BLACKSBURG, Va. -- Erick Green scored 21 points to lead
Virginia Tech to an 80-62 victory over East Tennessee State on Saturday
in the season opener for both teams.
The Hokies made a winner of coach James
Johnson in his debut. Johnson replaced Seth Greenberg last May when the
school fired Greenberg after nine seasons.
The Hokies' first-half shooting was too
much for the Buccaneers, as Virginia Tech shot 56.5 percent from the
floor (13 of 23) in running out to a 15-point lead. Green scored 14
points in the first half and Robert Brown added 13 for the Hokies,
hitting three 3-pointers. Brown, coming off foot surgery this summer,
finished with 16.
Freshman Lester Wilson came off the
bench to lead the Buccaneers with 20 points. ETSU, which trailed by as
many as 25 in the second half, shot just 38.7 percent from the floor (24
of 62).
