Collegiate Times

In their final non-conference contest, the Virginia Tech Hokies hosted Richmond in Cassell Coliseum on Wednesday night, beating the Spiders 62-48.

In a game won by defense, Jeff Allen recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds and 11 points while the Hokies were able to recoil from last year's heartbreaking 52-49 loss to the Spiders in Richmond's Robins Center.

"You're going to see Jeff Allen be a double-double guy the rest of the season," said head coach Seth Greenberg, "I mean not every game, but he has been working his tail off, he is going to be fine."

On the offensive side, sophomore guard Malcolm Delaney led in points with 12, indicating that the score was a reflection of the team's contribution as a whole.

Greenberg noted this, naming several of his other players who stepped it up and helped seal the win.

"Obviously A.D, Malcolm, and Jeff set the tone," he said.  "But Victor's (Davila) giving us good minutes, Cheick's (Diakite) giving us good minutes, (Terrell) Bell was more aggressive in the first half, and Dorenzo (Hudson) looked like he had rhythm."

Although there was never a point where the Hokies felt their lead being threatened, the second half was a little rougher than the first.  Where Tech's field goal percentage declined 14.8 percent to 30 percent, Richmond's climbed to 34.5, yet neither team was able to make a shot from outside the circle after the intermission. 

"They're a very good shooting team," Greenberg said of the Spiders, "That might not have been very reflective tonight...the game was won on the defensive end, and they are a very hard team to defend in terms of spacing and cutting which we worked on to prepare for tonight."

This was the second game of a three game home stand, and the longest time the team will have at home for the rest of the season - one that's barely been cracked open in terms of Atlantic Coast Conference competition.  Cassell hosts the Boston College Eagles this Saturday at 4 p.m., where the Hokies look to add a win to their league record, which currently sits at 1-1.