Hokie ClubATLANTA, Ga. – Virginia Tech completed the regular season with an 88-82 victory at Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in Atlanta. With the win, the Hokies improve to 23-7 and 10-6 in ACC action, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 19-11 overall and 7-9 in conference play.
The victory earns the Hokies a bye in the first round of the 2010 ACC Tournament, to be played in the Greensboro Coliseum March 11-14. The Hokies will be the fourth seed in the tournament and will open play on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m., against the winner of Thursday’s #5 vs. #12 game.
The Hokies played without second leading scorer Dorenzo Hudson, who missed the game do to a bone bruise in his right foot. Freshman Manny Atkins made his first career start in his hometown and contributed five points and career highs of five assists and seven rebounds in a career-high 38 minutes of action.
Tech jumped out to a 45-39 lead at the half, thanks primarily to guard Malcolm Delaney, who scored 17 of his game-high 32 points before intermission. The Hokies led by as many as 17 points in the second half, before Georgia Tech was able to cut the lead to 83-80 with less than a minute to play. Virginia Tech hit their free throws down the stretch and held on for the six point victory.
Delaney’s 32 points led for Hokies in double figures. Jeff Allen added 17 points and 10 rebounds and Bell, who along with Atkins are natives of nearby Stone Mountain, Ga., recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Victor Davila added 10 points for the Hokies. Yellow Jacket post players Gani Lawal and Derrick Favors each scored 18 points in the loss.