Hokie ClubMalcolm Delaney scored 21 points and Jeff Allen added 17 as the Virginia Tech Hokies opened the 2009-10 season with a 69-55 victory over Brown in an opening round match-up of the Philly Hoop Group Classic played Saturday afternoon at Cassell Coliseum.
With the victory, the Hokies moved to 7-0 in season openers under head coach Seth Greenberg. Brown, an Ivy League school, fell to 1-1 overall on the season.
Tech, which never trailed in the game, broke open a close contest late in the first half with a 16-5 run, taking a 34-19 lead on a free throw by Victor Davila with 1:08 remaining. Five different players scored in that run and Davila led the way with seven of the 16 points.
The Bears cut the lead to five points on two occasions in the second half, the time last coming on an Andrew McCarthy basket with 11:39 left in the game that made the score 45-40. But a Dorenzo Hudson jumper with 10:29 to go gave the Hokies a seven-point lead and Brown got no closer than six the rest of the game.
“There are certain games where you just have to go out and play and win, and then learn from it and move on,” Greenberg said. “We’ll play better. I was happy with what we did on offense. We moved the ball, we were unselfish and we made the extra pass. We were good in transition. There are some positives, for sure. But our post defense was not what I would have expected.”
Offensively, Delaney and Allen both paced the Hokies in the second half. Delaney scored 11 of his 21 in the final 20 minutes, including seven in the final seven minutes, and Allen scored 13 of his 17 in the second half. The two combined to go 14-for-26 from the floor, including 4-of-11 from beyond the 3-point arc, for the game.
“We’ve got a new lineup from last year,” Delaney said. “We’ve got some work to do defensively. I think we were a little confused at times on what we wanted to do, and at times, we were trying to do too much. But we’ll be fine for the next game.”
McCarthy led Brown with 14 points, while Matt Mullery added 13 – the two post players hit 12-of-21 from the floor. The Bears shot a respectable 44.7 percent from the floor and hit 7-of-17 from beyond the 3-point arc, but turned the ball over 17 times.
The Hokies have a quick turnaround before their next game. They’ll take on UNC Greensboro on Tuesday night at Cassell Coliseum. The tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.