Hokies Fall To South Carolina In 79-77 Loss

Carter Hill

Editor-in-Chief

November 10, 2023

The Hokies fought, but couldn't crawl all the way back in a loss to South Carolina. (Virginia Tech Athletics)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It’s still early, but that’s a head-scratcher. 

Plagued by poor first-half shooting and a shaky defensive showing, Virginia Tech (1-1) dropped its first game of the season in a 79-77 loss to South Carolina (2-0) on Friday evening inside the Spectrum Center. 

The Hokies shot just 36.7% (11-for-30) in the first period of play, and knocked down just 14.3% (2-for-14) of shots from the outside.

“I didn’t think our rhythm was very good,” Tech fifth-year head coach Mike Young said. “I thought we were pushed up on the floor quite a bit. What we were doing offensively was not sharp enough. 

“That coupled with poor shot selection can lead to what you saw.”

VT also let 8:35 of game time pass without scoring more than a bucket. A Lynn Kidd lay-in was it over that stretch of time, and the Gamecocks took advantage by going on a 16-2 run. 

Indeed, South Carolina was fierce on the offensive side of the ball. The Gamecocks shot 56.4% from the field (31-for-55) over the course of the contest, hitting a whopping 47.6% (10-for-21) of their shots from beyond the arc. 

It was the combination of Myles Stute (21 points) and B.J. Mack (19) that gave the Hokies fits throughout the duration of the night, with Stute going 5-for-6 from long range and Mack adding a solid post presence down low. 

“Mack’s such a load,” Young said. “He’s a great passer, so you’re weary of a number of things. I’m just so disappointed we allowed… Stute’s a good player, take nothing away from Myles, but you’ve got to make a player like him dribble to a shot. You can’t let him catch it and shoot it. … They’ve got to make a number of threes to win. We wanted to hold them to six or seven. 

“We didn’t.”

As poor as the first half was, though, Tech crawled back. 

Trailing 38-31 at the halftime intermission, the Hokies surged out of the gates to cut the deficit to three. A Sean Pedulla triple quickly drew a timeout from the South Carolina side, and Tech had seemingly seized all the momentum.

“The way we started the second half was kind of how we wanted to start the game,” Pedulla said. “The biggest thing I think was getting over the ball screens fast so we could get back to Mack. And then kind of taking them off their spots, which they were doing to us in the first half. … Then rotationally being in our spots off the ball. 

“I thought we did better in that first segment of the second half, which allowed us to get on a little bit of a roll and get back in the game.”

The stats would show just that. In a complete flip of the script in the second half of play, the Hokies were 68.2% (15-for-22) from the field and 62.5% (5-for-8) from three. 

Pedulla’s career-high 26 points helped lead the way, with the Edmond, Okla. native nearly notching his second consecutive double-double after grabbing nine rebounds as well.

Pedulla’s 3-for-6 performance from the outside and 9-for-11 showing from the charity stripe could’ve been enough. But to South Carolina’s credit, it always struck back. 

Tech only led for a mere 44 seconds in the final 20 minutes of play, and every time it would get close, the Gamecocks would have a response. 

The Hokies could never get a stop when they truly needed to, including on the final possession. 

Tied at 77 with under 30 seconds to play, Mack slithered into the lane. Backing down Mylyjael Poteat, the former Virginia Tech commit went up with the right – scoring, and giving South Carolina the 79-77 lead.

Pushing the pace on the other end with a chance to either tie or take the lead, Pedulla pump faked the Gamecocks’ Ta’Lon Cooper in the air, tried to hand the ball off to Hunter Cattoor, and lost the ball on the deck. 

A jump ball with the possession arrow favoring South Carolina all but sealed it, with Tech falling in its first true test of the 2023-24 season. 

It’s a tough one for the Hokies, no doubt, but much ahead still awaits. The need to improve defensively is great, though time is still very much on Tech’s side. 

“[It’s] Nov. 10, we’ve got a long way to go,” Young said. “I knew it, I thought we’d play better. I thought we’d find a way to win today. We didn't. Lamont [Paris]’s team played better than our team. 

“We’ll get appreciably better as we move along.”