Charles Nailen/The Hoya Virginia Tech freshman forward Coleman Collins dunks the ball as Georgetown senior center Courtland Freeman can only watch. The Hokies rolled to a 80-65 victory Wednesday night.

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Hoyas’ game against Virginia Tech Wednesday ended with 3:07 to go.

That was when senior guard Gerald Riley fouled out, leaving the Georgetown men’s basketball team to fumble its way to an 80-65 loss to a Hokies team that is tied for second-worst in the Big East.

Riley was essentially the only member of the Hoyas (13-7, 4-6 Big East) who was effective against Virginia Tech (10-10, 3-6 Big East), as he finished with 24 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including five three-pointers.

“He was the only one hitting,” sophomore point guard Ashanti Cook said. “If he had stayed out of foul trouble, we would have had a shot.”

Even before Riley fouled out, things looked grim for the Hoyas – down by nine at halftime and as many as 17 in the second half – but his heroics kept Georgetown breathing.

Head Coach Craig Esherick pointed to rebounding as the Hoyas’ continual problem that, this time, did them in.

“That was the kind of game that we’ve played a few of this year, in the sense that we didn’t rebound at all, really, the entire game,” Esherick said.

Georgetown was outrebounded 37-26 in the game, and in the first half, their offensive rebounding was almost nonexistent; the Hoyas were outrebounded 19-10 in the period, grabbing only two offensive boards.

“I didn’t think we had the toughness that you need to have defensively in this league,” Esherick said. “Except for Gerald Riley and [senior center] Courtland Freeman, I didn’t think we showed the kind of competitive toughness that you need in this league.”

Virginia Tech, which was coming off a big win over No. 23 Providence, had all five starters in double figures, and freshman forward Coleman Collins, who was averaging 8.5 points per game, scored 20. It was his second double-figure game in a row after scoring 21 points and grabbing nine rebounds against Providence. He was Big East rookie of the week.

Hokies senior forward Bryant Matthews was named co-Big East player of the week after getting 23 points against Providence. He was in foul trouble Wednesday, and finished with 14 points in 24 minutes.

After Miami lost Wednesday to Boston College, Virginia Tech found itself tied with the Hurricanes at 3-6 in the league. The only team with a worse conference record is 0-10 St. John’s.

Georgetown gave up easy basket after easy basket, allowing the Hokies to score 38 points in the paint. They allowed dunks and one alley-oop in the second half that brought the noisy crowd of 6,746 at Cassell Coliseum to its feet.

But the most crushing moment of the night for the Hoyas had to be Riley’s departure, when the Hoyas were down by 12. After a Georgetown basket, freshman guard Ray Reed stole the inbounds pass as he and Riley were pressing. He tried a fancy behind-the-back pass to Riley, but it was broken up by sophomore guard Markus Sailes. Riley tried to get the ball back but was called for his fifth foul.

“It’s tough,” Esherick said. “You have to live with a freshman mistake.”

Riley’s hot shooting has become a habit for him. He has been on a streak since Jan. 31 at Miami when he scored 35. After a loss to Villanova, he poured in 37 against Miami at home.

His 24 against the Hokies was even more impressive with the defense that they played on him. While Georgetown tried to use screens in set plays for their shooter, the athletic 6-foot-5 Sailes was able to get around them and tie Riley up along the baseline. Miami did not have guards who could match up with the 6-foot-6 Riley.

“Markus on Riley – that was a key move,” Hokies Head Coach Seth Greenberg said. “He used his size.”

Virginia Tech’s defense on the rest of the team was effective as well, as they limited Georgetown to a 42.3 shooting percentage. Sophomore forward Brandon Bowman, who had 15, and senior forward Courtland Freeman, who had 10, were the only players other than Riley to score in double figures.

“It’s very simple,” Greenberg said. “We defended.”

Georgetown next plays at Temple on Saturday at 2 p.m.