Dec. 6, 2006
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Deron Washington scored 18 points and had seven rebounds to lead Virginia Tech to a 72-55 victory Wednesday night over Old Dominion.
Zabian Dowdell scored 17 points, had four rebounds and six assists for the Hokies (5-3), and Lewis Witcher added 10.
Valdas Vasylius led the Monarchs (6-3) with 17 points and fouled out with about a minute and a half left in the game. Brian Henderson added 13 points for ODU.
Vasylius now has 971 career points.The Monarchs never led, tying the game only once at the beginning. Tech led 39-30 at halftime.
The Monarchs pulled to within 7 twice in the second half, making it 51-44 on a 3-pointer by Arnaud Dahi and then 57-50 on Henderson's 3-pointer with 7:30 left. A.D. Vassallo answered with a 3-pointer, and the Hokies never let ODU threaten after that.
The Hokies shot 46 percent on field goals to the Monarchs' 39 percent, but ODU connected on 10 of 26 3-pointers, compared to just 3 of 13 for Virginia Tech.
The Monarchs committed 18 turnovers, 14 of them in the first half that the Hokies turned into 21 points. Virginia Tech had nine turnovers.
The Hokies had 10 steals, and Jamon Gordon had three of their nine in the first half.
Virginia Tech started the game with a 20-3 run, which the Monarchs answered with a 15-4 run to make the score 24-18.
ODU had won its last three meetings with the Hokies, who lead their series 13-7.
The Monarchs now break for exams and return to action on Dec. 16 whenthey host South Carolina State, then host UAB on the 18th.