Despite Cattoor, Hokies Lose Sixth Straight In 78-68 Loss To No. 10 Virginia

By Carter Hill

Staff Writer

January 18, 2023

Virginia's Kihei Clark scored a game-high 20 points to guide the Cavaliers to a 78-68 victory over Virginia Tech. (Virginia Athletics)

CHARLOTTESVILLE — In the midst of what was a five-game losing streak for Virginia Tech coming into Wednesday night’s matchup with archrival Virginia inside John Paul Jones Arena, it was easy to pinpoint exactly what had been going south for the undermanned, overwhelmed Hokies over the course of the last calendar month.

With star guard Hunter Cattoor sidelined for the past four contests due to an elbow injury suffered in a late-December loss to Boston College, Tech struggled to maintain a strong offensive identity, shoot at a consistent clip and to remain top-tier in its defensive play without one of the cornerstone pieces for the Hokies on the hardwood.

By no coincidence, with Cattoor returning to the floor in the clash with the Cavaliers, Tech immediately was able to revert back to a similar form, at least on the offensive side of the ball.

Shooting an impressive 49% (27-of-55) from the floor and a solid 44% (12-of-27) from three, you would’ve thought that the Hokies would’ve walked away with their first victory in over a month. But alas, No. 10 Virginia (14-3, 6-2 ACC) proved to be just a little bit too much for the maroon and orange on its home floor, handing Virginia Tech (11-7, 1-6 ACC) its sixth straight loss in a 78-68 win for the Cavaliers.

“I’m proud of our numbers. 19 assists in here, only eight turnovers. Those are Virginia Tech numbers,” said Tech fourth-year head coach Mike Young.

“I thought that was a high level college basketball game. I thought my team fought, and they’re very good.”

Typically a matchup dominated by defense, it was a bit strange to see two of the ACC’s most respected to be trading punches on the offensive end.

UVa countered Tech’s strong shooting night by going 50.9% (29-of-57) from the field of their own, and held an overwhelming 36-22 advantage in regards to points in the paint, a statistic in which the Cavaliers had once dominated, 26-6, at the halftime intermission.

“You rarely hear me say this, but we had to score,” said longtime Virginia head coach Tony Bennett. “We had a hard time stopping them, and we ran a good offense. The guards made timely big baskets, but they put a lot of pressure on you. I just thought there were some key plays.”

Though the Hokies only led for a mere 1:51 of the night, Tech always found themselves within striking distance throughout the duration of the evening. Despite trailing 40-31 at the half, and with UVa carrying all the momentum into the locker room after finishing the first period of play on a 17-7 run over the course of the final 5:02, Young’s team was able to pull within two on multiple occasions, but just could never get over the hump.

Down 51-49 with 12:18 to play after a Grant Basile deuce, the Hokies found themselves a stop and a bucket away from knotting the game up even. But a proceeding 6-0 run by the Cavaliers pushed the lead up back to eight.

And although Tech cut the advantage back down to four on a Justyn Mutts two-hand slam, UVa went on another 6-0 binge to make it 65-55 - a deficit the maroon and orange never fully recovered from, dropping them to a dreadful 1-6 in ACC play.

Despite falling for the sixth time in as many tries, the Hokies themselves can see the light at the end of the tunnel in what’s been a disastrous month of basketball in the confines of the New River Valley.

Darius Maddox’s team-high 13 points with three triples from the outside certainly contribute to that certain way of thought, with Grant Basile notching 12 points his own, Cattoor adding 11 and both Mutts and Sean Pedulla putting up 10 a piece to solidify all five starters scoring in double figures.

Cattoor’s performance still feels the most noteworthy. A much-needed presence on the wing in Virginia Tech’s starting lineup, the senior from Orlando, Florida went a notable 3-of-6 from three in his return to the starting five, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out five assists in 34 minutes played for the veteran guard.

“He’s like the tide. He raises all of our ships,” Young said of Cattoor. “He makes everybody better. He makes everybody better offensively, because he’s a gravity shooter.

“They gravitate to him, because of his ability to catch and shoot. …He’s an unbelievable floor general at the off guard spot. He’s a great teammate. They love playing with him. They trust him, and he’s tough as a pine knot.”

“Just [Cattoor’s] presence out there, it’s really big for our team,” said freshman guard MJ Collins, who scored 8 points off the bench. “He’s always in the right spots. He keeps everybody in the right spots. He’s just such a leader for our team.”

Though Tech made significant progress on the offensive end, the Hokies struggled with a potent UVa offense that still ranks as one of the nation’s best.

Fifth-year senior Kihei Clark put up a game-high 20 points to lead the attack at the top of the key, while Armaan Franklin (15), Jayden Gardner (12), Reece Beekman (11) and Ben Vander Plas (10) each scored in double figures over the course of the contest for the 10th-ranked Cavaliers.

Tech at times seemed like it would break through on Wednesday night in Charlottesville. But, in the end, another close bout results in another close defeat, with the Hokies now finding themselves in a sense of urgency mode with 13 games to play in the ACC slate.

So what does Virginia Tech have to do to turn the tides after losing for the sixth time in a row for the first time in the Mike Young era?

“That effort right there. That level of basketball,” Young said. “They’ve got a really good outfit. I’ll tell you what, if there are 10 teams better than them nationally, I’d like to see them.

“They’re very good. And so are we. We’re going to be fine. We’re going to figure it out.”