Tech season opens with win

BLACKSBURG -- Among the dozens of items on Virginia Tech basketball coach Seth Greenberg's mental checklist before this season were two that emerged -- one positively, the other less so -- in yesterday's first game, a 69-55 win over Brown at Cassell Coliseum.

Greenberg wanted to find a scorer, or two or three, to complement his main offensive options, point guard Malcolm Delaney and forward Jeff Allen. To that end, his other three starters -- guard Dorenzo Hudson, forward Terrell Bell and forward Victor Davila -- each scored eight points and combined to shoot 9 of 20.

Greenberg also sought better defense and harped on this demand throughout preseason practices. He did not get it from his post players, Davila and Lewis Witcher, who played 22 and 13 minutes. Brown's 6-8 forwards, Andrew McCarthy and Matt Mullery, scored 14 and 13 points. McCarthy shot 7 of 11, Mullery 5 of 10.

Brown, which went 3-11 in the non-scholarship Ivy League last season, used an offensive strategy that involved spreading the floor and holding the ball deep into the shot clock. "They were content just to move the basketball," Greenberg said. "And you've got to give them credit for that."

When the Bears tried to score, they did it in the paint. McCarthy, Mullery and 6-8 forward Chris Taylor combined to take 24 of their 47 shots. Greenberg decided not to double-team in the post, because he was wary of leaving Brown's perimeter players open, namely freshman Matt Sullivan, who shot 3 of 7 on 3s.

So the onus fell mostly on Davila, a 6-8 sophomore in his first year as a full-time starter, with offensive skills Greenberg admires.

But yesterday, Greenberg said, "Our post defense was not exactly what I would have expected. [Mullery] was kind of funky to play against, but [Davila's] got to grit his teeth and bang the guy and be more active. He can do it. I'm going to have to get under his skin a little bit. It doesn't bother me. Might bother him."

Davila spent part of his summer back home in Puerto Rico, working out with the national team and practicing against a 7-4 player named Peter John Ramos, who is four years older than Davila. "I think it helped me out a lot," Davila said before the season.

Greenberg seemed unaware yesterday of Davila playing with Ramos. "I don't know," he said. "I just know he had a hard time guarding a guy that was 6-8 and a step slower than me."

Fitting of Brown's plan, it was a layup by McCarthy with 8:39 left in the game that cut the Hokies' lead to 51-45. But the Hokies responded with a 12-4 run, including six points by Bell, over the next 4:24 and pulled away.

BROWN(0-1)

3-point goals -- Brown (5-14): M. Sullivan 3-7, Leffelman 1-1, Muller 1-2, P. Sullivan 0-2, Williams 0-2. Virginia Tech (7-17): Delaney 3-7, Green 1-1, Bell 1-2, Hudson 1-3, Allen 1-4.

Turnovers -- Brown (17): M. Sullivan 4, P. Sullivan 3, Mullery 3, Williams 2, Leffelman 2, McCarthy 2, Taylor. Virginia Tech (8): Thompson 3, Davila, Hudson, Delaney, Green, Witcher.

Blocked shots -- Brown (3): Mullery 2, McCarthy. Virginia Tech (5): Allen 2, Bell, Hudson, Delaney.

Steals -- Brown (4): Harris 2, M. Sullivan, Gruber. Virginia Tech (5): Allen 2, Davila, Hudson, Delaney.

A -- 96,93.