Hokies rally past Illinois

By Associated Press     Mar 17, 2007

Virginia Tech guard Deron Washington, left, goes up for a basket against Illinois defenders Brian Randle, right, and Warren Carter, behind Washington. Washington banked the game-winning shot home in the final minute of the Hokies' 54-52 victory against the Illini on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

? Virginia Tech waited 11 years to get back to the NCAA Tournament. Then it took the Hokies more than 39 minutes to find a way to stick around.

Deron Washington’s banked runner in the final minute Friday night helped Virginia Tech rally from a 13-point deficit with just over eight minutes left and beat Illinois, 54-52, in a first-round game in the West Regional.

“It kind of reflects who we are,” coach Seth Greenberg said. “We don’t shoot it the straightest, we make easy things difficult. But we just keep on going. We have a resiliency about us.”

The winning shot, like this defense-dominated game, was ugly.

“I wasn’t trying to bank it, but I’ll take it,” Washington said with a wide grin.

Illinois (23-12) led by 10 with just over four minutes left but didn’t score in the last 4:28 as the Hokies had the last 12 points.

“It’s an understatement to say we’re disappointed,” Illini coach Bruce Weber said. “But it’s kind of typical of our season. We’ve led in something like eight or nine of our 12 losses but just couldn’t finish the game.”

Southern Illinois 61, Holy Cross 51

Columbus, Ohio – No rhythm, no flow, no open shots. Southern Illinois got the exact type of game it wanted.

Letting their gritty defense do the work, the Salukis overcame a front-line injury.

Reserve forward Tony Boyle scored a career-high 14 points in the second half, including one banked-in free throw, as Southern Illinois (28-6) matched its school record for wins and advanced.

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