BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Virginia played Virginia Tech for the first time ever as ACC opponents last night. Despite this novelty, the game seemed to have the all the makings of another Virginia Cavalier second half road meltdown.
The Virginia Tech Hokies used a 12-3 run to build a 16-point lead that peaked at 60-44, with 11:27 left in the game. However, this time against an arch-rival in front of a sold-out crowd, the Cavaliers found resiliency and were able to cut the Hokie lead to 70-67 with 3:25 left in the contest.
It was not enough, however, as the Hokies (11-6, 4-2 ACC) kept the Cavaliers (10-6, 1-6 ACC) at bay, eventually winning 79-73.
"There are three things that let you win on the road," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "You've got to take care of the ball, you've got rebound, and you've got to make your free throws. We did one of those things."
Virginia snatched 38 rebounds in the game, thirteen more than the Hokies. However, as Gillen pointed out, an exorbitant amount of turnovers -- along with a poor free throw shooting percentage of 59 percent -- doomed the Cavaliers.
Senior center Elton Brown and sophomore guard T.J. Bannister were the main turnover culprits, each committing a team-high five. However, these were only ten of the 22 giveaways that kept Virginia from coming back to take the lead in a hostile Cassell Coliseum atmosphere.
"We know we need to take care of the ball more," said sophomore guard J.R. Reynolds, who scored all of his 10 points in the second half. "That's a credit to their defense. But we have been talking about turnovers all week. We need to come out and be strong with the ball."
The 23-10 run by the Cavaliers in the second part of the second half was fueled by hot-shooting senior forward Devin Smith, who finished with a team-high 24 points. Smith hit two three pointers during that run, and turned the second one into a four-point play by converting a three-pointer while getting fouled. Smith hit the free throw with 3:25 left in the game, trimming the Hokie lead to three.
In the final minutes of the game, Virginia just could not convert. Reynolds threw a ball right through Smith's hands with just over a minute left, with Virginia only down by three. Smith couldn't control the baseline pass that would have set up a game-tying three-point attempt.
On their final possession, Brown scored a layup off a Bannister miss right underneath the goal. He was too far underneath the hoop to get back on defense, however, and Virgin Tech guard Jamon Gordon snuck behind the Virginia defense and threw down a hellacious dunk that put the lead back up to 77-73 and sent the Hokie fans wild.
Virginia Tech center Coleman Collins tormented the Cavaliers in the lane all night long. He finished with 20 points, one of five Hokies who finished in double digits.
In the end, the Virginia Cavaliers could only point to themselves as the reality of a 1-6 start in ACC play began to sink in.
"We just threw it away too often," Gillen said. "It's tough to come back from a sixteen-point deficit on the road against a good team and in this type of tough atmosphere."
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