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Virginia Tech 75, EA Sports 73 (OT) (Exhibition) by Chris James, TechSideline.com, November 8, 2004
Cooke led the Hokies in scoring with 15 points on 6-10 shooting, including a 2-4 effort from 3-point range. Dowdell shot poorly from 3-point range, going 0-5, but he shot 5-11 from the field overall and hit a couple of clutch shots in the overtime period to help secure Tech’s win. 41 seconds into overtime, EA’s Mark Green hit a 3 pointer to go up 70-67, but Cooke answered with a 3 pointer of his own 30 seconds later to tie the score. The game remained tied until the 1:24 mark, when Dowdell hit a jumper to put the Hokies up by two. After a missed shot by EA’s Calvin Clemons, Dowdell hit another jumper with 39 seconds to play, putting Tech up 74-70. Clemons answered with a layup, was fouled by Allen Calloway, and converted the free throw to make it a one point game with 18 seconds left. Cooke would convert one of two free throws with 8 seconds remaining, and Dowdell came up with yet another big play on EA’s final possession when he forced a turnover, clinching the win for the Hokies. The game started well for Tech, who forced turnovers on EA’s first 4 possessions of the game. Tech converted the turnovers for 6 points with a layup by Dowdell and two monster dunks by the athletic freshman Deron Washington. Washington finished the game with 10 points. The Hokies took their biggest lead of the game at the 9:10 mark of the first half with a 3 pointer by freshman Wynton Witherspoon, which put Tech up 28-7. It looked like Seth Greenberg’s team was going to run away with it, but the Hokies appeared to relax defensively and allowed EA to get back into the game. EA chipped away at the Tech lead for the rest of the game, eventually taking the lead 57-54 on a 3 pointer by Mark Campbell with 8:54 remaining in the contest. It was nip and tuck from that point on, and the Hokies were able to come up with the victory. Virginia Tech was happy to get Carlos Dixon back as well. Dixon, who redshirted during the 2003-04 season with a broken foot, had 14 points and 3 assists for Tech while shooting 50% from the field The Hokies were able to force 28 turnovers, including 17 in the first half. Tech converted those turnovers into 36 points, 29 of which came in the first half. However, the Hokies also have to be concerned about rebounding, as EA outrebounded Tech 34-29. The brightest spot on the boards for Tech was junior guard Shawn Harris, who corralled 6 rebounds, including 4 offensive boards, in just 11 minutes of action. Harris also scored 6 points and gave the Hokies a very nice spark off the bench. Coleman Collins had 6 rebounds to go along with 7 points in 35 minutes. Deron Washington pulled down 5 rebounds for Tech, to go along with 10 points, 5 steals, 1 assist and 0 turnovers in 27 minutes of playing time. Tech returns to action on Friday, November 19 against Loyola (MD) in the regular season opener at Cassell Colieum.
Virginia Tech 75, EA Sports 73 (OT)
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