Virginia Tech overcame a 16-point first half deficit to defeat NC State 73-68 in overtime in Cassell Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The Hokies broke a 2-game losing streak and improved to 9-5 overall, with a 1-0 record in ACC play. The Wolfpack dropped to 10-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Things didn’t go right early on for Virginia Tech. They played good defense throughout, but they couldn’t find a way to score. They found themselves trailing 32-16 with 2:34 remaining in the first half, and it appeared they were on their way to their third consecutive blowout loss.
Though the Hokies cut the lead to 34-24 at halftime, they still trailed by 14 with 15:52 left in the game when a Caleb Martin three-pointer made the score 43-29. However, they steadily crawled back into the game. Trailing 48-38 with 10:31 left, Tech went on a quick 7-0 run that was sparked by three-pointers from Kerry Blackshear and Jalen Hudson. Hudson was fouled on his attempt and converted the free throw for a four-point play to make the score 48-45.
The Hokies eventually claimed their first lead of the game with 4:20 remaining on a breakaway dunk by Seth Allen. NC State battled back and took a three-point lead of their own following a free throw by BeeJay Anya to make the score 61-58 with just 33 seconds remaining. However, Allen came up with another big play, knocking down a three-pointer to tie the game at 61.
The Wolfpack had the ball for the last shot, but a layup attempt by the leading scorer in the ACC, point guard Cat Barber, was blocked by several Hokies. The block was credited to Shane Henry, who came away with the rebound. The game went to overtime.
Jalen Hudson, who finished with 23 points, scored the first bucket of overtime, but the Hokies had to overcome adversity again. NC State led by two with 2:19 remaining, and after the Hokies battled back to take a one-point lead, the Wolfpack tied the game on a Maverick Rowan free throw. That’s when Tech took over.
With the shot clock winding down, Kerry Blackshear took the ball at the top of the key and blew by the NC State defense, finishing with a layup that put the Hokies up 69-67 with 1:23 left in the game. They would never relinquish the lead. Tech played great defense down the stretch, and Justin Bibbs and Zach LeDay made all four of their free throw attempts to ice the game.
Hudson and Allen scored 23 points each for the Hokies. Both hit numerous tough shots, particularly Hudson.
“You’ve got to give those guys credit,” NC State coach Mark Gottfried said after the game. “I thought those guys made a lot of tough shots.
Kerry Blackshear made numerous big plays in overtime and finished with nine points and eight rebounds, including five offensive rebounds. Zach LeDay finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, and also pulled down five offensive boards. LeDay blocked three shots.
The Hokies have not played good defense in recent games, but they held NC State to 32.3% from the field. Cat Barber scored 21 points, but he was just 7-of-21 shooting. The Wolfpack were just 5-of-23 (21.7%) from three-point range. Virginia Tech committed just four turnovers in 45 minutes of basketball, which was critical.
“The first half we had probably the same looks as we had in the second half,” Jalen Hudson said. “We just couldn’t finish them like we wanted to. In the second half we were able to convert.”
Virginia Tech returns to action on Monday night when they host #5 UVA. Tipoff is scheduled for 9pm, and the game can be seen on ESPN2.
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Picking nits here, but VT actually led 5-2 early, instead of “The Hokies eventually claimed their first lead of the game with 4:20 remaining…”
Did anyone else notice the Wolfpack players laughing with each other when they were ahead so much? They’re not laughing this morning. Great team effort and win. An anti-“Aaron Rogers” moment. Keep it up Guys!
Very happy for Buzz and the team. They could have quit, but they didn’t. Bravo!
I think our young team learned some things today. You could see the light go “on” for some of them. Good to get a conference win early to get that monkey off their backs!
Buzz Williams, I’m sure that you won’t read this, but I have to thank you for your statement today. You are tough, good at heart, and will work very hard and teach your players to work harder than the other guys to achieve their goals.
Congrats on the win, and keep up the fight! Sua sponte- do it the way you need to in order to instill greatness in your team!
Thanks again to you, the players, and our VT leaders for your efforts!
I wish this could be repeated a million times over to all of our fans. Buzz has thanked the fans for all of their patience, their commitment, etc. but I think Buzz needs to be thanked for all the things he has done and sacrificed for our program so far. It is easy to look upon the program with a W-L lens, but I seriously doubt most of the fans realize how much Buzz does for the program. One simple fact that I think every true Hokie would love is that every time I personally hear Buzz talk I think “any kid that grows up under Buzz’s tutelage is going to be a true man”. That to me speaks more words than any NCAA/NBA stats/records, and is something we as a Hokie Nation should be very damn proud of.
Loved how tough our guys played. They could have given up just before the half, but refused to cash it in. It is just one step in the climb, but it is in the right direction. As a former high school coach, I have been the most encouraged when my guys gave it everything (played hard, played smart, and played for each other) no matter what the scoreboard ended up saying. In the case of today’s game, I was both encouraged and happy because of the way we played and the scoreboard. Also appreciated Buzz’s opening statement. He was correct in what he said and he delivered it with the right tone.
Amen! I hope “Tyrone” (aka Jalen Hudson) and cast can continue to improve and light it up as the conference play continues! It’s all the little things that they do that add up to a big ACC win! Keep building off that success and pray the injury bug is done for the year!
Whoa, interesting opening statement by Buzz.
I assume that was preplanned.
What was reaction by media?
Very interesting, sounds like Whit had a talk with Buzz…and Whit took charge, I like that from our Athletic Director.
I am also curious on the reaction by the media on post game interview.
Great win and Go Hokies!
Agree, it takes a CEO and some VP’s to make a company hum. Awesome win, you never know when the turning point is, could be this one.
Live and Die by the Sword.
Team played great today. Saw it live
Individuals played terrible against WVU, saw that live too.
Team has potential if transition game keeps improving. As for Coach’s comments….it ain’t bragging so long as you back it w/ W’a got a nice one today.
Let’s Go…Hokies!!
Beat Wahoos!!!
+100!
Thx for the report. How big was the crowd? What’s a good ACC win target. Thx
Crowd was a little bit less compared to the WVU crowd if you exclude the student section. For some unknown reason the WVU fans were allowed to take over the student section. But for the NCSU game the student section was pretty empty. The rest of the coliseum was fairly full of VT fans.
thanks