Villanova 80, Virginia Tech 68
by Chris Coleman, 2/18/04
Philadelphia, PA -- The Villanova Wildcats took advantage of a very impressive night of shooting to knock off Virginia Tech by the score of 80-68. Allan Ray crushed the Hokies from 3 point range, hitting 6 of 9 from downtown en route to a game high 29 points. Ray was 9 of 15 from the field overall. Virginia Tech was once again led in scoring by Bryant Matthews, who finished with 16 points and 7 boards. However it was a tough night for Matthews, who played his worst game of the year with NBA scouts in attendance. Matthews got in foul trouble early and only had 2 points at halftime.
With 2:28 remaining in the first half, the Hokies (10-12, 3-8 Big East) trailed by only 4 points, 36-32. However, the Wildcats (14-10, 6-5 Big East) were able to take a 10 point lead into halftime, leading Tech 46-36. The beginning of the 2nd half was no different than the first half, with both teams trading buckets and Villanova able to maintain the lead. With 13:41 left in the game and leading 55-45, the Wildcats began a 10-0 run that would bury the Hokies' chances of stealing a road win. Tech would later cut the deficit to 9 points late in the game, but it was not enough.
Virginia Tech came into the game in 13th place in the Big East in free throw shooting, and they did nothing to move up in the rankings against Villanova. The Hokies were only 14-29 (48%) from the charity stripe for the game. Overall, the Hokies played a decent offensive game, hitting 25-57 (44%) from the field. However they could not match the red-hot Wildcats, who shot 27-42 (64%) for the contest. Villanova also outrebounded the Hokies 34-26. Virginia Tech was able to stay in the game by forcing turnovers, scoring 27 points off turnovers compared to 19 for Villanova. The Hokies forced 24 turnovers and only turned the ball over 11 times.
Tech did get a good night from freshman guard Jamon Gordon. Gordon, who leads the Big East in steals per game, finished with 12 points, 6 assists and 3 steals. Fellow freshman Coleman Collins added 11 points and 6 rebounds for the Hokies.
Despite the loss, the Hokies still remain in 12th place in the Big East conference at 3-8, ahead of Miami (3-9) and St. John's (1-10). They are also only one game behind 11th place Georgetown (4-7), who lost a shocker to St. John's Wednesday night. Virginia Tech returns home on Saturday night to take on the St. John's at 7 p.m.
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Villanova 80, Virginia Tech 68
2/18/04, Philadelphia, PA
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
VIRGINIA TECH.................. 36 32 68
RUTGERS........................ 46 34 80
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VIRGINIA TECH (10-12, 3-8)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
B Matthews 32 5-12 6-12 3-7 0 4 16
C Collins 33 5-9 1-2 4-6 1 1 11
Z Dowdell 27 4-12 0-0 0-1 0 1 8
J Gordon 34 4-10 2-4 3-3 6 4 12
M Sailes 36 3-4 2-2 1-4 3 2 9
B Randall 11 1-4 0-2 0-0 0 2 3
A Calloway 10 0-1 1-2 0-1 0 5 1
S Harris 12 1-2 2-2 0-0 1 0 4
P McCandies 5 2-3 0-3 1-1 0 2 4
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TOTALS 200 25-57 14-29 12-23 11 21 68
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Percentages: FG-.439, FT-.483. 3-Point Goals:
4-14, .286 (B Matthews 0-1, C Collins 0-1, Z
Dowdell 0-3, J Gordon 2-4, M Sailes 1-1, B
Randall 1-3, S Harris 0-1). Team Rebounds: 3.
Blocked Shots: 1 (J Gordon). Turnovers: 12 (Z
Dowdell 3, B Matthews 2, J Gordon 2, C
Collins 2, A Calloway, P McCandies, M
Sailes). Steals: 12 (J Gordon 3, S Harris 2,
M Sailes 2, Z Dowdell 2, B Matthews, C
Collins, B Randall).
VILLANOVA (14-10, 6-5)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
J Fraser 28 3-4 1-2 1-6 0 2 7
C Sumpter 28 5-6 1-2 2-9 0 4 11
R Foye 24 7-8 0-0 0-2 2 5 16
M Nardi 31 2-6 8-11 0-1 6 3 12
A Ray 36 9-15 5-9 0-5 4 1 29
A Bloch 8 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 2 2
D Snowden 25 0-1 1-2 0-1 2 4 1
C Charles 6 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 0 0
W Sheridan 14 0-0 2-2 1-3 0 5 2
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TOTALS 200 27-42 18-28 5-30 14 26 80
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Percentages: FG-.643, FT-.643. 3-Point Goals:
8-16, .500 (R Foye 2-3, M Nardi 0-4, A Ray
6-9). Team Rebounds: 4. Blocked Shots: 2 (J
Fraser, W Sheridan). Turnovers: 23 (M Nardi
6, R Foye 5, C Sumpter 5, A Ray 4, C Charles,
A Bloch, W Sheridan). Steals: 7 (A Ray 4, D
Snowden, C Sumpter, M Nardi).
Technical fouls: Virginia Tech 2 (B Matthews,
Team). A: 6,500. Officials: Bryan Kersey, James
Haney, Tim Higgins
2003-2004 Men's Basketball Schedule/Results