Hokies Blitzed By Mintz, Syracuse In 84-71 Loss
Carter Hill
Editor-in-Chief
February 27, 2024
Sean Pedulla's team-high 18 points weren't enough to lead Tech past Syracuse. (Virginia Tech Athletics)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Sure, it’s well-documented that winning on the road in the ACC is a tough ask for any club.
But in the JMA Wireless Dome? And you’re Virginia Tech? That’s where it gets real dicey.
Spotting Syracuse a 45-27 halftime lead, and yielding 61.3% (19-of-31) shooting in the first half of play, the Hokies (15-13, 7-10 ACC) were never able to fully recover, falling to the Orange (19-10, 10-8) 84-71 on Tuesday night to move to 1-9 all-time in upstate New York.
“Terribly disappointed in our play in the first half,” Tech fifth-year head coach Mike Young said postgame. “We didn’t play with a lot of poise. We didn’t play with a lot of tenacity. We didn’t play with the level of tenacity that our Virginia Tech teams are known for. Much better in the second half, but let’s not take a lot of consolation in that.
“It’s a 40-minute game. You got to strap it on and play good basketball for 40 minutes, and we were unable to do that.”
“[We] just weren’t ready to play,” guard Sean Pedulla, who led the Hokies with 18 points, said. “Just plain and simple. We didn’t come out with the energy and effort, and before you know, we’re down however much at halftime and then we decided to turn it on in the second half. [We] can’t do that.
“That’s a large portion of why we didn’t come out on top tonight.”
On top of that, Tech couldn’t stop star guard Judah Mintz. The Syracuse standout ripped off a game-high 29 points in the 13-point win, going 10-of-17 from the field and knocking down all eight shots from the line.
“Mintz is a load,” Young said. “He’s got long arms, he’s strong. … He does such a good job, so dynamic with the ball in his hand and getting to 15 feet and shot faking and turning. …. Disappointed that we gave up 29 points to him, but a credit to Judah.
“He played an awfully good ballgame.”
Though having dug itself quite the hole, Tech fought back.
The Hokies shot themselves back in the game with a 57.1% (20-of-35) second half, cutting the deficit to as little as seven with just over five minutes to play.
“We moved better,” Young said. “I thought we screened a lot better. I thought we ran our stuff at a better pace and ran it the way it was supposed to be run. It’s amazing when you run your stuff the right way, good things happen. Our ball handling was poor [in the first half], our shot selection was poor in the first half.
“I thought those things took a real uptick in the second.”
For the game, Tech shot 49.2% (31-of-63) from the field, but just 30% (6-of-20) from three. Pedulla’s 18 points helped lead the way, while Lynn Kidd (16), Hunter Cattoor (12) and Mylyjael Poteat (11) each entered double figures to help the Hokies keep pace.
At the end of the day, though, an 18-point halftime deficit is just too daunting of a task for any team to overcome.
Plus, the Orange finished 34-of-60 (56.7%) from the field and were a perfect 12-of-12 from the line. That’s pretty dang good.
Now, with just three games left in the regular season, Tech turns its attention to Wake Forest back inside Cassell Coliseum. It’s a rematch from Dec. 30, when the Demon Deacons drubbed the Hokies 86-63 in Winston-Salem.
“Nothing like being home, nothing like the Cassell,” Young said. “Wake Forest is playing awfully well. We had similar difficulties with Wake in game one that we had tonight. We’re going to have to do a much better job against their guards. …. So we got our hands full.
“We’re going to have to play a good ballgame.”