Aluma crushes Virginia in Love-Day Commonwealth Clash

By Sam Alves

Staff Writer

February 14, 2022

BLACKSBURG — Keve Aluma caught the ball and immediately whipped into a silky-smooth turnaround jumper — one that would make Dirk Nowitzki blush — the dagger that pushed Virginia Tech’s late lead to eight in its 62-53 win over Commonwealth rival Virginia.

Aluma saved his best for last, sending the crazy Cassell crowd into a frenzy as if that looping shot hit them like Cupid’s arrow. The fifth-year senior finished with a game-high 24 points, eight rebounds and four blocks.

“Yeah, Keve likes these Cavaliers,” head coach Mike Young said. “He’s had three pretty good outings against those guys. He was really good.”

Aluma scored 29 when Tech beat Virginia 65-51 at home last year in front of a largely empty crowd. Behind Aluma on ESPN’s Big Monday, the crowd — one which serenaded both friend and foe from the tip — played a leading role in Virginia Tech’s sixth straight win, a victory that puts the Hokies (16-10, 8-7 Atlantic Coast) above .500 in conference play for the first time this season.

“It’s just more fun,” senior Justyn Mutts said about the effect of playing before a packed crowd, especially against Virginia (16-10, 10-6 ACC). “At the end of the day, it’s still just a game. We are all just playing basketball….It’s just a different type of experience.

“One of those last free throws, they got the building shaking. And I could feel it shaking. And then to know that all that is happening because they’re going to get free bacon.”

Mutts, Tech’s leader in assists at 3.3 per game, finished with a game-high five, including the post feed to Aluma to clinch the win.

“I just think his floor vision and he’s super unselfish [is the key to his effective passing,]” Aluma said. “As easy as he could score, he’s looking to set up people and get other people involved.”

“I just like to see my guys succeed,” Mutts said. “And if I see them in a position to be able to succeed then I’m going to do what I can to help them.

Nahiem Alleyne chipped in with 11 points, but no other Hokies finished in double figures. That lack of three-pronged scoring usually spells doom for the Hokies.

Instead, Tech relied on a stellar defensive effort, save for Jayden Gardner’s 17-point performance, though he only managed two in the second half.

The Hokies finished with six Valentine’s Day rejections, including a sequence of three in five seconds in the early minutes of the second half when Tech trailed by two.

One major key was shutting down Virginia point guard Kihei Clark, who finished with as many technical fouls (one) as made field goals.

“He’s a heck of a player,” Young said, though the Cassell Guard wasn’t shy voicing their disagreement, especially after an early air-ball. “Maybe [he] had a tough night.”

Tech did well to flip the script from their 54-52 loss at John Paul Jones Arena in January. Then, four Hokies — Sean Pedulla, Darius Maddox, David N’Guessan and John Ojiako — combined for just two points over a collective 24 minutes. Monday night, the Hokies finished with nine bench points, Tech’s margin of victory.

Tech did well to flip the script in the second half of Monday’s back-and-forth affair, too.

At halftime, Virginia led 29-25 thanks to 15 points from Gardner.

“I thought we did a good job recognizing his strengths and then trying to take those away [in the second half],” Mutts said. “He’s a lethal midrange shooter. Lethal. If he gets a shot away we all know it’s going in. We really just try to do what we can to take that away and also start to lock in on other guys.”

The Cavaliers outrebounded Tech 18-12 in the first half and 33-26 by the game’s end. The biggest difference in the first half was the second-chance points margin. Virginia turned four offensive rebounds into eight points, two more than Tech did on its three offensive boards.

In the second half, the Hokies held Virginia to just 10-for-30 (33%) shooting, and Virginia missed all nine 3-point attempts in the game. Tech’s cooled off from deep, shooting 5-for-20 (25%) from behind the arc, but it made as many field goals as Virginia on just 18 shots (56%) in the second half to complete the rally.

The win leaves the Hokies’ sights right where they were coming into the game, though, as they try to dig out of an 0-4 hole to start conference play. North Carolina, who beat Tech 78-68 in late January, comes to town Saturday afternoon.

“For a couple of us, we don’t get another chance,” Mutts, a graduate student, said of the mentality to close out the season. “This is our last chance to really turn it around.

“‘Every game is the Super Bowl,’ that’s something that coach Young has been telling us. Every game is the Super Bowl, and that’s how we’ve been taking it.”