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Western Michigan 74, Virginia Tech 68 by Chris James, TechSideline.com, 12/22/04
The Hokies (5-4, 0-1 ACC) were led in scoring by senior guard Carlos Dixon, who scored 14 points on 5-10 shooting. Sophomore guard Zabian Dowdell added 13 for Tech. Shawn Harris and Jamon Gordon chipped in with 10 points apiece. The Hokies, who have now lost 4 of their last 5 games, got off to a slow start in the contest. Western Michigan (7-3, 1-0 MAC), winners of 26 games last season, scored the first 10 points of the game, and the Hokies didn’t get on the scoreboard until the 14:30 mark of the first half when Zabian Dowdell scored on a breakaway dunk. The game was back and forth after that, with Tech finally able to take the lead with 6:32 remaining in the first half on a layup by Carlos Dixon. That shot put the Hokies up 26-24, and the teams would trade the lead for the remainder of the half, with the game tied at 35 heading into intermission. Tech only led at one point in the second half, with Zabian Dowdell scoring a layup after collecting a missed 3-pointer by Carlos Dixon. That shot put Tech up 37-35, but the Hokies were never able to gain control of the game after that point. Western Michigan regained the lead and never relinquished it, leading by as many as 7 points in the second half. The key play in the game came with Western Michigan leading 69-66 and just under 30 seconds remaining. With WMU in possession, Jamon Gordon blocked a shot by Reed, and the ball rolled back to halfcourt with 3 seconds remaining on the shot clock. Virginia Tech freshman forward Deron Washington made a freshman mistake and committed a foul that sent Western Michigan's Stane’s Bufford to the line. Bufford connected on two free throws, putting the game out of reach for Tech at 71-66 with 24 seconds left. The Hokies were again outrebounded by their opponent. The Broncos had 33 rebounds to Tech’s 31. The Hokies were led in rebounding by Gordon, who pulled down 8 boards. Dowdell was close behind with 7 rebounds, this despite the fact that Gordon and Dowdell are the shortest players on Virginia Tech’s roster. Gordon also had 6 assists and 3 steals to complete another solid game. The lack of an inside presence continues to haunt the Hokies. Starting center Robert Krabbendam did not score or get a rebound, and he played only 4 minutes. Backup Allen Calloway scored 2 points and had 6 rebounds. Regular starting center Coleman Collins remains sidelined while recovering from foot surgery. Collins was expected to play tonight, and he dressed out, but a game time decision by doctors kept him on the bench. Virginia Tech returns to action on Monday, December 27 when they host Morgan State (3-6, 1-1 MEAC) in Cassell Coliseum. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. and will not be televised.
WESTERN MICH (74)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
L Rost 33 6-13 2-2 1-6 1 2 19
J Reitz 20 5-8 0-0 2-3 0 4 10
R Willis 36 4-7 0-0 0-1 7 0 8
S Bufford 33 5-8 3-3 5-7 0 2 14
B Reed 32 5-13 6-9 1-6 4 4 20
S Laku 16 1-4 0-0 1-3 0 0 3
A Hershberger 9 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
D Hess 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
J Bronson 16 0-1 0-0 1-2 1 4 0
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TOTALS 200 26-54 11-14 11-28 13 16 74
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Percentages: FG-.481, FT-.786.
3-Point Goals: 11-27, .407 (L Rost 5-10, R Willis 0-3, S
Bufford 1-1, B Reed 4-9, S Laku 1-4).
Team Rebounds: 5.
Blocked Shots: 3 (L Rost 2, J Reitz).
Turnovers: 18 (J Reitz 6, J Bronson 4, B Reed 3, S Bufford 2,
R Willis, S Laku, L Rost).
Steals: 6 (S Bufford 2, R Willis, J Bronson, S Laku, A Hershberger).
VIRGINIA TECH (68)
fg ft rb
min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
C Dixon 38 5-10 3-5 1-1 2 3 14
R Krabbendam 4 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Z Dowdell 31 6-13 0-0 3-7 2 3 13
D Washington 20 3-5 1-2 0-0 0 1 7
J Gordon 39 5-14 0-1 4-8 6 4 10
S Harris 13 4-6 0-0 2-4 0 2 10
W Witherspoon 19 2-4 0-0 2-2 4 1 5
M Cooke 22 3-5 0-0 0-2 1 2 7
A Calloway 14 1-4 0-0 3-6 1 1 2
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TOTALS 200 29-62 4-8 15-30 16 17 68
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Percentages: FG-.468, FT-.500.
3-Point Goals: 6-15, .400 (C Dixon 1-4, R Krabbendam 0-1, Z
Dowdell 1-3, J Gordon 0-1, S Harris 2-2, W Witherspoon 1-2,
M Cooke 1-2).
Team Rebounds: 1.
Blocked Shots: 5 (D Washington 3, C Dixon, J Gordon).
Turnovers: 16 (J Gordon 4, Z Dowdell 3, D Washington 3,
M Cooke 3, S Harris 2, W Witherspoon).
Steals: 8 (J Gordon 3, S Harris 2, C Dixon, W Witherspoon, D
Washington).
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WESTERN MICH 35 39 - 74
VIRGINIA TECH 35 33 - 68
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Technical fouls: None. A: 9,847. Officials:
Bernard Clinton, David Guthrie, Ray Natili
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Blacksburg,
VA - The Western Michigan Broncos used a hot outside shooting performance to down Virginia Tech 74-68 at Cassell
Coliseum on Wednesday night. The Broncos shot 11-27 (40.7%) from 3-point range for the night and totaled 26-54 (48.1%)
from the field. WMU was led in scoring by Ben Reed who scored 20 points on 5-13 from the field. Levi Rost added 19
points for the Broncos. The two players combined for 9 3-pointers.