoyas were never able to get the lead under eight points in the second half, with Dowdell (two three-pointers) and Collins (two dunks) holding them at bay. VT finally broke Georgetown's back with a 7-0 run that put the Hokies up 74-59 with 2:50 to go.
The Hokies' next game is at Rutgers (13-8, 5-6) on Saturday, at 2 p.m. Rutgers is 10-1 at home, with the only loss coming at the hands of Connecticut, 75-74.
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Virginia Tech 80, Georgetown 65
2/11/04, Blacksburg, VA
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Georgetown.................... 27 38 65
Virginia Tech................. 36 44 80
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GEORGETOWN (13-7, 4-6)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Bowman 37 5-12 5-9 2-8 1 5 15
D Owens 22 0-3 2-2 0-1 1 3 2
C Freeman 36 4-6 2-4 2-6 0 3 10
A Cook 30 0-7 1-2 1-3 4 1 1
G Riley 32 8-13 3-4 1-3 1 5 24
O Faulkner 2 1-2 0-2 2-2 0 1 2
R Reed 21 3-5 2-2 0-1 1 2 9
M Causey 18 1-4 0-0 1-2 1 3 2
S Dizdarevic 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
A Fall 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 22-52 15-25 9-26 9 24 65
_____________________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.423, FT-.600. 3-Point Goals:
6-17, .353 (B Bowman 0-1, D Owens 0-2, A Cook
0-4, G Riley 5-9, R Reed 1-1). Team Rebounds:
0. Blocked Shots: 1 (B Bowman). Turnovers: 18
(G Riley 4, B Bowman 4, A Cook 4, R Reed 4, C
Freeman, M Causey). Steals: 10 (B Bowman 3, G
Riley 2, R Reed 2, C Freeman, A Cook, D
Owens).
VIRGINIA TECH (10-10, 3-6)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Matthews 24 5-8 4-7 6-10 2 5 14
C Collins 33 9-13 2-7 0-2 1 2 20
Z Dowdell 33 5-10 3-4 0-6 4 4 15
J Gordon 32 3-8 5-6 1-5 3 4 11
M Sailes 36 4-6 4-6 2-6 3 2 12
B Randall 19 1-3 2-3 1-2 1 0 4
B Ritchie 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
M Lattimore 1 0-0 0-0 0-1 0 0 0
A Calloway 18 1-3 0-0 0-2 0 1 2
S Harris 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
P McCandies 1 0-0 2-2 0-0 0 0 2
C Tucker 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 28-51 22-35 10-34 14 18 80
_____________________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.549, FT-.629. 3-Point Goals:
2-8, .250 (Z Dowdell 2-6, J Gordon 0-1, B
Randall 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked
Shots: 5 (A Calloway 3, B Matthews, B
Randall). Turnovers: 19 (M Sailes 5, J Gordon
4, B Matthews 3, Z Dowdell 3, B Randall 2, S
Harris, B Ritchie). Steals: 13 (B Matthews 4,
Z Dowdell 3, J Gordon 3, M Sailes 2, A
Calloway).
Technical fouls: Georgetown 1 (Team). A: 6,746.
Officials: Doug Shows, Jim Burr, Orlandis Poole
2003-2004 Men's Basketball Schedule/Results