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| 1 | 2 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|
 Monmouth (0-2) | 24 | 22 | 46 |
 Virginia Tech (2-0) | 42 | 49 | 91 |
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BLACKSBURG – Robert Brown scored a game-high 19 points to pace five Virginia Tech players in double figures, and the Hokies cruised to an easy 91-46 victory over Monmouth in an opening-round NIT Season Tip-off game played Monday night at Cassell Coliseum.
Tech (2-0) advanced to play in the second round Tuesday night at Cassell Coliseum against the winner of the Florida International-George Mason game held later Monday evening. Monmouth (0-2) will take on the loser of that game also on Tuesday night at Cassell Coliseum.
Tech never trailed, shooting 64 percent from the floor in the first half and holding Monmouth without a field goal for an eight-minute stretch. In the second half, the Hokies blew things open by using a 19-2 run to start the half and taking a 25-point lead, 61-26, on a basket by Brown with 12:17 remaining. The Hawks missed 10 of their first 11 shots in the second half.
The Hokies led by as many as 49 in this game. They shot 62.5 percent from the floor and made 10 of their 15 3-point attempts (66.7 percent).
“We’ve got guys who can make shots,” Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. “Obviously, we were really good from the 3 today, but we do have guys who can make shots. Robert can make shots. Jarell [Eddie] can make shots. Dorenzo [Hudson] can make shots. We’ve got to play with a little bit better spacing. When we drive it, we can’t drive it sideways. We’ve got to drive it into the lane to force people to help, so that we can get guys shots. We’ve played too much sideline-to-sideline.
“I’m pleased with the way we played. I thought we were active and alert … I’m just happy we got through it. No injuries.”
Brown, coming off a 12-point performance against ETSU, hit 5 of 11 from the floor, including 3 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc. He drained all six of his free-throw attempts, and he also dished out three assists.
Dorenzo Hudson and Ty Garland finished with 18 points apiece for the Hokies. Hudson showed no ill effects of the foot injury that caused him to miss the majority of last year, hitting 7 of 10 from the floor. He also grabbed four rebounds and dished out three assists.
Garland, the leading scorer in Saturday’s win over East Tennessee State with 13 points, hit all seven of his shots from the floor, including both of his 3-pointers. The 18 points marked a career high for him.
Jarell Eddie finished with 13 and Erick Green, who started after missing the ETSU game with a strained Achilles, had 11. Green played 23 minutes, hitting 3 of 6 from the floor, including both of his 3-point attempts.
“I felt I was hesitant,” Green said. “Like the first charge [Green’s first foul], I wanted to pull up but I couldn’t get my footwork right. I was really scared of my Achilles. But I just let it go after that and just played.”
Monmouth, which got 12 points from Ed Waite, shot just 26.8 percent from the floor and made only 1 of 17 from beyond the 3-point arc.
For updates on Virginia Tech men's basketball, follow the Hokies on Twitter (@VT_MBBall).
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