Virginia Tech Hammers Maryland-Eastern Shore 92-37

Virginia Tech
Landers Nolley and Virginia Tech enjoyed an easy win against Maryland-Eastern Shore. (Jon Fleming)

Virginia Tech thrashed overmatched Maryland-Eastern Shore 92-37 on Sunday night in the Hokies’ final non-conference tuneup game.  Tech improved to 10-3 with the victory, while the Hawks dropped to 1-14 on the season.

Maryland-Eastern Shore, whose only win this season has come against Clarks Summit University in a game Summit lists as an exhibition, shot just 14-of-59 (23.7%) from the field against the Hokies, and were only 7-of-26 (26.9%) from three-point range.

Despite the good performance, Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young sees many ways in which his defense can improve.

“Still, we have a long way to go,” Young said. “We still look so young in some regards, just in terms of our readiness, just in terms of our level of engagement and communication. They talk like chatterboxes in the locker room and in the halls, but then they go on the floor and they draw inside of themselves a little bit, and I don’t like that, but they’re trying. They want to communicate better and more effectively, but it is a sign of our youth that we are continually trying to work on.”

The most amazing stat of the night was the fact that Virginia Tech committed just two turnovers in a game, with their first coming by walk-on guard Brendan Palmer with only 4:24 remaining in the game.  The two turnovers matched the school record set against Wake Forest back during the 2006-07 season.

“I don’t think I have been [in a game where his team only committed two turnovers], and I don’t care who you’re playing, that’s an impressive statistic,” Young said. “There are a lot of moving parts, and in how we want to play with that ball moving from side to side, with five guys touching it, and with those Maryland-Eastern Shore kids being tough kids, physical kids, scrappy kids.”

Redshirt freshman Landers Nolley paced the Hokies with a double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.  True freshman Hunter Cattoor came off the bench to score 17.  He was 5-of-7 from three-point range.  Redshirt freshman guard Tyrece Radford had 13 points and five assists.  True freshman center John Ojiako had 15 points and eight rebounds, while true freshman guard Jalen Cone finished the game with 11 points.

Tech dished out 20 assists as a team, led by junior point guard Wabissa Bede with six.

Virginia Tech returns to action on Saturday, January 4 when ACC play heats up.  The Hokies will travel to Charlottesville to take on in-state rival UVA.  Tipoff is scheduled for 2pm, and the game will be televised by RSN.  Check your local listings.

“We need to start January off the same way,” Tyrece Radford said. “We can play even better. We haven’t played our best ball yet.”

Box Score

Game Notes From Virginia Tech

Record and Notables

  • Virginia Tech improves to 10-3 overall with the victory over the Hawks.
  • The 92-37 win is the largest margin of victory since 2011 (Mount St. Mary’s ).
  • Tech had just two turnovers, tying a school-record set in 2007 versus Wake Forest.
  • The Hokies have now reached 32 straight home non-conference victories, adding to their school record.
  • Tech leads the all-time series 10-0 over Maryland-Eastern Shore. The Hokies have won four straight in as many years versus the Hawks, including their 85-40 win in 2018.
  • UP NEXT: The Hokies will travel to Charlottesville to take on No. 16/13 Virginia in the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529 on Saturday, Jan. 4.

Team Notes

  • Virginia Tech used the starting lineup of Wabissa Bede, Tyrece Radford, P.J. Horne, Landers Nolley II, and Nahiem Alleyne. Tech’s freshmen shined as they scored a combined 79 points.
  • KEY FIRST HALF RUN: The Hokies opened the contest on a 16-2 run, following five straight points scored by Hunter Cattoor. Cattoor closed the first half with back-to-back triples capped off by a P.J. Horne dunk to give Tech a 45-22 lead at the break. Cattoor recorded 14 points in the first half while redshirt freshman Tyrece Radford added 13 of his own.
  • KEY SECOND HALF RUN: Tech went on a 12-0 run to start the second half with Jalen Cone hitting a triple and Landers Nolley adding a jumper and a lay-in during that stretch. The Hokies never trailed throughout the entire game, winning 92-37.
  • Landers Nolley recorded his first double-double of his career with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds. Hunter Cattoor scored a career-high 17 points in the victory.
  • Tech’s bench scored 49 points tonight, marking the seventh game this season the bench has scored over 20 points.

Individual Notes

  • Tyrece Radford notched a career-high in two categories: points with 13 and assists with five.
  • Hunter Cattoor nailed a career-high five 3-pointers versus the Hawks. Cattoor now has hit nine over his last three games.
  • John Ojiako registered his career high in points with 15.
  • Landers Nolley led Tech in scoring for the ninth time this season.
  • Jalen Cone scored 11 points, which is his third game this season reaching double figures. Cone also grabbed a career-high four rebounds.
  • Brendan Palmer, a walk-on, scored his first points of his career, making a layup with five minutes remaining in

7 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. A little history. UMES (aka Maryland State) was a powerhouse in football with many NFL stars. In the late 60’s, early 70’s they were a powerhouse in basketball with Jake Ford, Joe Pace. Levi Fontaine and Tal Skinner making there way to the NBA.

    1. huh…..interesting comment. Cant say it sounds very positive but its interesting to say the least. So I will trade you with some optimistic hope: The kid is listed at 6-10, that height alone has to be good for 5 to 10 made shots per game. So I think at least 10ppg could be pretty achievable.

      He is the same size as some of the perennial top NBA players in the league scoring 14 to 27ppg like: Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Nikola Vucevic, Andre Drummond, Danilo Gallinari If the kid is truly 6-10 then he is actually taller than Al Horford, Blake Griffin, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron “The King” James. He also hits 63% of his free throws when he gets to the line which is almost 10% better than Dwight Howard (6-10).

      So at this stage……He’s just a Freshmen, give him some time. We might be pleasantly surprised.

      1. 5 to 10 made shots per game? Get real. That’s an 18 pt/game guy. 6’10” or not, Ojiako isn’t near capable of that right now. It remains to be seen where he ends up, but he’s a 2-3 made shots/game guy – at best – this year.

      2. You can’t be serious with those comparisons. Height alone isn’t an indicator of success, the NCAA is littered with guys 6’10. To mention him with a handful potential of NBA all-stars because he’s 6’10 is crazy. I’ll agree to give him time, he did re-classify, but basketball skill is what will lead to being pleasantly surprised not how tall he is.

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