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There wasn’t much hope going into the game this evening. Even with the visiting Wahoos showing up without last season’s offense, their defense has been stellar. The Hokies’ Offense depends heavily on scoring from outside the 3 point ring, and if they don’t hit from downtown, the games just drop into the black hole of double digit losses.
It sure looked that way this evening at the end of the first half of play. Neither team was scoring much, but Tech was looking at a totally ridiculous 11 points and the Wahoos with a 15 point lead. There might have been something to the completely silly look of the score, (26-11) even for the Hoos. There have been middle school halftime scores that were more impressive. Who knows? Maybe Mike Young went into the lockerroom and said some magic words... or made some amazing speach about pride and ability.
What happened after the Hokies took to the court in the 2nd half won’t go down in history as more than a loss, but the furious comeback that they mounted placed them in a see-saw tie game with less than five minutes to go in the game, and the Wahoos never managed better than a 3 point difference after Techo caught them.
The Hokie offense put up 42 points in the 2nd half and managed to force the Hoos to struggle for 30. The Cavaliers were nearly beaten by a team of Freshmen and Sophomores, with one player who is really a high school senior.
Yes, the loss hurts, and especially because it let the Wahoos beat us twice this season, but it should serve notice to the ACC that the rebuilding Hokies are going to be something to contend with in the very near future.
Virginia Tech Hokies vs. Virginia Cavaliers - Hokie Stats
| Player | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Points | Assists | Rebounds |
| L. Nolley II | 13 | 2 | 5 |
| P.J. Horne | 9 | 0 | 2 |
| T. Radford | 8 | 2 | 4 |
| J. Cone | 8 | 0 | 1 |
| H. Cattoor | 6 | 1 | 2 |
This was another team game, where 9 players got court time, eight scored points, and nearly everyone grabbed boards, and made defensive plays. Hokies shot 6 of 7 from the charity stripe, and managed modest numbers from the floor. Landers Nolley II lead the list with the only scoring effort in double figures.
Scoring Percentages Field Goals - 37.3% 3 Pointers - 33.3% Free Throws - 85.7%
The Hokies play a Sunday game in Kentucky on March 1st against ranked Louisville. It’s a low expectations game so they need to just leave it all on the court.