Hill leads No. 10 Hokies in 85-40 rout of Md.-Eastern Shore

BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) — Ahmed Hill scored 20 points and No. 10 Virginia Tech shot nearly 66 percent as it drubbed Maryland-Eastern Shore 85-40 on Friday night, the Hokies’ sixth consecutive victory.
Kerry Blackshear Jr. added 15 points and Wabissa Bede scored 14 for the Hokies (11-1), who continued their best start to a season in 100 years.
The Hawks (1-13) were led by Dontae Caldwell with 10 points as they lost their eighth in a row and 30th consecutive game on the road.
The Hokies played without scoring leader Nickeil Alexander-Walker (18.5 points per game) because of a sprained right ankle, but didn’t need him as Hill and Blackshear got them started and pretty much everyone else joined in. All eight players coach Buzz Williams put on the floor in the first half scored before the break, when they led 50-22 after shooting 73.9 percent (17-23) overall and making 11 of 16 3-point tries (68.8 percent).
For the game, the Hokies were 29 for 44 (65.9 percent) from the field and 14 for 26 on 3-pointers (53.8 percent). Virginia Tech also set a school record with its 24th consecutive home victory in nonconference play. They had won 23 in a row on three occasions.
DON’T WE KNOW YOU?
One of the assistants for UMES is Adrian Custis, known in Blacksburg as “Ace.” He played for the Hokies from 1993-97 and had his No. 20 jersey retired by the school in 1997. He led Virginia Tech to the 1995 NIT championship and finished with 1,706 points (13.9 per game) and 1,177 rebounds (9.6).
BIG PICTURE
UMES: The Hawks’ haven’t won on the road since they beat Delaware State on Feb. 25, 2017. In their first season under coach Clifford Reed, they came into the game being outshot 46.5 percent to 36.8 percent overall and 35.2 percent to 27 percent on 3-pointers.
Virginia Tech: The rout was the Hokies’ third this season against a team from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, but things will get more difficult starting with a visit from Notre Dame on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
UMES: The Hawks return home to face Chestnut Hill on Monday.
Virginia Tech: The Hokies open Atlantic Coast Conference play at home against Notre Dame on New Year’s Day.