No. 22 Virginia Tech 92, UNC-Greensboro 70

No. 22 Virginia Tech 92, UNC-Greensboro 70

Published Nov. 21, 2010 9:15 p.m. ET

Virginia Tech sure could get used to winning like this at the Greensboro Coliseum.

Not that the Hokies are thinking much about March just yet.

Malcolm Delaney scored 23 points, Dorenzo Hudson added 17 and the 22nd-ranked Hokies routed North Carolina-Greensboro 92-70 on Sunday.

Jeff Allen also finished with 17 points, and Virginia Tech (2-1) shot 53 percent, forced 29 turnovers, turned them into 37 points and bounced back from a 16-point loss at No. 3 Kansas State.

ADVERTISEMENT

Chances are, the Hokies won't have quite this easy of a time in their next visit to this arena: The Atlantic Coast Conference once again will hold its tournament here in mid-March.

''If you think our guys are thinking that far in advance ... they're wondering if they're going to get food or post-game meal money,'' Tech coach Seth Greenberg quipped. ''That's what they're wondering. Our guys can't think that far ahead.''

Kyle Randall scored 15 points and Aloysius Henry had 14 for UNC Greensboro (0-3). The Spartans shot 56 percent but had serious trouble taking care of the ball. They fell to 1-34 against ACC teams and remained winless in 24 tries against nationally ranked opponents.

''Today, for us, was turnover day,'' coach Mike Dement said.

UNC Greensboro moved its home games to the Greensboro Coliseum before the 2009-10 season, and since then, ACC teams have been eager to come to town to familiarize themselves with the rims and sight lines at the arena.

Virginia Tech was the sixth team from that league in the past 12 months to come to UNC Greensboro - with visits from No. 1 Duke and Miami still looming - and the Spartans couldn't keep it closer than 15 points against any of them.

Their only victory against the ACC came three years ago at Georgia Tech, but for a while, they thought an upset might be brewing after they built a 12-5 lead roughly 6 1/2 minutes in.

''We can take from that (early lead) and build off that and try to sustain it throughout the first half and throughout the whole game,'' Randall said. ''Hopefully, this week, we'll realize that and we'll come out every game and sustain it, and we can play with just about anybody.''

The Hokies, whose last appearance here was a loss to Miami last March in the ACC tournament quarterfinals, are 4-8 in this building. They were 4 of 16 from 3-point range in improving to 7-0 in the series and 1-1 on their current five-game swing away from Blacksburg, Va.

Next up is a trip to Anaheim, Calif., for the 76 Classic, which starts Thursday.

Delaney reached the 20-point mark for the 35th time and Hudson hit double figures for the 13th straight game, which gave Virginia Tech plenty of breathing room with an 11-4 run after UNC Greensboro closed within 10 with 16 1/2 minutes to play.

Erick Green finished with 10 points and gave the Hokies their first 20-point lead with a dunk in transition that made it 70-50 with 8 1/2 minutes left.

''We've got to play like junkyard dogs in terms of not getting extended out, but more importantly, just tracing the ball and putting good ball pressure on the ball and being active, being alert, seeing plays,'' Greenberg said.

Delaney scored 11 points during a 5-minute flurry midway through the first half that partly coincided with the 15-2 run that put the Hokies ahead for good.

Most of the star guard's early points came in transition after turnovers. His layup off a Spartans turnover made it 14-12 with about 12 minutes left in the half, and his free throw with 14.9 seconds before the break pushed the lead into double figures to stay.

''We've really put an emphasis this week about getting out in transition, running, not waiting on the ball and sprinting and not slowing down at halfcourt and pitching it ahead,'' Greenberg said.

Korey Van Dussen finished with 11 points for the Spartans, who shot 62 percent in the first half but couldn't overcome 16 turnovers before the break.

share