November 14, 2006

Virginia Tech-West Florida box score

Virginia Tech 95, West Florida 47

 

BLACKSBURG - For the second straight game, Virginia Tech jumped out to a huge first-half lead and never looked back, dismantling West Florida 95-47 in a non-conference game played Tuesday evening at Cassell Coliseum. With the win, the Hokies moved to 2-0 on the season, scoring more than 90 points for the second straight game.

"On offense, I thought we were unselfish (24 assists), which was a good thing," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "But defensively, we were out there running around trying to get a steal and a run-out and we're not going to be able to do that the rest of the season. I thought our perimeter guys were pretty solid. But up front, we weren't as tough as we needed to be and we didn't catch the ball where we need to.

"I know human nature plays into it with a game like this. I know it was 95-47, but I'm not worried about the score. I'm worried about being disciplined defensively and doing things right. The kids are like, 'Coach, we won by 48.' But we've got to be consistent. If we were consistent, would we have won by 60? I don't know. But I want us to do things right."

The Argonauts, a Division II school from Pensacola, Fla., stayed with the Hokies for the first six minutes of the game and only trailed by two, 15-13, after Daniel Alcorn's 3-pointer with 14:14 left in the first half. But the Hokies went on a 9-1 run after that to take a 24-14 lead, and then they closed the first half with a 13-0 run that put them up 53-26 at the break.

A portion of the second half was delayed when the lights went out in Cassell Coliseum. After a 10-minute delay, workers got the lights to come back and the game resumed, with the Hokies picking up where they left off. The final margin turned out to be the Tech's biggest lead of the night.

A.D. Vassallo led the Hokies with 26 points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. It marked the second time in as many games that Vassallo has scored more points than minutes played. He hit 8-of-14 from the floor, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.

Vassallo paced four Tech played in double figures. Deron Washington added 18 points, six boards and four assists, while Zabian Dowdell scored 17. Jamon Gordon chipped in 11 points and nine assists.

As a team, Tech shot 50 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Argonauts 40-32. Tech also forced 29 turnovers.

"It's hard to tell what we've learned about ourselves after these first two games," Dowdell said. "Teams haven't taken us out of anything. They're not denying the ball. We're basically doing what we want to do. So it's hard to tell how guys are going to respond because they haven't been put in pressure situations. We'll definitely see when we get to Orlando."

The Hokies take a step up on the competition ladder for their next three games as they head to Orlando to play three games in the Old Spice Classic. Tech plays Western Michigan to open the tournament on Thanksgiving night at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2, and then the following day, takes on the winner of the West Virginia-Montana game. ESPN2 or ESPNU will broadcast that game. The finals and the consolation game will be played on Sunday, Nov. 26^th.