Marshall University Athletics
Men's Basketball Back On The Road At Virginia Tech
11/20/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2005
Marshall GameNotes
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BLACKSBURG, Va. - Marshall hopes to rebound from a season-opening loss to Evansville when they travel to Blacksburg, Va., to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies Monday evening. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
The Thundering Herd lost its season opener at Evansville Friday night, 91-81, despite Marshall forward Travis Aikens scoring 22 points in 36 minutes of action. Joe Miles added 19 points off the MU bench, and junior point guard Chris Ross chipped in 13 points in his first regular season game in a Marshall uniform. MU led at the half against the Purple Aces, but Evansville caught fire in the second half, shooting 60.5% from the floor. Evansville sealed the win with a solid performance at the free throw line, knocking in 80% of their shots from the charity stripe for the game.
Virginia Tech enters Monday's contest with a 3-1 record, with wins coming over Radford, Western Carolina, and Mount St. Mary's. The Hokies' lone loss came in a one-point decision to Bowling Green at home on November 12, 72-71. Coleman Collins leads Virginia Tech so far in 2005-06, averaging 15.3 points per game. Deron Washington and Zabian Dowdell also average double-digits at 14.5 and 14.3 points per game, respectively. Jamon Gordon leads the Hokies on the glass with 6.5 rebounds per game. Seth Greenberg is in his third season as the Hokies' head coach.
Aikens has paced the Herd's offensive attack early in the season. He averaged 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in the preseason, and in Marshall's game at Evansville, he led all Herd scorers with 22 points, while also grabbing five rebounds, which tied a team high for the game.
Marshall leads the all-time series over Virginia Tech with a 9-8 record, with the team's last meeting coming in the 1990-91 season, when the Hokies came away with a 92-89 win in Huntington, although Marshall legend John Taft had 39 points and nine rebounds. The two teams first met in the 1921-22 season when Virginia Tech won the series-opening game, 27-11. The Herd's last win in the series came in the 1989-90 season, when Marshall defeated Virginia Tech, 77-73 in Blacksburg.
The game can be heard live in the region on the ISP/Thundering Herd Network or on the Internet on www.HerdZone.com with Steve Cotton and Woody Woodrum handling the play-by-play.
