Virginia Tech 74, Towson 67
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 12/20/03
Towson, MD -- Virginia Tech downed Towson 74-67 in a whistle-filled contest that saw five players foul out. The Hokies were led once again by Bryant Matthews, who overcame a poor first half to score a game-high 24 points. Guard Sean Harris, returning from an injury, chipped in 11 points, as did freshman Jamon Gordon.
The two teams combined for 53 fouls and 68 free throws. Four players fouled out for Towson, and Tech's Gordon, who played 38 minutes, also fouled out. The Hokies took 44 free throws, making 29 of them (66%), and Towson went 14-of-24 (58%).
The Hokies struggled to put away the Tigers all game long, taking ten point leads repeatedly, only to have Towson scrap back. In a strange first half that saw the Tigers make nothing but three-pointers (six) and free throws, Tech led 33-24 at the break. The Hokies were able to manage the 9-point lead at intermission despite an abysmal first half from Matthews, who was 1-of-9 and scored five points to go with six rebounds.
Towson opened the second half with an 8-0 run and closed the score to 33-32, but the Hokies responded to open the gap back up to 10 points a couple of times. Tech took a 14-point lead with 6:30 to play and appeared to be in control, only to have Towson roar back to make it 61-59, Hokies, with 2:30 to go.
Then Tech's freshmen took over. Coleman Collins, who sat out most of the first half with two fouls and scored six points for the game in 15 total minutes, scored a bucket to put the Hokies up 63-59. Then Gordon stole the ball and passed it to sophomore Markus Sailes, who was fouled shooting a layup and hit both free throws to push the score to 65-59. The Hokies were able to hang on from there, eventually getting the lead up to 72-61 before Towson made the final score respectable.
Matthews had 15 rebounds, including a whopping 9 offensive boards, in posting his fourth double-double of the season. Zabian Dowdell, who had scored 18 points in three straight games, played just 18 minutes and scored just five points. Dowdell learned of the death of his grandmother while on the road and will take a leave of absence from the team to attend her funeral in Florida. He will miss Tech's next game, a home contest on Tuesday, December 23rd against William and Mary at 7 p.m.
With this win, their first road win of the season and third straight win overall, the Hokies are now 6-3 on the season.
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Virginia Tech 74, Towson 67
12/20/03, Towson, MD
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Virginia Tech................. 33 41 74
Towson........................ 24 43 67
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VIRGINIA TECH (74)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Matthews 40 6-14 12-16 9-15 0 3 24
M Sailes 35 0-2 4-4 1-4 3 2 4
C Collins 15 2-4 2-3 0-1 0 2 6
Z Dowdell 18 1-2 2-4 0-1 1 2 5
J Gordon 38 4-6 2-3 0-7 3 5 11
F Davis 9 2-2 0-0 0-1 0 2 5
A Calloway 11 2-2 0-2 0-0 0 2 4
S Harris 18 3-10 5-10 3-5 1 3 11
P McCandies 16 1-2 2-2 1-2 1 2 4
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 21-44 29-44 14-36 9 23 74
_____________________________________________________
Percentages: FG-.477, FT-.659. 3-Point Goals:
3-11, .273 (B Matthews 0-1, M Sailes 0-1, Z
Dowdell 1-2, J Gordon 1-2, F Davis 1-1, S
Harris 0-4). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots:
4 (B Matthews, P McCandies, Z Dowdell, J
Gordon). Turnovers: 17 (P McCandies 4, B
Matthews 3, F Davis 3, M Sailes 3, J Gordon
2, A Calloway, Z Dowdell). Steals: 6 (B
Matthews 2, J Gordon 2, M Sailes, Z Dowdell).
TOWSON (67)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
L Hamm 32 3-11 2-2 1-3 2 4 10
W Tubbs 15 0-2 0-0 2-6 2 4 0
T Dixon 15 0-2 0-0 3-4 0 5 0
M Green 36 4-13 4-7 0-3 4 5 15
J Gilchrist 36 6-10 2-3 0-2 3 5 15
T Jackson 34 6-13 6-11 6-7 3 5 22
A Petkunas 1 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 3
D Goode 8 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
H Plack 23 1-2 0-1 1-4 0 1 2
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TOTALS 200 21-55 14-24 13-29 14 30 67
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Percentages: FG-.382, FT-.583. 3-Point Goals:
11-26, .423 (L Hamm 2-5, W Tubbs 0-1, M Green
3-7, J Gilchrist 1-3, T Jackson 4-9, A
Petkunas 1-1). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked
Shots: 2 (T Dixon, L Hamm). Turnovers: 18 (M
Green 7, J Gilchrist 3, T Jackson 3, W Tubbs
2, D Goode, L Hamm, T Dixon). Steals: 6 (J
Gilchrist 3, L Hamm, M Green, T Jackson).
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VIRGINIA TECH 33 41 - 74
TOWSON 24 43 - 67
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Technical fouls: Towson 1 ( Bench). A: 1,516.
Officials: Bernard Clinton, Earl Walton, Raymond
Perone
2003-2004 Men's Basketball Schedule/Results