Notre Dame 74, Virginia Tech 63
by Chris Coleman, 1/20/04
Blacksburg, VA -- Notre Dame took advantage of another night of poor shooting by Virginia Tech to defeat the Hokies 74-63 in front of an announced crowd of 7,270 fans at Cassell Coliseum. The Irish were paced by Chris Thomas with 23 points and Torin Francis with 22 points. Bryant Matthews and Zabian Dowdell scored 19 and 18 respectively for Tech.
For the second consecutive game, the Hokies (8-7, 1-3 Big East) struggled early on the offensive end and could never get into rhythm. Virginia Tech hit just 23 of 65 (35.4%) from the field while Notre Dame (9-5, 3-2) hit 26 of 57 (45.6%). The Hokies never managed to take the lead in the game, cutting the Notre Dame margin to 3 at one point in the first half, and 7 with 2:52 left in the game.
Though Bryant Matthews led the Hokies in scoring, the Irish did an outstanding job defensively on the nation's 3rd leading scorer. Matthews was only 6 of 21 from the field. Notre Dame often used 6-11 inside players Torin Francis and Tom Timmermans on Matthews, who wasn't able to get many open looks.
In the first half, the Hokies did an outstanding job defensively on senior guard Chris Thomas, holding him to just 4 points. However the savvy veteran Thomas took over in the 2nd half, hitting many tough shots including an NBA range 3-pointer that broke the back of the Hokies late in the game.
Notre Dame won the battle on the boards against the smaller Hokies. The Irish outrebounded Virginia Tech 42-37, with Francis pulling down 16. Bryant Matthews had 11 rebounds, giving him yet another double-double.
It doesn't get any easier for the Hokies as they travel to New Jersey to face a very good Seton Hall team (12-4, 2-2) on Saturday. Seton Hall snapped Syracuse's 13-game winning streak with a 74-66 win Tuesday night in the Meadowlands. The VT-Seton Hall game will be televised -- click here for details and check local listings.
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Notre Dame 74, Virginia Tech 63
1/20/04, Blacksburg, VA
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
ND............................ 30 44 74
Virginia Tech................. 22 41 63
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NOTRE DAME (9-5, 3-2)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
T Francis 38 9-12 4-7 5-16 0 2 22
T Timmermans 28 1-3 0-0 0-5 0 4 2
C Thomas 38 7-16 6-7 0-3 5 2 23
C Quinn 38 5-11 0-0 1-5 4 1 13
T Jones 31 1-7 1-2 1-6 2 3 3
R Cornett 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
J Cornette 10 2-3 0-0 1-3 0 5 6
C Falls 16 1-5 3-4 0-1 2 1 5
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TOTALS 200 26-57 14-20 8-39 13 18 74
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Percentages: FG-.456, FT-.700. 3-Point Goals:
8-27, .296 (T Timmermans 0-2, C Thomas 3-9, C
Quinn 3-7, T Jones 0-3, J Cornette 2-2, C
Falls 0-4). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots:
6 (T Francis 4, C Thomas, T Timmermans).
Turnovers: 15 (T Jones 4, T Timmermans 3, T
Francis 3, C Quinn 2, C Falls 2, C Thomas).
Steals: 3 (C Thomas, T Timmermans, C Quinn).
VIRGINIA TECH (8-7, 1-3)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
A Calloway 25 2-3 2-5 2-5 1 3 6
B Matthews 40 6-21 6-9 6-11 3 4 19
C Collins 17 2-7 0-0 0-3 0 2 4
Z Dowdell 38 7-19 2-3 1-5 3 4 18
M Sailes 39 2-5 0-2 2-7 2 2 5
B Randall 19 1-3 0-0 0-1 3 4 3
P McCandies 22 3-7 2-2 0-1 1 1 8
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TOTALS 200 23-65 12-21 11-33 13 20 63
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Percentages: FG-.354, FT-.571. 3-Point Goals:
5-18, .278 (B Matthews 1-4, C Collins 0-1, Z
Dowdell 2-9, M Sailes 1-1, B Randall 1-3).
Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 2 (A
Calloway, P McCandies). Turnovers: 8 (B
Matthews 4, A Calloway 2, Z Dowdell 2).
Steals: 11 (B Matthews 2, A Calloway 2, M
Sailes 2, Z Dowdell 2, P McCandies, C
Collins, B Randall).
Technical fouls: None. A: 7,270. Officials: Donnie
Gray, Raymond Perone, Robert Donato
2003-2004 Men's Basketball Schedule/Results