The Wildcats' season came to a end as the Virginia Tech Hokies (22-11) stormed out to an early 14-4 lead and defeated Bethune-Cookman 79-54 Wednesday night in the opening round of the NIT.  

Virginia Tech had dominant inside play, as Jeff Allen scored 19 points. The Hokies' guard lived up to Atlantic Coast Conference reputation as Malcolm Delaney started with a hot hand and finished with 13.

B-CU (21-13) was making its first post-season appearance as a Division I program.

"The experience we've gained is invaluable," said B-CU coach Clifford Reed. "Now we're seasoned when it comes to big games.

Garrius Holloman led B-CU with 20 points and MEAC Player Of The Year C.J. Reed was limited to 10 points as he went up against Delaney and Eric Green (11 points on 5-7 shooting).

"You have to play hard and know what you're doing when you're playing a team like Virginia Tech," C.J. Reed said. "My shot just wasn't falling tonight.

Three-pointers from Kevin Dukes - he led the Wildcats in the first half with six points - along with Mikel Trapp and the inside play of Alexander Starling helped B-CU stay close after the early Hokie outburst. B-CU kept Virginia Tech scoreless the final 2:57 of the period and scored the final five points to cut it to 42-24.

 Virginia Tech started the second half with a 10-2 run. B-CU closed to 54-35 on a Holloman lay-up with 15:04 remaining, but then the Hokies scored eight unanswered points to pull away.

In his final game as a Wildcat, Starling had a team-high eight rebounds. Dukes finished with nine points.

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