March 9, 2006

Virginia Tech-UVa box score

Virginia 60, Virginia Tech 56

 

GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Virginia Tech Hokies rallied from a 10-point deficit early in the second half to grab the lead, but Virginia managed to outscore the Hokies 10-2 to end the game as Tech fell 60-56 to its in-state rivals in the first round of the ACC tournament played Thursday night at the Greensboro Coliseum.

With the loss, Tech finished the season with a 14-16 overall record. The Hokies, who lost to UVa for the third time this season, lost six of their final seven games to close out the year. UVa improved to 15-13 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals to meet North Carolina, the No. 2 seed in the tournament.

This game ended like so many others have for the Hokies this season. Tech lost for the 12^th time in games decided by six points or less and finished 3-12 in those games.

"This game was like a microcosm of our season," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "I thought we were in good shape, but we couldn't come up with a key rebound and we missed some opportunities at the free-throw line. We played hard and we competed on the defensive end.

"We had chances and we let those chances go. I've always said there's a very thin line [between winning and losing]. We just weren't able to cross that line."

The Hokies appeared to be in good shape late in the game, rallying from that 10-point early second-half deficit and taking a 54-50 with 6:07 left in the game on a basket by Zabian Dowdell. But Tech scored just two points the rest of the way, and despite getting three great looks at the basket late, just couldn't overtake the Cavaliers.

Tech trailed by one, 57-56, with a little over a minute left in the game when Jamon Gordon misfired on a wide-open 3-pointer from the wing. UVa's Laurynas Mikalauskas - a thorn in Tech's side the entire game - then hit one of two free throws with 36.2 seconds remaining to give the Cavaliers a 58-56 lead.

On the Hokies' next possession, Dowdell took a short runner down the lane, but couldn't knock it down. Tech immediately fouled after the miss, sending Adrian Joseph to the line with 19.6 seconds left. Joseph made one of two to give the Cavs a 59-56 lead.

Tech then called a timeout with 15.6 seconds left to set up a play - and the Hokies got yet another great look. A.D. Vassallo found himself open on the wing, but he misfired on a 3-pointer that would have tied the game. Tech again fouled, sending J.R. Reynolds to the line with 8.8 seconds left.

Reynolds made one of two to put the game away for the Cavaliers and finish off the Hokies.

"We had good looks," Dowdell said. "We just couldn't make them. I had that runner in the lane that I thought was going in, and both Jamon and A.D. had good looks. We just couldn't convert."

Reynolds, a Roanoke, Va., native, hurt the Hokies, scoring a game-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the floor. But Mikalauskas probably hurt Tech more. He finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end that enabled the Cavaliers to get extra possessions. UVa beat Tech on the glass 38-31.

Dowdell, the junior from Pahokee, Fla., led the Hokies with 15 points, but hit just 5-of-14 from the floor. He also finished with four assists, four steals and three rebounds.

Tech got a career game from senior guard Shawn Harris, who kept the Hokies in the game. Harris, who had played all of five minutes in the previous 11 games and had scored just 24 points the entire season, finished with 12 points in 12 minutes of action, hitting 5-of-6 from the floor.

Led by Harris, the Hokies' bench outscored UVa's bench 24-2. Take out Harris' shooting and the Hokies shot just 37.5 percent from the floor. Tech finished at 42.6 percent.

"I have a lot of pride in what I do on the basketball court, but it's a team effort," Harris said. "If I could give back my 12 points and have us win, I would have done that. I was all about getting the 'W' and trying to advance. But it didn't work out."

Harris, Allen Calloway and walk-on Bob Ritchie are the only seniors on this season's squad. Next season, the Hokies return all five starters and their top nine players.

"It's probably too early to be talking about goals for next year," said Gordon, who will be a senior. "But I know every team's goal is to make it to the [NCAA] Tournament and I don't think my career would end right if we didn't make it."