BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia junior guard Todd Billet could only watch helplessly as his blocked three-point attempt fell short into the hands of Virginia Tech guard Bryant Matthews, who was abruptly fouled by senior forward Travis Watson with nine minutes left in the second half and the Hokies up 52-48.
It was Billet's shooting woes and Watson's foul trouble that opened the door for the Hokies (8-6, 1-2 Big East) to reel off a 33-11 second-half run and embarrass the Cavaliers (10-6, 1-3 ACC) 73-55 last night at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg.
Virginia Tech fans rushed the court after the win, the Hokies' second consecutive victory.
The Cavaliers committed 23 turnovers in the game, compared to only 11 given up by Virginia Tech. Over half of these giveaways were coughed up by Virginia's two starting guards, sophomore Keith Jennifer and Billet, each with six turnovers.
"Six and six from our two starting guards are too many," Virginia Coach Pete Gillen said. "We can't have 23 turnovers any place and expect to win."
Hokie guard Bryant Matthews piled up 30 points, including 22 in the second half, and shot 60 percent from the field.
Tech forward Terry Taylor came off the bench for Virginia Tech to add 10 points and pull down 11 rebounds, virtually dominating the Virginia big men on the boards.
"I thought we had some opportunities in the second half including some shots in the lane that we didn't convert, and that hurt us," Gillen saaid. "They shot the ball well against our zone in the second half and had a lot of second chances."
Virginia Tech opened the game on a 12-2 run, but then Travis Watson drained six points in just over a minute to help give the Cavaliers a 17-15 lead.
The Cavaliers went into the half holding a 30-29 lead, and were up by as much as four after a jumper by sophomore guard Devin Smith gave the team a 44-40 lead with less than 14 minutes to play.
The Hokies quickly took control, however, and after successive turnovers by Billet and Jennifer, grabbed the lead for good on a Matthews dunk to put the score at 48-46.
Virginia was as close as two points with 16 minutes to go, but Travis Watson found himself in foul trouble and the Cavalier defense collapsed. Watson fouled out with 1:48 left in the midst of a 19-3 game-ending Hokie run. The victory was Virginia Tech's first over their in-state rival since 1995.
The Cavaliers were plagued by free-throw shooting woes and shot a pathetic 17 percent from the foul line, making one of six, all shot by sophomore forward Elton Brown. The Hokies hit 17 of 26 from the charity stripe.
Virginia had trouble shooting the ball from the field as well as from the foul line. After strong performances against Duke and Clemson, Billet shot 2-10 from the field and had as many points (six) as he had turnovers.
"This is just one game. I don't think we have to start throwing up red flags," Billet said. "We didn't perform the way we wanted to, but we have to just turn the page."
Junior guard Majestic Mapp played six minutes in the game for the Cavaliers, the longest time he has been on the floor since coming back from a knee injury that has sidelined him for over two years. He also scored his first points, on a three-pointer, and earned his first assist of the season last night.
Last night's defeat was Virginia's fourth in five games, and their third in a row, all road losses.
The Cavaliers will attempt to reverse their losing ways tomorrow night against Wake Forest at U-Hall.
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