COLLEGE PARK, Md.--The Virginia Tech men's basketball team staged a late second-half run Wednesday evening that led to a 69-65 win over the Maryland Terrapins, breaking a three-game losing streak and giving the Hokies their first win in College Park since 1951.
Related: Photo Gallery
"It meant a lot to us," said Virginia Tech head coach Seth Greenberg. "We lost three games in a row. We got embarrassed at North Carolina. We didn't play well against (N.C.) State-- as well as I would've liked. Obviously, Miami's better than (people) think they are. Yeah, it meant a lot to sweep Maryland. Look at those banners. That's a Hall of Fame coach over there. Yeah, it means a lot to us."
The win brings the Hokies to 15-11 overall on the season and 6-6 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, and marks the first ever win by a visiting team in the Virginia Tech-Maryland series since both became members of the ACC.
"It means a lot to me, especially since I haven't gotten a win here," said senior Deron Washington, who finished with 12 points and 5 assists. "Also, after losing three games and coming up here to get a win-- it feels much better, especially for the guys from close ... like Malcolm (Delaney) and Jeff (Allen)."
The Hokies got off to a slow start, just as they had in their previous two road games at North Carolina State and North Carolina. The Terrapins converted on open shots from behind the three-point line and on post feeds to Bambale Osby to take a 12-4 lead.
Four turnovers and two missed free throws didn't help the Tech's cause on the offensive end. The Hokies, for the third consecutive road game, found themselves down by at least 10 points, this time 16-4, less than nine minutes into the game. In fact, it took the Terrapins just over five minutes to open up a double-digit cushion.
"We didn't worry about the turnovers," said Tech guard Hank Thorns. "Mistakes are going to happen, so we just stayed positive with it and we played with it -- it's going to happen."
But Tech began to get things going following two Thorns steals on the defensive end and two A.D. Vassallo baskets helped spark an 8-2 run to bring the score to 18-12.
"I've been working on my defense throughout the season," Thorns said. "I felt like that was a part of me that I could get better at ... Basically, I just use my speed and quickness to help me with my size against bigger guards."
The Terrapins answered with an 8-0 run, sparked by a technical foul call on Greenberg for arguing with officials. Although the run resulted in a 14-point Maryland lead, 28-14, which was its largest of the game, it seemed to have a positive effect on Greenberg's players.
"It kind of fires us up," Washington said of Greenberg's technical foul. "It gets us going a little more. When he gets like that he gets more intense with us ... and we ran with it."
"That was why I did what I did," Greenberg said. "I think we were not in the present and if I had to shock them to get in the present, I was going to shock them to get in the present."
Despite Maryland's momentum, the Hokies would once again respond. An 11-0 run by the visitors in maroon would cut the Terrapin lead to three points -- the smallest it had been since the 18:38 mark.
Empty possessions on the back end of the run prevented the Hokies from pulling closer than 25-28 during the Terrapin scoreless streak that lasted more than nine minutes.
"We started attacking them more instead of letting them attack us," said Tech guard Malcolm Delaney. The Baltimore native scored nine points in his return to his home state. "That's how they were getting a lot of points -- attacking us. We started getting rebounds and attacking them. We got open looks and everybody started finishing."
The game took a turn for the gross with 59.1 seconds remaining when Dorenzo Hudson vomited on Comcast Center floor, resulting in a lengthy stoppage of play.
"I've never seen anybody vomit in a game before in my life," Washington said. "The way he did it was pretty funny ... After the game we got a new nickname for him -- Willie Beamen from 'Any Given Sunday.' He kept on throwing up on the field, so that's what we're about to call him from here on out."
The second half stared at a turtle's pace for both teams. Osby scored the half's first basket at the 16:33 mark on a lay-up and Hudson, fresh off of losing his breakfast, lunch and dinner, scored Tech's first points on a three-pointer from the right side 16 seconds later.
"It was tough," said Jeff Allen who tallied 14 points and as many rebounds. "We just had to fight through it and take care of the ball better and stuff like that."
The Terrapins used the full-court press to force Hokie turnovers, which enabled a 9-0 Maryland run, giving it its first double-digit lead, 43-32, since the 8:13 mark in the first half.
"It puts a lot of pressure on us," said A.D. Vassallo, who finished with 19 points on 5-11 shooting. "They're just trying to get us to shoot the ball as quick as we could so they can get the ball back and score. So, they try to speed the game up."
The Hokies would once again play the role of the comeback kid by amassing an 8-0 run to cut the Maryland lead to two, 47-45. But, once again, Tech didn't cash in on several promising opportunities on which it could have tied the game or even taken the lead.
"We didn't really get frustrated in the second half," Delaney said. "Usually, in the last couple games, we got frustrated a lot and I think that affected our game."
The Hokies took their first lead of the game on a Vassallo three-pointer with 3:32 remaining. The shot was part of a 16-3 Tech run highlighted by multiple three-pointers by Vassallo and Thorns.
"I felt like that was one of the biggest things of the game," Thorns said. "I got A.D. the ball ... Deron found me when he didn't have a shot and I shot with confidence and knocked it down."
The Terrapins scored baskets down the stretch, but they were not enough to overcome Tech's made free-throws that would seal the Hokie victory.
"We just had to hit them," Vassallo said. "There were no excuses. We've got to make the shots to win and everybody stepped up and made the free-throws they had to make."
The Hokies return to the hardwood Saturday afternoon against Georgia Tech in what will be the first of a three-game homestand. In fact, the Hokies won't hit the road again until their regular season finale on March 9 at Clemson.
Saturday's game against the Yellow Jackets is slated for a 2 p.m. tip-off with the game to air on local Raycom affiliates.