Virginia Tech basketball: Grant Basile carries Hokies to win over Notre Dame

The Virginia Tech Hokies rebounded from Wednesday’s disappointing loss to the Boston College Eagles by defeating the Notre Dame Fighting Irish 93-87 on Saturday in South Bend.

It was a back-and-forth affair that looked like Notre Dame would win due to its hot shooting from beyond the arc. The Fighting Irish made 13 of 25 from 3-point range in the first 30 minutes of the game. It looked like the Hokies were going down against a team that had a season-best shooting night against Tech’s defense.

However, Notre Dame would miss its last five shots from 3-point range while Virginia Tech senior forward Grant Basile put his team on his back.

Basile led the Hokies with 33 points — his second game this week over 30 points — including a stretch in the second half that saw him score 16 points on seven consecutive made buckets from the field. In addition, Virginia Tech’s team made 10 consecutive shots to give the Hokies a double-digit lead late. Those 10 consecutive made shots from the field spanned almost nine minutes of the game, ending with 3:03 remaining as Hunter Cattoor missed a 3-pointer.

The good news for Tech, the Hokies led by 10 points at this juncture of the game.

Tech would make its free throws, eventually holding off a feisty Notre Dame team for a win to improve to 15-10 on the season and 5-9 in ACC play.

While Basile led VT with 33 points, Justyn Mutts contributed 19 points. nine assists and eight rebounds. Freshman M.J. Collins and Sean Pedulla each scored 12 for the Hokies. Collins appears to be getting more comfortable each week in his increased role.

The Hokies were again without junior guard Darius Maddox who is out dealing with a family matter.

Virginia Tech shot 57% from the field, including 9 of 21 from 3-point range. The Hokies also made 20 of 25 free throws and only turned the ball over five times.

Next up for Virginia Tech is a Wednesday game at Georgia Tech.