Maryland Eastern Shore Hawks at Virginia Tech Hokies

Hokies roll early, beat Md-Eastern Shore 82-66

Devin Wilson added 16 points for the Hokies (8-5), who let an eight-point lead slip away in the final five minutes against UNC-Greensboro on Saturday and lost 55-52. There was no chance of a repeat.

Troy Snyder and KyRee Jones led the Hawks (2-9) with 15 points each and Louis Bell had 14.

The Hawks, coached by one-time Virginia Tech coach Frankie Allen and seemingly headed for their 20th consecutive losing season, lost their 24th consecutive road game and their 27th straight on the road against a non-conference opponent. The string dates back to a victory against Navy on Nov. 11, 2010.

The Hokies had runs of 19-7 and 17-3 in the first half. The first allowed them to build on a 7-6 lead and the latter, spanning the last 6 1/2 minutes of play, gave them a 46-23 lead at halftime.

The game, which started two hours after Virginia Tech kicked off in the Sun Bowl against UCLA, was played in front of a very sparse crowd at Cassell Coliseum, and did little to reward those that came.

C.J. Barksdale scored the first five points in the 19-7 burst, which gave the Hokies a 26-13 edge. After Bell hit a 3-pointer and Jones made a pair of free throws for the Hawks, Joey van Zegeren's free throw and alley oop dunk sparked the burst to end the half. Wilson had six in that run.

Virginia Tech built its lead as high as 27 points in the second half.

The Hokies played without guard Adam Smith, who they are trying to get healthy from a nagging left calf strain, perhaps in time for their ACC game against No. 2 Syracuse at home on Tuesday night.

They also got only two points from No. 2 scorer Ben Emelogu, but it hardly mattered.

UMES arrived shooting just 37.6 percent from the field, which paled in comparison the Hokies' 42.5 percent mark from 3-point range, and the Hokies out-rebounded the Hawks 24-10 while building the halftime lead.

Hokies coach James Johnson substituted liberally throughout the second half.

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