Early in the second half of last night’s game between Virginia Tech and Virginia, the Hokies’ point guard, junior Malcolm Delaney, looked toward official Jeff Clark during a break in the action. Delaney appeared baffled, frustrated even, that he wasn’t getting calls.

Later, with 10:18 left in the game, Tech called timeout, and Delaney sulked toward the bench, again miffed by a no-call on the previous play. Assistant coach Bill Courtney grabbed him by the shoulders and talked to him for a moment, trying to maintain his focus.

Jeff Allen’s fantastic second half—13 points, four blocks and two steals in 18 minutes, after sitting out all but 2:55 of the first half because of two early fouls—certainly proved the decisive storyline from Tech’s 61-55 win. But a noteworthy subplot was Delaney not getting whistles blown in his favor, and how he seemed to let that get to him.

Delaney shot just six free throws and made four. He entered the game averaging 11.1 free throw attempts in ACC play and was getting a stunning 42.7 percent of his league-best 22.1 points per game from the line. But he didn’t shoot a free throw in the first half and didn’t go to the line for the first time until 2:39 remained in the game. Those two free throws were his only true attempts of the game. The other four came in the final 30 seconds, when Virginia was desperate and fouling.

Delaney said the lack of calls—he was also called for two offensive fouls for pushing off—was “very” frustrating. “I guess I was flopping,” he said. He was alluding to an issue that he discussed earlier this week. After making 20 of 23 free throws last Saturday against Clemson, he made just 6 of 7 in Wednesday’s win at North Carolina State—Tech’s last game before it played Virginia.

A story about this appeared in Saturday’s dead-tree edition, but some pertinent information was left on the cutting-room floor because of space issues. No reason to not give you your money’s worth here on our fine Web site ...

“Some of the fouls, you won’t get a call if you don’t sell it,” Delaney said. “It’s just a part of the game. Sometimes, it’s probably a little bit too much. But then other times … I get beat up more when I don’t do it than when I do do it. There’s a lot of stuff that people do to me that you don’t see.”

He cited the N.C. State game, in which he didn’t get what he believed should have been a foul, after he said an opponent’s elbow knocked him to the floor and bloodied his mouth. He said the officials at N.C. State – the veteran crew comprised Mike Wood, Ted Valentine and Bryan Kersey – frequently told him to “stop flopping.”

Not surprisingly, Tech coach Seth Greenberg doesn’t see the situation entirely like that. He wants Delaney to go after a big man when he “blitzes” Delaney coming off a ball screen. “I think he’s smart and he attacks the guy,” Greenberg said. And Delaney’s reaction to the contact? Physics, Greenberg said, noting Delaney’s 6-3, 185-pound build is usually slighter than that of the man bumping him, or vice versa.

Delaney thinks his perceived embellishing and the high number of free throws he is shooting will lead to him getting fewer calls. But at least in the N.C. State game, the Wolfpack, which allowed Tech to shoot 52.9 percent, appeared less-inclined to play aggressive defense than Clemson, which bit on several Delaney head fakes for fouls and held the Hokies to 30.6 percent.

“I’m pretty sure every coach that we play is gonna call the referees and say something about it,” he said. “I don’t really care. I’m gonna play my game. … Coaches are gonna get mad. I would get mad if I was a coach, too. But tell your big men to step out the right way or tell your big men don’t jump out and try to block the shot every time. I can score without getting fouls. They don’t have to call fouls. I can adjust my game to whatever, and I’ve shown that I can score without that.”

... So there is some extra perspective that you didn’t get a chance to read in the paper. Obviously, the number of free throws a player shoots has a lot to do with how a team defends him. So how much of Delaney getting fewer calls last night stemmed from Virginia playing smarter defense against him than previous opponents did? And how much was the result of officials being aware about his knack for drawing fouls?

It’s hard to say. But what seems clearer is that Delaney, who shot 4 of 16 and scored 13 points, struggled with not getting agitated about the officiating.

“That’s hard,” he said afterward. “You can’t play. I couldn’t play. I don’t know. I can’t really talk about it, because I can’t criticize people. But I couldn’t play my game. I’ve just got to look past it. I’m pretty sure it’s gonna be like that every game. But like I said, that’s unfair. Other people can step up on our team.”

A few other items from last night ...

* Delaney continues to struggle with his 3-point shot. He made just 1 of 5 last night and has hit 13 of 56 in 10 ACC games—23.2 percent. Last season he made 34 of 94 (36.2 percent) in ACC play.

* Greenberg said earlier in the week that he wanted junior wing player Terrell Bell to get 10 rebounds. He almost did it. He had nine in 36 minutes. Bell has done a nice job of playing his role—that of a rebounder more than a scorer. He is averaging a team-best 5.9 rebounds in league play.

* Good defensive effort last night by junior shooting guard Dorenzo Hudson on Sammy Zeglinski. Hudson has been doing a nice job lately of guarding shooters off the ball, Greenberg said before the game. He held Zeglinski to four points on 2-of-9 shooting, including 0 of 4 on 3s.

* Sophomore center Victor Davila had four points and three rebounds in 27 minutes and appeared to suffer from cramps. He played just 10 minutes in the second half while getting stretched out on the sideline. Davila, in his first season as a full-time starter, is now averaging just 3.9 points and 4.5 rebounds in 25 minutes per game against ACC competition.

Before the Virginia game, Greenberg said of Davila, “I thought he did a great job defensively [at N.C. State]. I think he has done well. I’m a little disappointed … I want to see more from him offensively. The North Carolina game, I thought he was quick and aggressive. This past game, I didn’t think he was quick nor aggressive. He’s got to be consistently quick and aggressive. But he is playing harder, running the floor better. He’s been fairly consistent rebounding the ball. He is playing better defense.”

And defense was the area of Davila’s game that concerned Greenberg. The coach has always believed Davila is a gifted offensive player, though he hasn’t showed those skills lately. In the past three games—North Carolina, Clemson, Virginia—he shot 3 of 12 and scored a combined nine points.

* The win bumped Tech up to 49th in the Ratings Percentage Index. But the Hokies still need more quality victories to impress the NCAA tournament’s selection committee, because they are 1-2 against the RPI top 50. They have two chances this week. No. 11 Wake Forest comes to Blacksburg on Tuesday, then the Hokies travel to No. 3 Duke on Sunday.

Tech also got some help from Seton Hall beating Notre Dame yesterday. Why? Well, Seton Hall, which Tech beat Jan. 2, is now 54th in the RPI. If the Pirates finish strong, they could end up being another quality win for Tech.

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Virginia Tech’s point guard was frustrated by not getting calls at times during last night’s win over Virginia. Plus, Dorenzo Hudson’s strong defense on Sammy Zeglinski, Terrell Bell’s rebounding and other items from last night.