Virginia Tech 80, VMI 56
by Will Stewart, TechSideline.com, 12/10/03
Blacksburg, VA -- The Hokies ended the first half with a 25-4 run, breaking open a tie game into a rout, and Virginia Tech cruised to victory over VMI, 80-56. The Hokies were led once again by Bryant Matthews, who had 26 points and 8 rebounds, and Zabian Dowdell had his second 18-point game in a row, adding five assists.
With the score tied 19-all, the Hokies went on a huge run, scoring 23 points in a row and running out to a big 44-23 half time lead. The key to the run was Tech switching defensively to a 1-3-1 zone, putting them in position to interrupt the passing lanes of VMI's "flex" offense, make steals, and get out on the fast break. The Hokies forced 24 VMI turnovers for the game, scoring 40 points off of those turnovers.
At one point in the second half, the Hokies had opened up a 27-point lead, doubling up VMI 54-27 and capping a dominating 35-8 VT run.
Virginia Tech was very generous with the basketball, assisting on 24 of their 33 field goals. The guard trio of Jamon Gordon (8 assists, 1 turnover), Markus Sailes (7 assists, 1 turnover) and Dowdell (5 assists, 1 turnover) combined for a remarkable 20 assists against just 3 turnovers. As a team, the Hokies had 13 turnovers and 15 steals (4 by Gordon).
Virginia Tech improves to 4-3 on the season, and VMI drops to 1-5. The Hokies' next game is Saturday, December 13th, against Radford at home, at 7 p.m.
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Virginia Tech 80, VMI 56
12/10/03, Blacksburg, VA
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Virginia Tech................. 44 36 80
VMI........................... 23 33 56
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VMI (56)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
M Murrer 24 3-4 0-0 0-2 3 2 7
S Mielnik 15 1-2 2-2 2-2 0 2 4
T Allmond 28 2-7 0-0 3-4 0 3 4
F Robinson 20 3-10 0-0 2-6 0 1 7
R Little 29 2-6 0-0 1-3 4 0 4
T Mankevicius 12 2-3 0-0 1-2 0 0 4
M Coward 11 0-6 0-0 1-2 2 0 0
P Beverly 18 3-7 0-0 4-6 1 1 6
L Joseph 22 7-11 0-0 0-1 1 1 18
J Castleberry 14 0-3 0-0 0-3 2 1 0
C Ezekwe 7 0-2 2-2 2-3 0 1 2
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS 200 23-61 4-4 16-34 13 12 56
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Percentages: FG-.377, FT-1.000. 3-Point
Goals: 6-23, .261 (M Murrer 1-2, F Robinson
1-6, R Little 0-2, M Coward 0-3, L Joseph
4-7, J Castleberry 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3.
Blocked Shots: 3 (T Allmond, T Mankevicius, C
Ezekwe). Turnovers: 24 (R Little 6, F
Robinson 5, M Coward 4, T Mankevicius 3, S
Mielnik 2, M Murrer 2, L Joseph, C Ezekwe).
Steals: 5 (M Murrer 2, R Little, M Coward, L
Joseph).
VIRGINIA TECH (80)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Matthews 35 11-16 4-5 5-8 1 3 26
P McCandies 25 5-10 3-5 2-5 0 1 13
Z Dowdell 35 7-12 0-0 1-5 5 3 18
J Gordon 29 5-9 0-0 1-2 8 0 11
M Sailes 29 1-6 0-0 0-1 7 1 2
F Davis 12 2-3 0-0 0-4 2 0 4
B Ritchie 5 0-1 2-2 0-2 1 0 2
M Lattimore 6 1-3 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
A Calloway 18 1-4 0-0 2-2 0 0 2
C Tucker 6 0-2 0-1 0-1 0 0 0
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TOTALS 200 33-66 9-13 13-32 24 8 80
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Percentages: FG-.500, FT-.692. 3-Point Goals:
5-13, .385 (Z Dowdell 4-6, J Gordon 1-3, M
Sailes 0-2, B Ritchie 0-1, C Tucker 0-1).
Team Rebounds: 1. Blocked Shots: 4 (B
Matthews, A Calloway, P McCandies, J Gordon).
Turnovers: 13 (B Matthews 4, A Calloway 2, F
Davis, P McCandies, M Sailes, Z Dowdell, J
Gordon, M Lattimore, B Ritchie). Steals: 15
(B Matthews 4, J Gordon 4, M Sailes 3, P
McCandies 2, Z Dowdell 2).
2003-2004 Men's Basketball Schedule/Results