Collegiate Times

Terrell Bell drives to the basket against the Spartans Tuesday night. Bell scored six points.

The Virginia Tech men’s basketball team defeated the UNC-Greensboro Spartans 59-46 on Tuesday night, but it wasn’t easy.

In a game where the Hokies were heavily favored and all signs pointed to an easy victory, the Spartans defense pressured the Hokies throughout the night, keeping the game close late into the game.

“Our goal today was really simple,” Tech head coach Seth Greenberg said. “It was just to get a little bit better. ... We’re not where we want to be. That’s what preseason is for and that’s what this time of the year is for.

“I’m not going to lose my mind, I’m going to work each day to try to get our guys a little bit better and a little more confident,” he said.

In the first half, the Hokies hit just 32.4 percent of their field goals and didn’t score a basket in the final four minutes of the half, allowing the Spartans to enter the locker room at halftime tied with the host, 26-26.

The Spartans defense held the Hokies’ star, junior guard Malcolm Delaney, to just six points in the first half on 3 of 10 shooting from the field.

Much of that struggle was due in part to Delaney’s ankle. Midway through the first half, Delaney went up for a layup and came down awkwardly on his foot.

“I took some medicine. It limited the pain, but it was still tough,” Delaney said.

While the injury was obviously bad enough to affect Delaney’s play, he said he is not worried about any long term effects.

“It’s going to kill me tonight ... it’s probably just a sprain. It’s good. It ain’t too bad, it ain’t broken, but it’s probably a bad sprain,” Delaney said.

In the second half, the Hokies finally found a way to jump on top and stay on top.

After the Spartans’ Kyle Randall hit a layup and tied the game at 38 with just under 11 minutes remaining in the game, the Hokies finally showed up to play.

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