Virginia Tech 80, William Mary 63

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The Virginia Tech men's basketball team jumped out to a 17-point halftime lead and never looked back, defeating the Tribe of William & Mary 80-63 in the first road game for the Hokies this season. The game was played in front of 1,821 fans at William & Mary Hall on the campus of W&M.

Tech (3-0) was led by sophomore Jamon Gordon's 20 points, followed by senior Carlos Dixon's 18. Sophomore Zabian Dowdell added 17, while freshman Deron Washington chipped in 10 against the Tribe.

William & Mary falls to 2-2 on the season.

Four William & Mary players reached double figures, as the Tribe was led by Corey Cofield's 14 points. Nathan Mann tallied 11, while Hawley Smith and Nate Loehrke each added 10 in the loss.

After the Tribe took a 7-6 lead at the 15:28 mark in the first half, Tech responded with a 8-0 run and would never look back. The Hokies slowly pulled away, reaching a double-digit lead with 3:44 left in the opening half off a Dixon jumper. W&M cut the lead to seven on the next possession, but would not come any closer, as Tech's lead grew to double figures off a Dixon dunk with 2:57 left before halftime. The Hokies' lead would stay in double digits the remainder of the contest.

In the first half, Tech shot a blistering 55.2 percent from the field, connecting on 16-of-29 from the floor. The Tribe managed 38.5 percent off 10-of-26 shooting from the floor.

The Hokies opened up a 22-point lead with three minutes left in the game at 78-56, Tech's biggest lead of the game, off a layup by Dixon.

For the game, Tech was 32-of-62 from the floor for 51.6 percent. The Hokies connected on half their three-point attempts, nailing nine in the contest. W&M was 20-of-51 from the field in the game and managed to hit 5-15 three-pointers. The Tribe outrebounded Tech 38-28, including pulling down five more on the offensive glass than the Hokies.

Next up for the Hokies is UT-Chattanooga, which comes to Blacksburg Thursday night. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m.