Freshman forward Finney-Smith tips in game-winner for Tech

Dorian Finney-Smith felt like everybody around him slowed to a crawl. The Virginia Tech freshman forward rebounded the missed 3-pointer and then gently laid the ball into the basket with both hands with 2.4 seconds remaining.

Finney-Smith’s tip-in was the deciding basket in the Hokies’ dramatic 66-65 victory over Boston College on Sunday at Cassell Coliseum.

It topped off a career-high 17-point, eight-rebound performance by Finney-Smith, as he helped end Tech’s four-game losing streak to the Eagles.

“It was like slow motion,” Finney-Smith said. “When I got it, I was like, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve got this one,’ and it went in.”

The Hokies (14-11, 3-7 ACC), who are now in ninth place in the loss column in the ACC standings, were down by six with 1:44 left, but they finished the game on a 7-0 run to topple the young Eagles (8-17, 3-8 ACC).

The 6-foot-8, 192-pound Finney-Smith scored the last five points for Tech.  His three-point play with 28.1 seconds left got the Hokies to within one. BC freshman guard Jordan Daniels was fouled on the other end, but he missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Finney-Smith grabbed the rebound.

 Tech called a timeout with 10.1 seconds left to set up the final play.

“Everybody said, ‘We’re going to win this game,’” Hokies junior guard Erick Green said.

The final play was designed for Green to go to the basket, but the Eagles had Green well-guarded, so he passed it out to freshman guard Robert Brown, who misfired on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc. Finney-Smith corralled the rebound and put it back in for the game-winning bucket.

“Nobody blocked me out. They were so worried about Erick Green. I just got a wide open lane,” Finney-Smith said.

It was the first time Tech had connected on a basket of that significance this season in the closing seconds. It missed potential game-tying or game-winning shots in the closing seconds of losses to Minnesota, Wake Forest, Florida State and BYU earlier this season.

“That’s the first thing I said, ‘It’s about [dang] time.’ I pointed up and was like, “Thank you God for this one,’”

Green said.

Green scored 10 points to increase his ACC-leading double-figure scoring streak to 26 games. Hokies senior guard Dorenzo Hudson, who was back in the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 14 at Boston College, had 11 points and two assists, and senior forward Victor Davila had 10 points and four rebounds.

Finney-Smith came off the bench after starting the previous three games. He made 7 of 10 field goal attempts and had seven of Tech’s 18 offensive rebounds.

“[Tech’s offensive rebounding] hurt us all game, and obviously it was the deciding factor on the last play,” Eagles coach Steve Donahue said.

Hokies coach Seth Greenberg, who was still in search of a spark for his struggling team, tinkered with his starting lineup for the third time in the last five games.

Hudson started in place of sophomore guard Jarell Eddie, Tech’s third-leading scorer. Hudson was held scoreless the entire first half, but he caught fire during a run midway through the second half that kept the Hokies in the game.

He scored 11 of his team’s 15 points and knocked down a critical floater with 3:58 remaining that got Tech to within 58-57.

“I wanted to be more aggressive. I missed some [chip shots], but when I saw one go in the basket, I was like, ‘OK, maybe the rim isn’t as small as I thought it was.’ Once I got that first one to go in, I kind of got into a rhythm,” Hudson said.

Freshman forward C.J. Barksdale, a Danville native, made his first career start in place of Finney-Smith. Barksdale scored on a three-point play to open the game and he had three points and three rebounds when he suffered a left ankle injury with 17:43 left in the game.

He went back to the locker room and limped back to the bench a few minutes later. Greenberg said Barksdale’s status is uncertain for Thursday’s game at Florida State.

Finney-Smith, who goes by the nickname Doe-Doe, picked up the slack, playing 32 minutes. He struggled significantly at the start of ACC play, but he is averaging 11 points and eight rebounds over the last three games.

“Everybody wants him to do more. I’ve been saying this all along. He’s going to be a really special player,” Greenberg said. “It’s just that this thing takes time. He’s just getting his legs.”