despite last ditch effort, virginia tech falls to nc state

By Will Locklin

Staff Writer

January 7, 2023

BLACKSBURG – As NC State inbounded the ball, up by six points with under a minute left, Virginia Tech decided to bring extra pressure to the ball. Two Hokies — Justyn Mutts and MJ Collins — trapped Terquavion Smith right in front of the Tech bench. The trap flustered Smith into an errant turnover, as Mutts got a hand on the ball while Collins stripped Smith entirely.

After surveying the floor at a standstill, Collins swung the ball to the opposite wing for Darius Maddox, who was all alone behind the three-point arc. Maddox drained the triple, his second out of three in that final two-minute stretch. The junior guard’s long-range hit propelled the Hokies to within three as they trailed NC State 65-62 with 48 seconds remaining.

“It was just me not caring as much about shooting up makes or misses,” Maddox said postgame. “Being confident in myself that every shot can go in.”

Maddox's late-game trifecta from downtown wasn’t enough to bring the Hokies back. After Tech cut the lead to three once more, NC State pulled away for a final time thanks to a pair of pressure free throws from Smith, who led both teams in scoring with 22 points. In doing so, the Wolfpack (13-4, 3-3 ACC) marched into Cassell Coliseum on Saturday night and handed the Hokies (11-5, 1-4 ACC) their fourth consecutive ACC loss, winning by a final of 73-69.

“We couldn’t catch a break when we needed it most,” Tech head coach Mike Young told reporters postgame. “[We] couldn’t quite get that one big stop or one big rebound when we needed it.”

For much of the game, the Hokies struggled to break the swarming pressure and versatility of the Wolfpack defense. Tech shot 37.5% from the field and an ugly 12.5% (1-of-8) from three-point range in the first half. Additionally, Tech’s three leading scorers for the season - Sean Pedulla, Grant Basile and Mutts combined for a meager five points through the first 20 minutes.

“They have the ability to switch one through five,” Young said. “They were disruptive, but we were a lot better in the second half. The ball got to different parts of the floor, which is important to us. And we made some shots, too.”

After coming out of the halftime break down 14 points, the Hokies woke up offensively and struck the Pack with a 7-0 run. Mutts spearheaded the action, scoring seven points in the first four minutes and change of the second half. The sixth-year senior ended the game with nine points off 3-of-5 shooting from both the field and the free throw line, eight rebounds, four steals and two blocks.

“Go back and look at it, Mutts [had just] one rebound zero points in the first half. I’ve got to do a better job of getting him the basketball. He’s too valuable to us,” Young explained. “Having said that, I thought he was a special man yet again in the second half.”

Pedulla, Tech’s leading scorer so far this season, poured in a team-high 19 points on 5-of-13 shooting, 1-of-3 from three-point land and a perfect 8-of-8 on attempts from the charity stripe.

While Pedulla was the man of the second half, Lynn Kidd was the Hokies first half MVP. Kidd had 12 points and three rebounds after the first 20 minutes, and finished third in scoring behind Pedulla and Maddox with 14 points off a near-perfect 7-of-8 shooting and five rebounds.

“He [Kidd] earns everything he gets and not a darn thing has been given to him,” Young said. “He was awfully good out there. I’m proud of him.”

Freshman guard MJ Collins received the first start of his college career. Collins has played heavy minutes off the bench and with neither Hunter Cattoor or Rodney Rice available to play, he was inserted into the starting five, ending with six points off 3-of-5 shooting, three assists and two rebounds in his first start of collegiate career.

“I thought he was good tonight,” Young said. “Collins has gotten more opportunities…we’re close to getting everyone healthy with Rodney and Hunter. That will make us stronger.”

Certainly, Virginia Tech will look to return their two guards in Cattoor and Rice soon. Cattoor’s steady presence of leadership and on-court shooting and value off the ball has been missed. Rice is unknown, but he’s gearing up to play as soon as he can and will make an impact when he’s cleared to do so.

“The Rice thing is a medical thing and if the medical staff tells me he’s not ready, then he’s not ready and there’s nothing Mike Young can do,” Young said. “Rodney wants to play and he feels ready to play.”

For now, the Hokies will have to take it game-by-game and wait and see the status of two key guards in the coming days and weeks. However, even with those absences, Tech has to play better basketball.

“We’ve got to play better basketball around here,” Young said.

Virginia Tech dropped another ACC test, this time to NC State after losses to Clemson, Wake Forest and Boston College to put them at 1-4 in conference play.

On the other side, NC State surges to 3-3 in the ACC and picks up a big-time road win for its resume. Tech will try to steer its season back on course when the Hokies travel to Syracuse, New York to take on the Orange Wednesday night.