BLACKSBURG -- When Boston College called timeout after falling behind by 24 points in the second half, Virginia Tech guard Zabian Dowdell walked in front of the stands and cupped his hand to his ear to soak up the roar of the crowd.

At game's end, a grinning Dowdell did it again.

The Tech men's basketball team had plenty to smile about after squashing the Eagles 79-62 on Wednesday at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies led by as many as 30 points.

"I really couldn't believe it," Tech forward A.D. Vassallo said of the lopsided win.

It was the first time any current members of the Hokies (19-8, 9-4) had beaten BC (18-9, 9-5).

"That was definitely something that was brought up in practice," said Dowdell, who had 23 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. "That was something that was a little [fuel] to the fire."

The Eagles had beaten their former Big East rivals six straight times, including an 80-59 rout on Feb. 3.

"We concentrated a little bit more and we had a little more anger in our hearts, knowing that we went up there and got blown out," Vassallo said.

The Hokies, who moved into a tie for second place in the ACC, have now beaten every ACC team since joining the league.

"This was their opportunity for a special win, to kind of give them some closure of being able to compete with everyone in this conference that everyone said they couldn't compete with," coach Seth Greenberg said.

Greenberg started Vassallo in place of Lewis Witcher because he wanted more scoring and a smaller lineup that could pressure BC's passers. Vassallo had 18 points.

Deron Washington, who had just five points in Sunday's 81-56 loss at North Carolina State, had 19 points, eight rebounds, three blocks and three dunks Wednesday.

"I had way more intensity," he said, "I was more focused."

N.C. State shot 66.7 percent from the field Sunday. On Wednesday, Tech shot 55.7 percent from the field, including 63.3 percent in the second half.

"I guess we learned a little bit from N.C. State and kind of executed ourselves," Vassallo said with a smile.

The Hokies had nine dunks, including four by Coleman Collins.

In the Feb. 3 meeting, BC forward Jared Dudley had 30 points and guard Tyrese Rice 20 against Tech's zone defense.

So the Hokies stuck to man-to-man defense Wednesday. The Eagles, who lost their third straight game, shot 38.2 percent from the field.

"We played them zone last game, and we kind of get a little bit passive in a zone," Collins said. "But in a man, we kind of get up into them and play a little bit better."

Dudley and Rice each had 15 points, but neither reached double figures until there was less than 6:30 to play. They were a combined 10-of-24 from the field.

Washington guarded Dudley, getting help from double-teams.

"I was just trying to fight with him the whole time, front him," Washington said.

Dowdell guarded Rice.

"He had a harder time scoring over the top of us [in man-to-man], rather than just lacing the ball up and shooting wide-open 3s," Dowdell said.

BC closed the first half on a 9-0 run to cut Tech's lead to 36-32, but the Hokies opened the second half on a 22-2 run to build a 58-34 lead with 13:17 to play.

"Our recognition in transition wasn't very good, and our execution in the half court just wasn't what it needed to be," BC coach Al Skinner said.

Cheick Diakite had four of Tech's eight blocks. He also had eight rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench.

Jamon Gordon got into early foul trouble and spent most of the first half on the bench.

BOSTON COLLEGE (18-9)

Dudley 6-14 2-2 15, Oates 2-5 0-0 5, Spears 0-2 2-2 2, Rice 4-10 6-6 15, Marshall 2-11 3-6 8, Haynes 2-4 1-3 5, Kaba 1-1 0-0 3, Neville 0-0 0-0 0, Roche 3-6 0-0 7, Blair 1-2 0-2 2. Totals 21-55 14-21 62.

VIRGINIA TECH (19-8)

Washington 8-12 2-2 19, Vassallo 7-13 0-0 18, Collins 4-7 1-2 9, Dowdell 10-16 2-2 23, Gordon 2-6 0-0 4, Munson 0-1 0-0 0, Witcher 0-1 0-0 0, Travis 0-0 0-0 0, Sailes 1-1 0-0 2, Diakite 2-4 0-0 4, Tucker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-61 5-6 79.

Halftime--Virginia Tech 36-32. 3-Point Goals--Boston College 6-18 (Kaba 1-1, Oates 1-2, Marshall 1-3, Dudley 1-3, Rice 1-4, Roche 1-4, Haynes 0-1), Virginia Tech 6-11 (Vassallo 4-6, Washington 1-1, Dowdell 1-3, Munson 0-1). Fouled Out--Gordon, Vassallo. Rebounds--Boston College 30 (Dudley 9), Virginia Tech 34 (Diakite, Dowdell, Washington 8). Assists--Boston College 11 (Rice 6), Virginia Tech 14 (Dowdell 5). Total Fouls--Boston College 10, Virginia Tech 18. A--9,847.