Colleges

Hokies put FSU away early

Seminoles rally but don't have enough to erase big deficit.

BLACKSBURG, Va. -- A.D. Vassallo scored 15 of his 22 in the first half as Virginia Tech opened the game with an 18-4 run and didn't let mistake-prone Florida State get within single digits until too late in an 89-80 victory Tuesday night.

The Hokies (13-8, 4-3 ACC), coming off a road victory at Boston College on Saturday, led 42-24 at the half and by no fewer than 11 for most of the second half until the Seminoles closed to within five in the final minutes.

The Hokies clinched it at the free-throw line, going 22-for-31 in the second half. Virginia Tech was 33-for-45 from the line overall.

The Seminoles (13-9, 2-5) made 8 of 11 3-pointers in the second half to make it interesting but lost for the fifth time in six games. FSU hurt itself with 22 turnovers.

Hank Thorns added 15 points, Deron Washington had 14 and 10 rebounds, Malcolm Delaney scored 13 and J.T. Thompson had 11 for the Hokies. Jeff Allen, who returned from a two-game suspension for making contact with an official in a loss at Georgia Tech, did not start for Virginia Tech, played just 19 minutes and scored seven.

Jason Rich led FSU with 22 points, and Ralph Mims had 17.

Vassallo outscored the Seminoles 8-7 in the first 10 minutes as FSU made 3 of 11 shots and turned the ball over five times. The Hokies led 18-4 until Toney Douglas hit the first of back-to-back 3-pointers with 10:49 left in the half.

[Last modified January 30, 2008, 01:02:48]