After trading points, Diakite hit two foul shots with 57.1 seconds remaining to give the Hokies a precarious 66-65 lead, only to have the Dogs rip away the win. On their next possession, Jackson took a dish from senior Corey Butler and slam-dunked the eventual game-winning basket with 27.1 seconds to go.
The Hokies couldn't penetrate the Georgia zone, however, as the possession ended on a poor shot from sophomore Hank Thorns (four points) and another key rebound from Jackson, his fifth of the game and first on the defensive end.
"We drew up a play and A.D. (Vassallo) was open and we missed him," Greenberg said of the final possession. "We got a mismatch, they switched and had Jackson on him and we missed him."
Vassallo, who had a monster first half, scoring 14 points of 5-of-7 shooting and 2-of-3 from three-point range, disappeared in the second half. He only scored nine points and hit his final basket with 8:53 left on the clock. In fact, he did not even attempt another shot the rest of the night.
"Again, I don't think we played with very good poise in the second half," Greenberg said.
The Dogs however, saw the final minute a little bit differently.
"It was really intense" Butler said. "They have guys like (Malcolm) Delaney and Vassallo and he already had 23 points, and he's a heck of a player -- a phenomenal player. I was just trying to gear up and guard him.
"I was hoping my teammates were guarding their guys because we didn't want to give them anything easy. I'm really proud of the defense for just staying in front of the ball and playing for good defense."
Vassallo (23 points) and Delaney (11 points) were the only Hokies to finish in double-digits.
Tech had stretches during the first half where it threatened to run away and hide as it continued to make shots. The Hokies finished the half shooting 53.3 percent and 33.3 percent for 3-point distance, while limiting the Dogs to a 40 percent shooting effort
However, Georgia hung around as the first half ended with the Hokies enjoying a slim 41-38 advantage.
The game was close throughout as no team held a lead larger than five points at any point during a game that featured 13 ties and 11 lead changes.
Tech next takes the floor this weekend when they host the Longwood Lancers on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. in Cassell Coliseum.
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Hmm, perhaps next time someone as good as Stephen Curry wants to come here and play you should offer him a scholarship... Thanks Greenberg, you were right, Curry is way too small to play...
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Way to pass up (or perhaps mom and pop want nothing to do with VT anymore) on Curry's little brother as well. He's averaging 21 points as a freshman at Liberty!!
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Also, we need to save our scholarships for true thugs. The Curry's are good students, well rounded people and actually have a head (and brain) on their shoulders. Way to non-hood for a VT scholarship.
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