HOKIES ROUT SAINT FRANCIS
No. 13 Virginia Tech awakens in second half vs. Red Flash
BLACKSBURG — Saint Francis of Pennsylvania suffered a third consecutive beating from a ranked opponent Saturday. But this one was different.
Unlike UCLA and North Carolina, Virginia Tech never allowed the Red Flash second-half hope, cruising to a 75-37 victory at Cassell Coliseum.
“We knew they were a good team,” said Hokies guard Ahmed Hill, Saturday’s leading scorer with 19 points, “and we didn’t want them to stick around, because then you get confidence. … We wanted to put the game away early.”
That Tech did against the Northeast Conference’s preseason favorite. Saint Francis (1-4) lost to UCLA and UNC by a combined 62 points, but trailed by only five early in the second halves of those games.
There was no such uncertainty Saturday.
Leading 33-22 at intermission on Ty Outlaw’s 3-pointer just before the horn, the No. 13 Hokies (5-0 for the first time in six years) hit overdrive to open the second half.