Collegiate Times

The Virginia Tech Hokies used a combination of strong defense and accurate shooting to knock off nationally ranked University of Connecticut last night, 95-74.

The Huskies entered the contest ranked 18th and 17th in the Associated Press and Coaches poll, respectively, but were unable to get on track against a fired up Tech team and 4,557 screaming fans.

?I?d like to thank the crowd and fans that came out to support us,? said head coach Ricky Stokes. ?They added a good spark to us ? it was nice to go through the tunnel and see such a fired up crowd.?

The Hokies gave the fans ample reason to get excited, as they started the game strong and never let up.

The first 10 minutes of the game was a tight, see-sawing affair that neither team could take control of.

Tech really took control of the game at the 9:13 mark, as Bryant Matthews laid in two of his 13 points off a beautiful, behind the back pass from Brian Chase. The crowd erupted at the play that put the Hokies up 23-15 and forced UConn to take a timeout.

Tech came out of the timeout confident and continued to swarm the Huskies on defense causing them to turn the ball over 13 times in the first half.

Offensively, the Hokies? found their groove as they shot four of nine from three-point range and 14-18 from the free throw line, taking a 44-28 lead at the half.

?You have to give our team a lot of credit, they showed a lot of heart, showed a lot of fire and came out ready to play,? Stokes said.

Eager to hold on to their 16-point lead, Tech raised their level of play in the second half and never let UConn back in the game.

Unfazed by the Huskies? full-court press, the Hokies patiently ran their offense and extended their lead to as much as 20, with 13:08 left in the contest.

Defensively, Tech used a variety of zone sets to confuse and frustrate UConn, especially high-scoring guard Ben Gordon who was held to 13 points on 3-11 shooting.

Gordon, who entered the game averaging 21.1 points, was without the help of speedy point guard Taliek Brown for much of the second half who broke the index finger on his left hand early in the half.

The Huskies seemed lost on offense without Brown at the helm and the Hokies took full advantage, outscoring UConn 51-46 in the second half.

Senior Terry Taylor and junior Carlos Dixon provided a lethal inside-outside combination for Tech, pouring in 19 and 21 points respectively. Taylor also added nine rebounds in his 27 minutes of play and was named the game?s most valuable player.

?We are learning how to play together now, learning how to put teams away,? Taylor said. ?When we play hard, we know we are capable of winning games.?

The win marked the Hokies? first victory over a team ranked nationally since 1995 and improved the Hokies to 2-5 in the Big East and 9-11 overall.

?Some nights we come out and play like a Top-25 team and other times we come out and play like we?re not there,? said guard Eric Branham ?We just have to take this as a positive lift and go from here.?