70

74

Editor's Note: Before Kevin gets into all this, I have to say that beating UNC makes me extremely happy. As a Virginia Tech Alumnus, and a long-time Kansas fan, seeing Roy Williams is pretty much the greatest thing ever. Shout out to Malcolm Delaney, who is my freaking hero.

Forget the fact that UNC is 13-9 and 2-5 in the ACC. It's still the University of North Carolina and any win over the Tar Heels is a big win for the Hokies. Thursday's 74-70 win marked the first win over UNC in six tries and it moved the Hokies to 4-3 in the ACC. With Clemson coming to town tomorrow, the win provides a chance to move to two games over .500 in the ACC with a win Saturday.

The Hokies (17-4, 4-3) got out to a great start in front of a raucous Cassell Coliseum crowd. Tech got off to a 12-point lead on three separate occasions in the first half, but UNC used a 14-2 run to tie the game at 24-24. The Hokies increased their lead back to four before the Heels ended the first half on a 6-0 run to take a 35-33 lead at halftime.

Unlike the second half in Chapel Hill, the Hokies never folded, and instead, surged ahead midway through the second half. Tech took the lead on a Malcolm Delaney jumper with 14:55 to go and never trailed again.  Delaney went on to nail two consecutive three-pointers, breaking a streak of 20 consecutive three-pointers missed. However, to the chagrin of Hokie fans, Delaney picked up his fourth foul with 12 minutes left to play, forcing him to sit for the next seven minutes.

The Heels immediately scored five straight points to drop the lead to two, but the Hokies responded with a 7-0 run of their own to take their largest lead of the second half at nine points. Tech seemed to be skating on think ice over the remainder of the game as Terrell Bell, Victor Davila, JT Thompson and Jeff Allen all picked up their fourth foul to join Delaney.

Thankfully for Hokie fans, none of the players picked up their fifth foul to disqualify them, despite playing suffocating defense. Leading by four, the Hokies turned the ball over with a little more than a minute to go, and Larry Drew cut the lead in half with an easy layup. After Delaney nailed two crucial free throws with 36 seconds to go, Terrell Bell came up with a huge block on a Marcus Ginyard three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining.

Will Graves and Larry Drew missed three-pointers on the next two possessions, and the Hokies hit their free throws to seal the victory. Drew made a pointless three-pointer at the buzzer to make the final margin 74-70.

Malcolm Delaney (called it for the third straight time) led the Hokies with 21 points, including two crucial three-pointers to break his cold streak. Dorenzo Hudson added 17 points and Jeff Allen had one of his best games in recent memory with 14 points and seven rebounds. Terrell Bell also had a great defensive game with 11 rebounds against a taller UNC front court.

Now, the Hokies face a quick turnaround game against the Clemson Tigers (16-6, 4-4) at 4 p.m. Saturday. With the current snowstorm in Blacksburg, the game may be opened for general admission, essentially creating an NIT atmosphere for an ACC game.

Today's Hokie Hoops recap comes from FFODC's new basketball consultant, Kevin Burke. Kevin is a sophomore communication major at Virginia Tech, and his ultimate goal is to become a sports writer or play-by-play announcer. Kevin comes to FFODC from his own blog, Upon Further Review, and will also be covering Wizards basketball as well.

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