The Hokies made it interesting again, but picked up a huge ACC road win.
Much to the chagrin of every Virginia Tech fan, the Hokies’ men’s basketball team likes to keep things interesting. They did it again on Wednesday night, thankfully, this time the Hokies prevailed, defeating Syracuse 76-74 on the road to improve to 15-5 on the season and 4-3 in ACC play.
The Orange started the game hot, with guard Nate Kingz drilling a couple of early 3-pointers to give Syracuse a 10-point lead. Their 3-point shooting proved the difference in the first half, as they made 7 of 12 attempts, while the Hokies were just 3 of 9. However, the Hokies were excellent inside the paint, scoring 18 of their 30 first-half points inside. Syracuse would head into halftime holding a 37-30 lead.
The second half was a different story. Tech attacked Syracuse inside, getting the Orange in the bonus early. Once the Hokies finally took control of the game midway through the second half, they maintained the lead, and whenever Syracuse would get close, sophomore guard Ben Hammond would take over. Tobi Lawal came off the bench again for the Hokies and was outstanding, registering yet another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Junior forward Amani Hansberry got off to a strong start, but picked up his fourth foul around seven minutes into the second half. Freshman center Christian Gurdak, who was dominant early in the paint, also sat for an extended stretch in the second half with four fouls.
It finally appeared the Hokies would take over, going ahead 68-59 with 1:02 remaining. But, as we’ve learned with this group, it’s never over. After Hammond made two free throws to make it 70-62, the Orange would score five in a row to make it a one-possession game with 38 seconds left. Two ugly turnovers by the Hokies, one by Jaden Schutt and one by Neoklis Avdalas, kept Syracuse within striking distance. Avdalas was fouled twice in the final seconds, but made one of two free throws on each of his trips to the free-throw line. Fortunately, on his last miss with four seconds remaining, Lawal pulled down an impressive rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws, essentially ending the game.
This was a huge win for the Hokies. The ACC is tough this year. Syracuse has a good team, and playing in that dome is always hard for opponents. Despite getting behind in the first half, the Hokies stuck to the script and clawed their way back. No player was more important than Hammond, whose 24 points led all scorers. Virginia Tech did good job of shutting down sophomore forward Donnie Freeman, holding him to points on 3 of 14 shooting from the field.
In addition to his 24 points, Hammond also had 4 assists, 4 rebounds and 6 steals. It was another rough outing for Avdalas. He scored 10 points, but made only 4 of 15 shots from the field, and went 0-4 from beyond the arc. As a team, Virginia Tech made only 4 of 17 3-pointers.
Next up for the Hokies is a trip to No. 23 Louisville on Saturday, which could be postponed due to the massive winter storm that appears likely to impact the entire region.
Category: General Sports
