Hokies dive deeper in conference play, hold on to beat Georgia Tech
By THOMAS HOWLETT
Patriot Publishing
The Hokies ended a three game Atlantic Coast Conference slate with a win over Georgia Tech Tuesday night [score]. The Hokies move to 5-4 in ACC play after surviving the Yellow Jackets.
Tuesday Jan. 27th; Virginia Tech 71 Georgia Tech 65
The Hokies made it back to Cassell Coliseum after a two game road trip and got into a surprising dogfight against Georgia Tech.
This followed the same script as most ACC games have. The Hokies battle in the first half with a late surge to close, they get a large lead in the second half, and then almost blow it at the end.
Virginia Tech led by 15 late in the second half, but with roughly two and a half minutes left Tobi Lawal fouled out of the game. It seemed inconsequential at first, especially with a ten point lead, but once again as Virginia Tech games have trended it was not over yet.
Missed shots and turnovers kept the Yellow Jackets alive and in transition, Georgia Tech was able to turn them into easy points.
It looked like another disaster waiting to happen, but luckily for the Hokies, Georgia Tech just ran out of time. Ben Hammond played hero with his clutch shooting at the line to make it a four point game, with Jailen Bedford coming to the line shortly after to officially put an end to the Yellow Jacket threat.
Hammond led all scorers with 20 points and he was followed by Bedford’s 14-point performance. For the first time since injury Lawal made a return to the starting lineup, leaving Christian Gurdak to come off the bench.
It was a good win to close out the slate, but the Hokies have to meet their maker Saturday when the Duke Blue Devils come into town.
Saturday Jan. 24th; Louisville 85 Virginia Tech 71
The Hokies finished their road trip against Louisville and were outmatched by the Cardinals and their starpower.
This one was not close, as Louisville led for 92 percent of the game. They were able to expose the Hokies biggest flaws, showing great discipline on the defensive end and slicing apart the Hokies’ defense with precision.
The Hokies defensively were a mess and the offense started slow, but finished with good efficiency. Virginia Tech finished at 40 percent from the field and 53 percent from three, but once again Louisville was able to keep them off the foul line which hurt the Hokies.
Jailen Bedford continues his hot streak with 24 points shooting 6-8 from beyond the arc. Bedford continues to look impressive when his hand is hot.
Tobi Lawal finished with only two points, but he swatted away five shots, a career high for him.
Wednesday Jan. 21st; Virginia Tech 76 Syracuse 74
The Hokies started the week with a stellar victory on the road over rival Syracuse 76-74. Virginia Tech trailed for a large majority of the game, until a late second half run gave them enough cushion to secure the victory.
Mike Young as his squad avoided some late game deja vu when Tobi Lawal closed the contest with two clutch free throws.
Syracuse hit a three as time expired to make the score a bit more favorable. The Orange had a strong night, but the biggest difference was the free throw line. The Hokies went 26-36 from the foul line. Syracuse had a better percentage, but only went 12-14 from the line.
Ben Hammond led the Hokies with 24 points and a career high six steals. Lawal recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds for back-to-back double-doubles.
It was a solid week for the Hokies even with the loss to Louisville. Ben Hammond continues to prove his worth and Jailen Bedford has started to live up to his pre-season hype.
Amani Hansberry had a quiet week but will undoubtedly rebound in the next group of games. Tobi Lawal had an off and on stretch with solid performances against Syracuse and Georgia Tech, but a shaky outing against Louisville.
Jaden Schutt had a tough week shooting 4-15 from three. His shot has gone cold as of late, but that is the way the game goes, so he should have a chance to get out of his slump soon.
The biggest disappointment as of late has been Neo Avdalas. The international phenom looked to be the bee’s knees early in the season, but as of late he doesn’t look as sharp. In this set of games Avdalas shot 8-38 from the floor, 2-15 from three, and 3-6 from the foul line. If the Hokies want to make a run at the tournament in March his performance must improve.
Avdalas does have more value than just scoring, as he did have nine assists to just two turnovers in these three games, but this flaw has been exposed too many times and is a big reason they have had so many close encounters in conference play. Avdalas has had only one game in ACC play where he finished shooting 50 percent from the field and not a single game above that mark. He hasn’t had a performance shooting above 50 percent since December 11th against Western Carolina.
At the moment the Hokies are still on the NCAA Tournament bubble as projected by ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. He has Virginia Tech a part of the last four in which would see them playing in the first four likely as an eleven seed.
March is still a ways off, but the Hokies still have a resume to finish.