Virginia Tech jumped out to a 12-0 lead and never let up as they thumped Lamar 88-53 in Cassell Coliseum on Sunday afternoon. The Hokies are now 7-3 on the season, while the Cardinals dropped to 5-5.
Lamar had won three games in a row coming into Saturday's contest, including a 15 point win at Liberty on Friday night. However, they were dominated from the opening tip by the Hokies. The Cardinals never led, and the only time the game was tied was before Justin Bibbs' three-pointer that put Tech up 3-0.
Lamar shot just 33.3% from the field, while the Hokies were 33-of-68 (48.5%). Tech was 9-of-24 (37.5%) from beyond the three-point line. Tech forced 20 turnovers while committing 13 of their own, including just three in the first half. VT won the rebounding battle 46-36. That includes 16 offensive rebounds, which led to 24 second chance points. The Hokies scored 46 points in the paint against former Hokie Tic Price's team.
Tech struggled earlier in the season to get off to good starts. That hasn't been the case over the last two games. They took a 28-8 lead in the road win against Radford, and jumped all over Lamar early in the game. Unlike the Radford game, this time the Hokies kept their foot on the gas for the entire 40 minutes.
"On both ends of the floor [it was the best VT has played for 40 minutes all season]," Buzz Williams said following the game. "For sure."
Virginia Tech put six players in double figures. That includes two players with double-doubles.
Zach LeDay: 19 points, 10 rebounds, 2 blocks
Kerry Blackshear: 11 points, 10 rebounds
Justin Bibbs: 17 points, 5-of-9 three-pointers
Jalen Hudson: 14 points
Chris Clarke: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists
Seth Allen: 10 points, 7 assists, only one turnover
Virginia Tech began going with a starting lineup of Devin Wilson, Justin Bibbs, Jalen Hudson, Chris Clarke and Zach LeDay against Radford. So far, so good.
"It's really been the change of the lineup, I guess, that made us start stronger," LeDay said after finishing with his sixth double-double of the season. "We're coming out and playing hard and focusing on the little things. And getting better on defense, really emphasizing our defense."
For the second straight game, Buzz Williams went with an eight-man rotation. Shane Henry and Satchel Pierce didn't play at all against Radford, and they only played the final 2-3 minutes of the game against Lamar.
Virginia Tech returns to the court next Saturday when they host Grambling State. Tipoff is scheduled for 6pm, and the game can be seen on ESPN3.
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