Georgia Tech brought the ball down the court, and after a timeout, inbounded the ball under their basket. Ra'Sean Dickey missed a shot from the free throw line, and the rebound came loose. VT's Jamon Gordon fell on top of it and attempted to call timeout, but the referee signaled a jump ball and the possession arrow was pointing to the Yellow Jackets with 10.8 seconds on the clock.

The Jackets inbounded under their basket again. Isma'il Muhammed drove down the right side of the lane, missed a runner and was fouled with 5.5 seconds to go. Muhammed, a 42.4% free throw shooter coming into the game, missed both free throws. The Jackets rebounded the second miss and had two more close-in shots at the basket, from Dickey and Mario West, but missed them both, and time ran out.

It was Virginia Tech's first road victory over a ranked team since the Hokies knocked off #17 Louisville on Jan. 17, 1982. The Hokies (10-6, 3-2 ACC) were able to accomplish two main objectives in the win over the Yellow Jackets (11-5, 2-3): maintain the tough defense they have been playing and slow the tempo of the game down.

Virginia Tech came out and trailed early 4-0 behind two buckets by Muhammad, but the Hokies countered with a 9-2 run behind five Zabian Dowdell points. Georgia Tech then took command at 12:04 and put together a 10-0 run that made the score 22-13. Virginia Tech was able to counter with its own 14-4 run that gave the Hokies the lead with 4:09 remaining in the first half. The two teams traded blows until halftime, where the score stood tied at 33-33.

Dixon, the Hokies’ lone senior, opened the second half with a three point shot and would go on to score 14 of his team-high 21 points after the break. Dowdell made a layup with 9:20 remaining to give Virginia Tech an 11-point lead, the Hokies’ largest in the game at 59-48. The Yellow Jackets then went on a 13-2 tear to tie the game at 61 with 5:48 remaining.

Dixon kept the Hokies in the game with his clutch shooting as the time dwindled. He hit a layup and was fouled on the play to give VT a 64-61 lead. He then did the same thing with 2:04 remaining in the ball game to break a 65-65 tie and make the score 68-65 in favor of the Hokies. The Jackets hit four straight free throws to take their first lead of the second half, 69-68, with just 53.8 seconds remaining. Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg called a timeout to set up what would be the Hokies’ final possession.

The loss is Georgia Tech’s third straight and its first at home since February 25, 2004. The Yellow Jackets’ Bynum led all scorers with 28 points on 9-14 shooting. Like Dixon, Bynum was hot in the second half, hitting 17 of his 28 after the break.

Dowdell, who cramped frequently in the second half and had to be carried off the court after the game, added 18 and Coleman Collins contributed 13. Marquie Cooke was on the floor while Dowdell tried to rest in the second half, but Cooke picked up five fouls, forcing Dowdell to finish the game hampered.

The box score looked almost identical on both sides. The Hokies forced 13 turnovers while the Yellow Jackets forced 12. Georgia Tech grabbed 36 rebounds in comparison to Virginia Tech’s 35. The Hokies stole the ball seven times and shot 44% from the field while the Yellow Jackets shot the same percentage and stole the ball five times.

The Hokies move into fourth place in the ACC at 3-2, trailing Duke (5-0), UNC (5-1), and Wake Forest (4-1). Virginia Tech returns home on Thursday night to play Virginia, who downed Clemson 81-79 Saturday night for the Cavaliers' first ACC win, in what is now a critical conference matchup. The game will be televised by Raycom/Jefferson Pilot.