BLACKSBURG -- The circus came to Blacksburg over the weekend, but apparently, no one told Virginia.
Virginia Tech (17-7, 7-3 ACC) used nearly a dozen highlight-reel dunks from junior forward Deron Washington to slam home a dominant 84-57 win against Virginia (16-7, 8-3 ACC) Saturday night. The win snaps Virginia's seven-game overall winning streak, as well as the Cavaliers' three-game win streak on the road.
"It's a real bad combination when one team is as energized as a team can possibly be and the other team has no energy and plays flat" Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "When you put those two things together, what you get is what happened this afternoon."
The Hokies sprinted out of the gate, rolling up an 11-2 lead in the game's first three and a half minutes. Virginia Tech used a string of fast-break buckets to extend its lead to 15 midway through the half. In particular, Washington sneaked down court behind the Cavalier defenders on a number of occasions for monster slams in transition. Washington led all scorers with 12 points at intermission.
"Washington is their energy player," Leitao said. "He played his tail off today. I respect him a ton because he plays every possession like it's his last."
The Hokies managed to extend their lead throughout the first half, despite star Hokie senior guard Zabian Dowdell playing only four first-half minutes because of early foul trouble.
Virginia's guard duo of junior Sean Singletary and senior J.R. Reynolds struggled throughout, as the pair often was unable to shake Virginia Tech's lengthier guards coming off screens. Reynolds managed eight points on three of 10 shooting in the first half, while Singletary managed just five points. The Cavaliers were down 16, 22-38 at half -- their largest halftime deficit of the season.
Things only worsened for Virginia after halftime. After pulling to within 11 on three consecutive Reynolds free throws, the Hokies went on a 19-4 run, putting the game out of reach at 57-31 with just over 12 minutes to play.
Virginia never got closer than 11 in the second half, as Virginia Tech's lead swelled to as large as 29 with under two minutes to play.
"We thought we could [get back in the game after halftime," Virginia senior Jason Cain said. "The first couple minutes I thought we played kind of well, but it went downhill from there."
Virginia was dominated in nearly every statistical category. The Hokies shot 57.7 percent from the field compared to the Cavaliers' 32.8 percent. Virginia Tech also tallied an 11-1 block advantage, in addition to a 7-2 edge in steals. Washington was the story of the game, however, as he finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
Reynolds led the Cavaliers with 21 points on seven of 18 shooting.
"We know the reason why we lost," Singletary said. "We didn't have any energy. We're not going to get down from this game."
Virginia returns to the court tomorrow night in Charlottesville against Longwood, before hosting Florida State Saturday at 1 p.m.
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