Hokies Find Their Footing In Historic 85-72 Victory Over Florida State

By Carter Hill

Staff Writer

January 29, 2022

How long had it really been since the last time Virginia Tech had beaten Florida State inside the Donald L. Tucker Center?

Well, let’s turn back the clock.

The last time Tech came into Tallahassee and knocked off FSU, George H.W. Bush resided in the White House. MC Hammer would blast inside Mazda Miata’s. The Cold War had just come to a close. And neither the Hokies nor the Seminoles were members of the ACC, instead serving as old Metro Conference counterparts.

But on Saturday afternoon, just days after losing to Miami on a half-court heave, Virginia Tech (11-10, 3-7 ACC) did something it hadn’t done in 32 years — while snapping a six-game losing streak in the series — taking down Florida State (13-7, 6-4 ACC), 85-72, on its home floor in Tallahassee for the first time since 1990.

“Just so proud of them,” said head coach Mike Young immediately following the victory. “Easy to have your dauber down after that thing on Wednesday, have your head between your legs and feeling sorry for yourself. But right back they come on Thursday, working at it, working on their game, in the film room with our coaches and recognizing mistakes…just really proud of them.”

It was a historical afternoon on a lot of fronts down in the Florida Panhandle. Not only was the win itself significant in a multitude of ways, but it included a collection of on-the-floor records that were either knotted up or smashed with a pair of powerful performances.

Florida native Hunter Cattoor’s career-high 27 points led all scorers on Saturday afternoon, knocking down 9-of-11 attempts from the outside, and tying Justin Robinson’s single-game record for threes cashed in.

Young’s known he’s had it in him all along though.

“I couldn’t imagine life without him,” the third-year head coach admitted earlier in the week. “He’s a pillar of this program, one that we’ve built this thing on with,” he continued. “He may not pass the eye test at times, but you know what you’re going to get. He’s brilliant, I mean really a smart basketball guy. I’m glad he’s in a Hokie uniform.”

Young’s likely glad Sean Pedulla is in a Hokie uniform as well after dropping 20 points, also a career-high for the true freshman.

The 6-foot-1 guard netted six triples on seven attempts. Which, according to College Basketball Reference, makes both Cattoor and Pedulla the first pair of teammates in the last decade to go a combined 15-for-18 (80%) from downtown with at least 18 attempts.

When the Oklahoma native strolled in to speak with the media, Young embraced his freshman guard with a meaningful hug, calling him “the man of the hour, too sweet to be sour.”

The praise didn’t stop there.

“Pedulla’s coming on like gangbusters,” Young said. “I have great faith in him, he’s tough as a pineknot now…he recognizes he’s a major component of this club. He’s tough, he’ll bow his neck, he’ll move his feet, he keeps the ball in front of him…he’s coming on here.”

The former coveted recruit has been largely talked up through the majority of the season, but has shown flashes of his potential from time-to-time.

So how did it feel for Pedulla to finally have a breakout performance?

“Oh it feels great, it felt like I was in high school again just hitting shots that I usually hit,” Pedulla said. “It’s just confidence for me. Once you get one going and you get a couple shots in, then it’s just ‘keep shooting, don’t worry about it. Let it fly.’ That’s the mentality you have to have as a shooting. Once the first one went down, that’s all I was thinking about.”

For the game, Tech shot a whopping 63% from the field, 72% from 3 (its best since Feb. 2017), forced 14 turnovers, and spread the floor well throughout the duration of the contest.

In addition to Cattoor and Pedulla’s combined 47 points, Justyn Mutts found his way into double figures with 10 points of his own. And although the Hokies got just four points and a single rebound from star forward Keve Aluma, it’s something that is far from alarming Young.

“A great sign as we head into the second half (of conference play) where Aluma doesn’t have his best stuff,” Young said regarding Tech’s ability to win without immense production from arguably his best asset. “We got other people picking up their wagon and making winning plays. We’re not going to make 18 threes night-in and night-out, but to continue to get good play and smart, intelligent play from Sean (Pedulla) and Darius (Maddox) and those guys, is a real shot in the arm for our club.”

It was another solid night for the bench overall for Virginia Tech. After 23 points outside of the starting lineup on Wednesday, the Hokies followed that up with 32 today — something that has to bring quite the element of comfort to Tech’s head coach.

But after four games in seven days, a grueling week for Virginia Tech — with some mentally-wearing losses for the Hokies — this one had to feel a little extra special.

“Suck it up and go.” That’s been the mentality for Young and company throughout a tiring stretch of showdowns.

Finally, after a long-winded wait, the “go” part of that statement, finally is able to commence.