Jan. 31, 2006
BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) – Deron Washington scored 21 points and made a free throw with a half-second remaining Tuesday night, lifting Virginia Tech to its second consecutive victory in the Atlantic Coast Conference, 63-62 against Georgia Tech.
The Hokies (12-9, 2-6 ACC) won despite missing their last eight field goal attempts after their last one with 7:15 left, and making just 4 of 8 free throws in that span.
The Yellow Jackets (9-10, 2-6) trailed 59-48 after Washington’s dunk with 7:15 left, but rallied to pull even at 62 on Ra’Sean Dickey’s layup with 50 seconds to play.
After Anthony Morrow stole the ball from the Hokies Zabian Dowdell, D’Andre Bell missed a 3-point for Georgia Tech with 2 seconds left, and Washington was fouled.
He made the first, just his third make from the line in seven tries, and turned into a hero.
The Hokies, who broke their six-game ACC losing streak with a dramatic victory at Wake Forest on Saturday, again played without scoring and rebounding leader Coleman Collins, who was in Georgia with his family. Collins’ father is critically ill.
The Hokies especially missed Collins down low, getting outrebounded 45-27, but once again, they got key contributions from several players to overcome being short-handed.
A.D. Vassallo, who had 29 points and 10 rebounds against the Demon Deacons, added 13 and six rebounds. Dowdell added 15 points, and Wynton Witherspoon scored 11.
Georgia Tech got 21 points from Dickey, who was 9-for-11 from the field, 13 from Bell and 12 points and 14 rebounds from Jeremis Smith. But they also struggled late, scoring just four baskets and 14 points when the Hokies went cold at the end.
The Hokies trailed 37-32 at halftime, but pulled even at 44 on Dowdell’s 3-pointer with 13:36 to play. The Yellow Jackets rallied to tie it two more times before the Hokies used an 11-0 run to take their biggest lead on their final field goal.
Then, it was a matter of hanging on.
