February 27, 2002

Virginia Tech used tough defense and a game-high 15 points from Bryant Matthews to knock off Rutgers 63-49 in an ugly, foul-marred BIG EAST game played in front of 3,558 fans at Cassell Coliseum.

The game was the last of the season for the Hokies at Cassell Coliseum and before the game, Tech's staff honored the Hokies' four seniors - Carlton Carter, Joe Hamilton, Mibindo Dongo and walk-on Barrett Watson. The win marked Tech's fourth in its past six games. The Hokies are now 10-17 overall and 4-11 in the BIG EAST. Rutgers fell to 18-10, 8-7 and saw its NCAA Tournament hopes take a shot.

"It wasn't one of our best games, but I was pleased with our effort," Tech head coach Ricky Stokes said. "And I thought the crowd was great.

"There were a lot of things we didn't do well. We missed too many free throws and we turned the ball over too much. But it was nice to come out with a win."

The game featured 51 fouls and 62 free-throw attempts and neither team got into much of a flow. Tech used an 8-0 run early in the first half to take the lead and the Hokies never looked back. Tech led by eight at halftime and Rutgers never came closer than six the rest of the game.

Rutgers' road woes continued. The Scarlet Knights, whose lone road win in BIG EAST play came at West Virginia, shot just 29.4 percent from the floor and missed 14 free-throw attempts. Also, they turned the ball over 19 times.

"To win on the road, you've got to make free throws, you can't turn the ball over and you've got to shoot some kind of percentage," Rutgers coach Gary Waters said. "We play good defense, but we just don't do it offensively on the road. To turn the ball over 19 times against a team that doesn't press ∑ We're just a different team on the road. It's disappointing."

Tech didn't exactly light things up either. The Hokies also missed 14 free-throw attempts and turned the ball over 21 times. But Tech outrebounded the Scarlet Knights 40-31 and shot 46.5 percent from the field, with Matthews connecting on 6-of-8 from the floor. Brian Chase was the only other Tech player in double figures with 12 points.

Tech concludes the season this Saturday when the Hokies travel to Miami to face the 'Canes. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m.