Virginia Tech overcame an 11-point second half deficit to defeat Georgia Tech 70-65 in overtime in Atlanta. The Hokies are now 10-6 on the season, with a 1-2 mark in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets dropped to 10-5 with the loss, and have yet to win an ACC contest.
Erick Green put the Hokies on his back, helping his team roar back at the end of regulation. Tech trailed 55-50, but managed to score the final five points of the half to force overtime. Green finished with 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He was 2-of-7 from three-point range, and 8-of-11 from the free throw line. He also had five rebounds and two steals.
C.J. Barksdale, who was benched for last Saturday’s game at Maryland for lack of effort, came up with his first career double-double. Barksdale had 11 points and 10 rebounds, and he was 4-of-5 from the field.
Robert Brown and Jarrell Eddie struggled, but came up with big shots in overtime when the Hokies needed them. Eddie only made three field goals all day, but one of them was a huge three-pointer to put the Hokies up 60-55 in overtime. Brown started the game 0-of-9 from the field, but hit huge back-to-back baskets in overtime to keep his team on top. Eddie finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Brown had 10 points and three assists. He made all six of his free throw attempts.
Cadarian Raines did not start the game, with James Johnson electing to go with r-freshman Joey van Zegeren, who has been more productive lately. When Raines finally entered, he started slowly, but finished with eight points and six rebounds, one of his better performances of late.
Virginia Tech played a much better defensive game this time around. The Hokies did not double the post, and actually spent the latter stages of the game in a 2-3 zone. Georgia Tech could not break VT’s zone, which enabled the Hokies to scratch and claw their way back into the game. GT did not make a field goal for the last seven minutes of regulation, and as a team, the Yellow Jackets shot just 36.1% from the field for the game.
The Hokies also outrebounded Georgia Tech 43-32, which turned out to be a huge part of their victory.
VT will take the week off, and they’ll return to action next Saturday when they host Wake Forest in Cassell Coliseum. Tipoff is scheduled for 2pm, and the game will be televised by The ACC Network.
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I thought once they got behind by 11, the game would slide into a normal 20 point loss. But, they ran their offense with crisp passes, everybody moving, and crashing the boards. Didn’t let the early blocked shots keep them from going to the basket. Green is a great player and was spectacular; but, it took real guts for Brown and Eddie to keep pushing after missing the early shots. That’s the toughness that has been absent for so many games. The ESPN 3 coverage has lost that fade in/fade out fuzziness that use to give a headache that lasted for three days.
Great game. I think they won cause I turned game over to football and forgot to turn back. I think they do better when I don’t watch.
It’s the GEORGIA ALUMS we were in force. Had it all the way.
Very audible, too — especially near the end with the LET’S GO … HOKIES chant before the home crowd responded to drown it out.
Congratulations to JJ for his first ACC victory.
Surprising win. The way the Hokies have been playing any win against any opponent is unexpected.
I hope the sleeping giant in Barksdale has woke up. Double double. Nice. Keep it up. Green needs the help.
Did I read right: VT out rebounded GT? What’s wrong with this picture? Nice job. Keep it up.
This will be a nice week off. A little rest, time to get it together again mentally. Seems like the off week comes at a good time. I was predicting a lot of upcoming losses, and we’re not out of the woods yet, but a win like today’s gives hope that there may be a few more wins out there.
Nothing against him but I’m thinking Raines must not have much leaping ability. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen him dunk and that’s fine. All you can ask of him is that plays hard. Thoughts?
Umm…are you talking about Barksdale? Because Raines was one of our best shot blockers and had numerous dunks in previous yrs and games this yr too
Same opponent, different sport, same result – VT wins in OT.
“Just like football!”