BLACKSBURG, Va. - Omar Carter lead the Bucs with 18 points thanks in large part to a highly impressive first half performance, but Charleston Southern fell to Virginia Tech 79-49 Monday night in front of 9,847 fans at the Hokies' Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Va.

For a second straight road game against a major conference foe (the last being their December 19 trip to Florida), the Bucs started slowly in Blacksburg, falling behind the Hokies 16-0 in the game's opening seven minutes. Leading the way for Virginia Tech in this stretch was their leading scorer, junior A.D. Vasallo, who poured in nine points over this stretch and a team high 14 in the first half.

As was the case against the Gators, however, the Bucs rebounded from this start and held their own against their opponent for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes. The unquestioned key to this performance was CSU's leading scorer on the year, freshman forward Omar Carter.

Carter, who grew up in the heart of ACC country in Charlotte, made the most of his first ever appearance against an ACC school in the first half, scoring CSU's first 11 points of the game and 13 points for the half on five of 10 shooting. Omar also lead the way for Barclay Radebaugh's squad in rebounds in the opening half, with four, as the Bucs held a 19-18 rebound advantage over the Hokies in the opening 20 and held the Hokies to just two second-chance baskets.

Freshman point guard Jamarco Warren also contributed to the cause, as the Georgian connected on two three pointers late in the half to keep the Hokie lead at 16 at the half at 40-24.

The second half was largely a back and forth affair, as the Hokie lead remained in the vicinity of 16 for the majority of the half. Carter continued to pace the Bucs en route to his 18 point game total while guards Austin Johnson and Chris Moore entered the scoring with some long range accuracy.

Ultimately, the Hokies would have too much firepower, however, as a series of impressive dunks from high-flying senior Deron Washington and powerful freshman Jeff Allen, who both finished the night with 10 points, allowed Seth Greenberg's club to build their lead. Vasallo (21 points) and freshman guard Hank Thomas (10 points) would join the two in double figures as by the game's final whistle the Hokies had emerged 30 point victors, 79-49.

Virginia Tech won most statistical battles on the night, outrebounding CSU 39-34, outshooting CSU 47.9% to 32.2% and forcing 23 CSU turnovers while committing just 10. The Bucs did outshoot their ACC opponents 32% to 20.8% from behind the arc, with Johnson and Carter tying for the team lead with two three pointers a piece.

The game was CSU's last non-conference game of 2007-2008, as from here on out they will be competing against Big South opposition. Their first test will be against the V.M.I. Keydets, the runners-up in last season's Big South Conference tournament, at CSU Field House Saturday at 7:30 P.M.