Virginia Tech got off to a slow start, but eventually crushed an overmatched Grambling State team 87-52 in Cassell Coliseum on Saturday night. The Hokies improved to 8-3 on the season, while the Tigers dropped to 2-9.
Tech led just 35-32 at halftime, but poured it on in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 52-20 for the easy win. The Hokies didn't play well in the first half, but part of that was due to their different starting lineup. For the previous two games, Tech played very well with the following starting lineup...
G Devin Wilson
G Jalen Hudson
G/F Justin Bibbs
G/F Chris Clarke
F Zach LeDay.
However, Buzz Williams went with the following starting lineup against Grambling State...
G Justin Robinson
G Seth Allen
G Matt Galloway (walkon who was a team manager last season)
F Kerry Blackshear
F Shane Henry
Buzz noted on the postgame that the regular starters did not perform well in practice during the week, and he isn't going to reward players for bad practices by starting them. LeDay didn't get into the game until the second half, and Chris Clarke didn't play at all due to an illness.
Once the starters were on the court for the second half, the Hokies had their way with Grambling State. Justin Bibbs had a huge night, scoring a career-high 31 points. He also tied Malcolm Delaney's school record with seven three-pointers in a game. He was 7-of-10 from the outside against the Tigers.
There were several other good performances as well...
Kerry Blackshear: 11 points, 12 rebounds.
Seth Allen: 13 points, 7 rebounds
Zach LeDay: 14 points, 9 rebounds in just 19 minutes
Justin Robinson: 8 points, 7 assists, only one turnover
Blackshear became the first Tech freshman since Jeff Allen to record a double-double in back-to-back games.
The Hokies outrebounded Grambling State 38-29. That includes 17 offensive rebounds, and Tech scored 13 second chance points. They scored 42 points in the paint against the overmatched Tigers, and scored 24 points off 24 Grambling State turnovers.
Virginia Tech returns to action on Tuesday when they play St. Joseph's in Brooklyn. The game will tipoff at 1pm, and can be seen on ESPN3.com.
Box Score