NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 31 -- Ace Custis scored 16 points and grabbed 17 rebounds Sunday to help No. 22 Virginia Tech to a 62-46 drubbing of Wright State, the Hokies third straight victory. The Hokies (6-1) pounced on the Raiders after intermission, going on a 10-2 run to open the second half, turning a 7-point halftime lead into a 38-23 margin.
Damon Watlington scored 20 points to lead Virginia Tech, which built the lead to as many as 19 points with four minutes to go. 'Damon had a monster game,' said Tech coach Bill Foster. 'We'd still be out there playing if Watlington hadn't opened the game with some threes.' The Hokie athletic department decided to move this home game to New Orleans, knowing that thousands of Tech fans would be in town to watch Virginia Tech's 13th-ranked football team take on Texas in the Sugar Bowl. More than 4,200 fans turned out to watch Foster win his 500th career game, making him the 40th NCAA Division I coach of all-time to win 500 games. 'I'm glad the 500 deal is over with,' said Foster, who has coached at UNC Charlotte, Clemson and Miami. 'The team is the thing. These are great kids playing for Virginia Tech and they're the ones who deserve the attention.' Delme Herrleman and Keion Brooks had eight points each to lead Wright State (6-4). Vitaly Popenko, who was ejected for fighting from Wright State's 105- 86 loss to Miami of Ohio on Wednesday, served a one-game suspension today. 'Without Vitaly, we did not have an inside force that we usually have,' said Raiders coach Ralph Underhill. 'It changed the way we wanted to play.'
