Hokies Top Huskies In NIT Thriller

By Debbie Ballard

March 23, 2010

Things weren't going well for the Hokies. Scratching their way back from a 12 point first half deficit has sucked most of the air out of the home crowd.  But when JT Thompson made a three-point shot as the buzzer sounded for half time, pulling Tech to within five points of Connecticut, the crowd in Cassell Coliseum went wild.

Thompson's eight points in a five minute span succeeded in cutting down the lead held by UConn and made a comeback seem possible. Advancing to the next round of the NIT was just barely within their grasp.

Connecticut led by as many as twelve points throughout the first half, many of the points coming on the paint.

The Virginia Tech defense, an aspect of the game the team has prided itself on this season, was lacking.

Also painfully absent was production from the Hokies' top scorer, Malcolm Delaney.

Although physically present on the court for most of the game, the junior guard contributed only one point during the entire half, going 0-6 from the field and 0-2 from beyond the arc.

"The missed shots led to rebounds and scores, so I didn't really mind it, since it led to points anyway," Delaney said about his lack of points.

Indeed, the team's 16 second chance points and Delaney's nine assists set the stage for other teammates to step up. Dorenzo Hudson and Thompson compensated for Delaney's scoring drought, posting 10 points each in the first half.  Hudson finished up an impressive 27 points by the end of the game.

The second half was a complete turnaround from the first 20 minutes of play.

Opening the second frame with a quick dunk from Victor Davila and a two-point jumper from Bell, the Hokies never trailed by more than five points for the remainder of the half.

"We were finishing more, and coming out with 50-50 balls, and that helped us out a lot," Terrell Bell said of the difference between the first and second half.

The defense was tighter, the offense was more aggressive, and the passing was crisper.

"We didn't come in with our heads down. Everybody was upbeat, Coach was upbeat, and so we never felt like we were going to lose the game," said Delaney.

The lead changed nine times in the second half and in keeping such a tense game, the biggest series of plays occurred with less than 30 seconds on the game clock.

With the Hokies down one the defense swarmed and forced a critical backcourt violation on Jerome Dyson, giving the Hokies the potential go ahead possession.  Eight seconds later Delaney found Hudson on a screen for a fallaway jumper that put the Hokies up by one. However 14 seconds remained and a basket by Connecticut would essentially end the Hokies' chances of emerging with a win.

As UConn's Kemba Walker attempted a shot with six seconds left, Jeff Allen pulled through with a huge block. The ball came back to Walker who dumped it to Gavin Edwards under the basket. Edwards wound up missing a point-blank layup that was recovered by Bell who was promptly fouled with less than a second remaining.

Bell sealed the win with a successful free throw, and the Hokies advance to the next round of the NIT.

"It's big. Coach said it's a Hokie win, and we showed great resiliency and came out with a win," Bell said.

Virginia Tech will host Rhode Island at Cassell Coliseum tomorrow at 7 p.m.