Notre Dame 74, Virginia Tech 63
by Chris Coleman, 1/20/04

Blacksburg, VA -- Notre Dame took advantage of another night of poor shooting by Virginia Tech to defeat the Hokies 74-63 in front of an announced crowd of 7,270 fans at Cassell Coliseum. The Irish were paced by Chris Thomas with 23 points and Torin Francis with 22 points. Bryant Matthews and Zabian Dowdell scored 19 and 18 respectively for Tech.

For the second consecutive game, the Hokies (8-7, 1-3 Big East) struggled early on the offensive end and could never get into rhythm. Virginia Tech hit just 23 of 65 (35.4%) from the field while Notre Dame (9-5, 3-2) hit 26 of 57 (45.6%). The Hokies never managed to take the lead in the game, cutting the Notre Dame margin to 3 at one point in the first half, and 7 with 2:52 left in the game.

Though Bryant Matthews led the Hokies in scoring, the Irish did an outstanding job defensively on the nation's 3rd leading scorer. Matthews was only 6 of 21 from the field. Notre Dame often used 6-11 inside players Torin Francis and Tom Timmermans on Matthews, who wasn't able to get many open looks.

In the first half, the Hokies did an outstanding job defensively on senior guard Chris Thomas, holding him to just 4 points. However the savvy veteran Thomas took over in the 2nd half, hitting many tough shots including an NBA range 3-pointer that broke the back of the Hokies late in the game.

Notre Dame won the battle on the boards against the smaller Hokies. The Irish outrebounded Virginia Tech 42-37, with Francis pulling down 16. Bryant Matthews had 11 rebounds, giving him yet another double-double.

It doesn't get any easier for the Hokies as they travel to New Jersey to face a very good Seton Hall team (12-4, 2-2) on Saturday. Seton Hall snapped Syracuse's 13-game winning streak with a 74-66 win Tuesday night in the Meadowlands. The VT-Seton Hall game will be televised -- click here for details and check local listings.

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Notre Dame 74, Virginia Tech 63
1/20/04, Blacksburg, VA

Score by Periods                1st  2nd   Total
ND............................   30   44     74
Virginia Tech.................   22   41     63

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NOTRE DAME (9-5, 3-2)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
T Francis           38  9-12   4-7  5-16   0   2   22
T Timmermans        28   1-3   0-0   0-5   0   4    2
C Thomas            38  7-16   6-7   0-3   5   2   23
C Quinn             38  5-11   0-0   1-5   4   1   13
T Jones             31   1-7   1-2   1-6   2   3    3
R Cornett            1   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0    0
J Cornette          10   2-3   0-0   1-3   0   5    6
C Falls             16   1-5   3-4   0-1   2   1    5
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 26-57 14-20  8-39  13  18   74
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.456, FT-.700. 3-Point Goals:
8-27, .296 (T Timmermans 0-2, C Thomas 3-9, C
Quinn 3-7, T Jones 0-3, J Cornette 2-2, C 
Falls 0-4). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 
6 (T Francis 4, C Thomas, T Timmermans). 
Turnovers: 15 (T Jones 4, T Timmermans 3, T 
Francis 3, C Quinn 2, C Falls 2, C Thomas). 
Steals: 3 (C Thomas, T Timmermans, C Quinn).

VIRGINIA TECH (8-7, 1-3)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
A Calloway          25   2-3   2-5   2-5   1   3    6
B Matthews          40  6-21   6-9  6-11   3   4   19
C Collins           17   2-7   0-0   0-3   0   2    4
Z Dowdell           38  7-19   2-3   1-5   3   4   18
M Sailes            39   2-5   0-2   2-7   2   2    5
B Randall           19   1-3   0-0   0-1   3   4    3
P McCandies         22   3-7   2-2   0-1   1   1    8
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 23-65 12-21 11-33  13  20   63
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.354, FT-.571. 3-Point Goals:
5-18, .278 (B Matthews 1-4, C Collins 0-1, Z 
Dowdell 2-9, M Sailes 1-1, B Randall 1-3). 
Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 2 (A 
Calloway, P McCandies). Turnovers: 8 (B 
Matthews 4, A Calloway 2, Z Dowdell 2). 
Steals: 11 (B Matthews 2, A Calloway 2, M 
Sailes 2, Z Dowdell 2, P McCandies, C 
Collins, B Randall).

Technical fouls: None. A: 7,270. Officials: Donnie
Gray, Raymond Perone, Robert Donato

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