BLACKSBURG, Va. - Juniors Jeff Allen and Dorenzo Hudson scored 24 points apiece to lead Virginia Tech to a 98-73 victory Wednesday evening in non-conference action at Cassell Coliseum.
The Hokies improved to 7-1 on the season while out-rebounding the Keydets, 59-36. VMI (4-4) stayed in the game throughout the first half despite an eight-minute stretch without a field goal, cutting the margin to four just before halftime.
Tech was too much in the second half, however, outscoring VMI 54-36, led by 18 points from Allen. VMI hit on just three of their 12 three-point attempts in the final 20 minutes while being out-rebounded 29-13.
VMI was led by Austin Kenon's game-high 26 points on 9-of-15 shooting, while Ron Burks notched a career high with his 19 points. Michael Sparks was the only other Keydet in double figures, scoring 11 points by hitting on 3-of-4 three-pointers, upping his season shooting percentage to 51%.
Allen's 24 points came on 10-of-13 shooting, while he also had a game-best 13 rebounds. Victor Davila notched a double-double as well, grabbing 10 boards to go with his 13 points. The ACC's leading scorer, Malcolm Delaney, was held to a season-low nine points on 3-of-14 shooting.
After the Hokies opened the scoring on a 4-0 run, the Keydets rallied to take their first lead of the game on a Keith Gabriel jumper, 5-4. The teams exchanged leads before the Hokies went on an extended, 20-3 run to take their largest lead of the first half, 26-10. The Keydets broke their eight-minute span without a field goal at the 9:19 mark, when Adam Lonon's layup fell, spurring a 7-0 VMI run to cut the margin to nine, 26-17.
Tech pushed the margin to double digits with 2:54 remaining in the half, 40-29, on a dunk by Hudson, whose 19 first-half points represented a game high. The Keydets responded by scoring the next eight points in a 90-second span, led by five from Burks, to draw within four, 41-37, with 1:15 left in the period. Tech scored the final four points of the half to account for the halftime margin, 44-37.
The Hokies scored the first 10 points out of the break in less than two minutes, advancing their advantage to 54-37 on a layup by Davila. The game went back-and-forth over the next 10 minutes, with the lead never moving from between 14 to 18 points until a Wayne Whiting jumper fell to cut the lead to 77-64 with 8:33 remaining.
VMI drew no closer the rest of the way, however, as the Hokies ended the game on an 11-3 run to account for the final margin, 98-73.
The Keydets blocked a season-high nine shots on the evening, but set season lows in steals (5), three-pointers made (8) and three-pointers attempted (25).
VMI returns to action on Saturday afternoon in their first-ever meeting against Seton Hall. Tipoff is scheduled for Noon at the Prudential Center.
