Men's Basketball Up-Ended By Virginia Tech, 80-61
12/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score (html)
NEW YORK, N.Y. Virginia Tech used a 20-0 run early in the second half to pull away and eventually defeat Seton Hall, 80-61, as part of the Aeropostale Classic at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
The loss snapped the Pirates’ five-game winning streak and dropped their record to 6-2 on the early season. It is also Seton Hall’s first loss in the program’s history to Virginia Tech in four all-time meetings.
Seton Hall was led by freshman Eugene Harvey (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who scored a team-high 18 points while playing all 40 minutes. BIG EAST steals leader Paul Gause (Pittsgrove, N.J.) added five more in the loss. The sophomore also had eight points and eight rebounds. Senior Stan Gaines (Chicago, Ill.) contributed 12 points and seven rebounds in 36 minutes of action.
Senior Jamon Gordon led Virginia Tech (8-3) with a game-high 22 points and seven steals.
The Pirates trailed by only seven points at half-time, 38-31, but were halted by the ferocious Hokies defense in the second half. With 17:06 remaining in the second half, Harvey scored to pull Seton Hall to within four (40-36), but Virginia Tech would then score the next 20 points to take a commanding 60-36 lead with 9:37 left. The Pirates were scoreless for 7:43.
The Hokies lead would stretch to as large as 28 points, before the Pirates made a modest run of their own to cut the lead to 19 in the end.
Seton Hall lost despite out-rebounding the taller Hokies, 47-40, but shot a season-low 27.7 percent from the floor to Virginia Tech’s 51.7 percent for the game. They also committed a season-high 21 turnovers.
In the second game of the Aeropostale Classic, Duke defeated Gonzaga, 61-54.
The Pirates return to action on Saturday, December 23 when they host the University of Pennsylvania at Continental Airlines Arena. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
