Chestnut Hill, MA -- Leading for a good portion of this contest, the Hokies went cold for over nine minutes late in the game, falling prey to a 17-0 Boston College run and losing by eight, 56-48. Bryant Matthews shot 9-12 from the field and scored 21 points, but his efforts weren't enough.

Virginia Tech took a 40-33 lead with 10:20 to go on a Matthews jumper, and the Hokies (11-13, 4-9 Big East), who had led for nearly 20 minutes, were in good position to shock the Eagles (19-8, 8-6). But the lid slammed shut on the VT basket, and the Hokies went suddenly cold, not scoring again until Matthews hit a three-pointer with 1:06 to go.

In between, Boston College scored 17 straight points, turning the 40-33 deficit into a 50-40 lead. After Matthews cut it to seven points with his three-pointer, BC's Craig Smith missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Matthews gave VT a flicker of hope when he hit another three-pointer and was fouled, with 35 seconds to go.

But with the score 50-46, Matthews missed the free throw, and Chris Dudley had a breakaway jam for BC with 23 seconds to go to put the game out of reach. BC made four free throws down the stretch, and VT's Jamon Gordon made a layup for the final margin.

The Hokies played most of the game without freshman post player Coleman Collins, who is suffering from a bad back. Collins played only 14 minutes and was replaced by Allen Calloway, who had one of his best games, particularly in the first half. Calloway played 36 minutes, scored 7 points, and drew two charges in the first half.

The Hokies were almost out of this one early. Playing man-to-man defense, the Hokies gave up a lot of early easy buckets and fell behind 6-0 and 12-4. Tech coach Seth Greenberg scrapped the man-to-man, switching to a 1-3-1 zone, and took out the ineffective Collins. He also inserted Bryan Randall, and the adjustments spurred the Hokies to a 19-3 run that put them up 23-15 with 4:30 to go in the first half.

BC cut the lead to 25-20 at the half and then continued to push the Hokies in the second half, behind the red-hot shooting of Louis Hinnant. Hinnant, who averages only about five points a game but is a good three-point shooter, hit four of six three-pointers in the second half.

BC tied the Hokies at 27, but VT fought them off, using a 5-0 run to take their 40-33 lead. That's when the wheels fell off. The Hokies had some good looks at the basket during their nine-minute dry spell, but they failed to execute, letting the shot clock expire twice and committing critical turnovers when positioned for a basket.

Matthews was the only player in double-figure scoring with 21. Calloway had 7, and Philip McCandies and Zabian Dowdell each had 6. VT shot 42 percent (21-50), but again had a difficult field goal defense game, surrendering 21-39 shooting (53.8%), including 5-12 from three-point range (41.6%).

Tech returns home for a sold-out game against West Virginia (14-9, 6-6) on Saturday at noon. The Hokies are still clinging to 11th place in the Big East and can take a big step towards the BE Tournament with a win on Saturday.

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