BLACKSBURG – Graduate student Ahmed Hill dropped 20 points to lead four Hokies in doubles figures as No. 10 Virginia Tech downed Maryland Eastern Shore 85-40 on Friday night at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum.
Four Hokies (11-1) reached double figures in scoring, including Hill (20), redshirt junior Kerry Blackshear Jr. with 15 points, sophomore Wabissa Bede with a career-high 14 points and sophomore P.J. Horne with 11 points on the night. Tech shot 65 percent from the field and 53 percent from behind the arc with 14 made 3-pointers.
The victory over the Hawks (1-13) notched a school record for consecutive nonconference home wins with 24 in a row for the Hokies. The previous best was 23, which was set twice from 1980-84 and 2005-09. The streak began on Nov. 11, 2016, against Maine.
The Hokies jumped off to a hot start going up 8-0 early on in the first half behind 3-pointers from Blackshear and Bede. Tech would go on a 19-4 run to extend its lead to 30-11 at the 8:49 mark.
Tech entered halftime with a 50-22 advantage behind Bede's 12 points on 4-of-4 shooting from 3 and Blackshear's 10 first-half points. It shot 73.9 percent from the field and 68.8 percent from downtown to gain its lead in the first half. The Hokies hit a season-high 11 first-half 3-pointers, which led to a season-high 50 first-half points.
A steal and slam from senior Justin Robinson got the second half scoring started for the Hokies. Hill would throw down a backwards dunk and knock down a 3-pointer to extend the lead to 63-27 at the 13:36 mark. Hill's 11 points led the way for Tech in second half scoring.
Tech led by as much as 46 in the second half and never let Maryland Eastern Shore come close, as it led wire to wire for all 40 minutes.
(12/28/2018) 2018 MEN'S BASKETBALL vs UMES
NOTES
- Bede notched his career high in points with 14 and sets a career high in 3-pointers made with 4 on the night.
- Hill tied his career high in 3-pointers with six, marking the fifth time he has done so.
- Freshman Jonathan Kabongo set a career high in points with six on the night.
QUOTING HEAD COACH BUZZ WILLIAMS
On how the growth of the team is big-picture wise and the grand scheme of the program:
"First thing I would say is not one person could author something like this. Second thing I would say is it's hard for me to articulate. For me to answer that question, I think that sometimes maybe we talk about success and use it in the wrong context. I think of success as an individual. I think what's happened here was not exclusively success, I think it's more significance. And I think when I think of the word significance and give it context, it means that it's for others. All of the good stuff and all of the bad stuff, there are so many lives that have been impacted through that."
On what he's learned from the team during nonconference play:
""I thought the rep tonight without Nickeil [Alexander-Walker] was so healthy because it put guys with a responsibility level in different positions that they had not been in – that we may need in the next 70-80 days. I think back to the Penn State loss and I think, yeah, that was so good for us. I don't know that we would be in this position without the lessons we learned from that. But how mature our kids have handled that lesson and how explicit the message was from our staff in teaching them that lesson since that time. So, I do think that we have answered some questions."
STAT OF THE GAME
- Tech shot over 60 percent from the field for the first this season and it marked the first time since Feb. 7, 2017, versus NC State. Tech has shot north of 60 percent in six games since the start of last season.
TWEET OF THE GAME
One of the best night's of the season when @HokiesMBB is joined by Buzz's Bunch! I'm thrilled to have my stat guy Grant Braddy with us to help out with tonight's broadcast #GoHokies #getBETTER pic.twitter.com/5EIeFcq24D
— Jon Laaser (@LazeVT) December 28, 2018
WHAT IS NEXT
- The Hokies will play host to Notre Dame (9-3) at Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum on Tuesday, Jan. 1, kicking off ACC play. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPNU.