GAME NOTES: The Virginia Tech Hokies will take the court Monday night in search of their third straight win, but to attain it they'll have to go through the VMI Keydets in a non-conference battle at Cassell Coliseum.

VMI put a stop to a two-game skid with a 92-77 victory over Marist over a week ago. The Keydets, who are 5-6 on the season in their first as a Southern Conference member, last took the court on Dec. 13.

Since the start of December, Virginia Tech has gone 2-2, with losses to Penn State and Radford to start the month, and wins over Alabama A&M (65-55) and The Citadel (64-61) serving as the most recent outings. The Hokies are 6-4 coming into this clash with their in-state rival Keydets.

The two Virginia-based programs have met on the basketball court 131 times in their series history. The Hokies have dominated the Keydets, leading the series with an 88-43 advantage. Virginia Tech has won the last three games against VMI, and is 8-2 in the last 10 games played against the Keydets.

Marist has been reeling from injuries this season, so for VMI it was the perfect time to play the Red Foxes as the Keydets searched for a win. They got it behind 40 percent shooting from the floor, although the team went an ugly 19-of-55 from 3-point range in the victory. QJ Peterson netted 25 points on 7- of-23 shooting to lead VMI, while Tim Marshall contributed 20 points in the win. Brian Brown tallied 13 points, and Trey Chapman netted 10 with six rebounds and six assists. Jerid Watson grabbed a team-best 11 boards for the Keydets.

VMI has struggled on the road this season, owning just a 1-4 record away from home. As is typically the case, the Keydets are an out-of-this-world offensive team (netting 88.9 ppg this season), but the team hardly plays any defense (80.5 ppg allowed to opponents). Peterson enters the game leading the scoring charge at 21.4 ppg, also having dished out 48 assists to 41 turnovers. Marshall (11.7 ppg) and Brown (10.2 ppg) round out the team's trio of double- digit scorers so far. Phillip Anglade owns a team-best 6.5 rpg mark coming into the clash with the Hokies.

Virginia Tech had a dismal day shooting the ball from beyond the 3-point arc against the Citadel, making only 3-of-16 from long distance (18.8 percent). But that didn't matter much as the Hokies clamped down defensively and held the Bulldogs to just 33.9 percent shooting from the floor in the victory. Adam Smith tallied 16 points to pace the team, while both Joey van Zegeren and Devin Wilson added 10 points in the win. All three players grabbed five boards each as well.

Virginia Tech sports a 5-2 record at home through seven games at Cassell Coliseum, which makes life much more difficult for the Keydets and their dismal track record away from home. The Hokies come into the game averaging 67.5 ppg (on paper not much compared to VMI), but are holding their opponents to 61.8 ppg on 39.2 percent shooting. Smith leads the team this season in scoring, netting 12.5 ppg on 47.4 percent shooting from the field. Justin Bibbs (11.9 ppg) and van Zegeren (10.4 ppg) complete the trifecta of Virginia Tech double-digit scorers. Van Zegeren leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 6.2 boards per outing.

Something will have to give in this contest, whether it's Virginia Tech's strong scoring defense or VMI's outrageous offensive numbers. Given the fact that Virginia Tech has the home advantage, and VMI hasn't played well against higher competition this season, the Hokies should be the ones coming out on top.