November 29, 2001

Northeastern head coach Ron Everhart - a former Virginia Tech player - said he got chills when he walked through the tunnel of Cassell Coliseum.

Unfortunately for him, his memory of the Tech-Northeastern game won't be as pleasant.

Tech used a 20-2 run to race out to a 22-5 lead from the opening horn and never trailed in routing the undermanned Huskies 79-56 in front of 3,528 fans at Cassell Coliseum. With the win, Tech improved to 4-1 on the season, while Northeastern fell to 0-6.

Tech's quick start buried the Huskies. The Hokies made seven of their first eight shots and nine of their first 12. In contrast, Northeastern made just two of its first 21 attempts and shot just 24.2 percent in the first half. Tech led by 19 at halftime.

"We came out and got some easy steals and that led to some easy baskets," said Carlos Dixon, one of five Tech players in double figures. "And we beat them on the boards pretty bad [47-30 for the game]."

The second half was much like the first as the Hokies led by as many as 33. All five of Tech's starters scored in double figures and no Tech player played more than 29 minutes.

Carlton Carter, Terry Taylor and Brian Chase each scored 12 to pace the Hokies, with Carter adding a game-high 10 boards. Dixon finished with 11 points and Bryant Matthews added 10 for Tech.

For the game, the Huskies shot just 32.3 percent. Tech shot 48.3 percent.

"It's important for us to get off to a good start this season," Chase said. "If we win the ones we're supposed to win, then we'll go into the conference schedule with some confidence and that's important."

Tech takes a huge step up in competition with its upcoming game. The Hokies travel to Charlottesville to face ninth-ranked Virginia this Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

"Hey, they put their pants on the same way we do," Dixon said. "We just need to keep bringing it like we have been."