Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – Erick Green scored a game-high 11 points and 11 different players scored as Virginia Tech rolled to an easy 72-30 victory over North Carolina Central in a non-conference game on Monday night at Cassell Coliseum.
With the win, the Hokies moved to 14-3 overall on the season. Tech wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 13-1 mark.
“We go 13-1 [in the non-conference] and I’m pleased with that,” Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. “We had a good win against Georgia here and we went on the road and beat two good Big Ten teams. We had a neutral-court win over Seton Hall. Those are good wins.
“The next 13 games are a different world. We’ve got to bring it at a high level. We’ve got to be able to win on the road with 75 people [Tech fans] behind our bench and we’ve got to protect our home court.”
Paced by Dorenzo Hudson, who scored eight of Tech’s first 10 points, the Hokies jumped out to a 20-4 lead and never trailed in the game. NC Central hit just two of its first 18 shots and went 4-for-27 from the floor in the first half in trailing 30-8 at halftime.
The Eagles’ eight first-half points marked the fewest points scored in a half by a Tech opponent under Hokies’ head coach Seth Greenberg.
Green, a freshman, hit 4 of 5 from the floor, including two of his three 3-point attempts. He scored eight of his 11 in the second half, including two that came on a left-handed dunk in which he got fouled by Dijon Manns with 6:45 left in the game.
“I could really jump before the season and then I kind of hurt my leg,” Green said. “But I feel like I’m getting my bounce back. I’ve dunked before, but nothing like that where I switched to my left hand.
“I’m glad it [the dunk] came out tonight. I wished my parents were here because they won’t believe me when I tell them.”
The Hokies also got nine points from Hudson and eight points and a career-high nine rebounds from Terrell Bell. Tech guard Malcolm Delaney, the ACC’s leading scorer at 20.9 points per game coming into this one, scored just five points, but played just 23 minutes and only took three shots from the floor.
NC Central (4-16), which saw its two-game winning streak snapped, was led by Nick Chasten, who scored 11 points. Leading scorer C.J. Wilkerson (16.4 ppg) scored just two points on 1 of 11 from the floor before fouling out with 7:38 remaining.
The Eagles shot just 26.5 percent from the floor (13-for-49) and 17.6 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (3-for-17). They committed 21 turnovers.
The Hokies step back into ACC action on Saturday when they take on Boston College. Tip-off is slated for 1:30 p.m.