With Tech leading Maryland with 8.1 seconds to go, Carlos Dixon raised a forefinger in the air. Coleman Collins thumped his chest. Zabian Dowdell jumped up and down. The Hokies beat the Terrapins 86-76 on Saturday to clinch a first-round bye in the ACC Tournament. Picked to finish 10th in the 11-team ACC in the league's preseason media poll, the Hokies (15-12, 8-8) wound up tied for fourth place and will be seeded fourth or fifth.

"We knew ... what we had at stake," said Dixon, who had 20 points. "Everybody doubted us at the beginning of the year. ... We just knew as a team that we're better than a last-place finish. We just came out here all year and just tried to prove everybody wrong."

"Before the season, I was hoping maybe we'd get like sixth or seventh," said Collins, who had 14 points and 15 rebounds. "Fourth place, I guess we surprised a few more people."

Tech coach Seth Greenberg, whose team fell 66-64 at Clemson on Tuesday on a Sharrod Ford dunk at the buzzer, fought back tears as he left the Cassell Coliseum court.

"They have a resiliency that is pretty special," said Greenberg, whose team had lost two straight games. "To bounce back after a crushing defeat ... just speaks volumes for these kids. ... It's a great win."

The Hokies will play Georgia Tech or North Carolina State in the 4 vs. 5 quarterfinal at 2:30 p.m. Friday at the MCI Center in Washington. The Hokies will be one of five teams with a bye.

The Hokies are tied for fourth place with Georgia Tech (8-8); N.C. State will also finish 8-8 if it beats Wake tonight. With a win tonight, State clinches the fourth seed and will play the fifth-seeded Hokies. If State loses, the Hokies will be the fourth seed and will play fifth-seeded Georgia Tech.

Saturday's win makes Virginia Tech a lock for an NIT bid. The Hokies' NCAA at-large chances wilted Tuesday when Shawan Robinson intercepted a Jamon Gordon pass and fed the ball to Ford for a game-ending dunk. Gordon, who blamed himself for the loss, responded by scoring a career-high 23 points Saturday.

"I was telling them [his teammates] that I was going to do something special" on Saturday, said Gordon, who had only 11 points in the past two games combined. "That last play of that game that [has] run through my head, well, it's out now. I'm so happy.

"I let my team down ... and tonight I kind of just put them on my back."

Maryland went on an 11-1 run to tie the score at 57 with 9:58 to go, but the Hokies answered with eight straight points to take the lead for good.

Maryland's James Gist sank two free throws to cut the lead to 74-72 with 2:36 left. Gordon made a jumper and Dowdell sank one of two free throws to extend the lead to 77-72 with 1:00 to go.

Dixon, a senior, was 7-of-10 from the field in his final regular-season home game. He hugged Gordon and Greenberg after being pulled for the final seconds.

"I wanted to make an impression for everybody; it was my last outing here," Dixon said.

The Hokies would have been seeded sixth or seventh if they had lost Saturday. Maryland (16-11, 7-9), which had beaten Tech seven straight times, would have clinched a bye by beating the Hokies. The loss seemingly ended Maryland's chances of an NCAA at-large bid.

"We're not a good defensive team," Maryland coach Gary Williams said.

The Terrapins squashed the Hokies 86-71 last month. But on Saturday, Maryland shot just 43.3 percent from the field and was outrebounded 45-33.

"Coleman Collins was a monster," Greenberg said."They have a resiliency that is pretty special."

Seth Greenberg

Virginia Tech head coach