Hokies Hold Down Vermont In 73-51 Victory
Carter Hill
Editor-in-Chief
December 16, 2023
Virginia Tech's Lynn Kidd recorded another double-double in the 73-51 win over Vermont. (Virginia Tech Athletics)
BLACKSBURG – Coming into Saturday afternoon, Vermont was a top-50 team in both field goal percentage and three-point makes.
Though against Virginia Tech, none of that translated into success. The Hokies (8-3) held the Catamounts (8-4) to just 36.8% (21-of-57) from the field and a mere 20% (4-of-20) from three, utilizing a stifling defensive display to race past Vermont in a 73-51 drubbing inside Cassell Coliseum.
“We had something to do with their cold shooting, make no mistake about it,” Tech fifth-year head coach Mike Young said. “Limiting them to four [three-point makes] is quite good. … The best we’ve played defensively and their stuff is good.
“I told them, ‘don’t let anybody try to convince you that this is just another win.’ That is a good win. That’s one we’ll look back on in March and will be a real feather in your cap.”
Indeed it is. The Catamounts have won the American East crown seven of the last eight tries, and have pulled numerous regular season upsets along the way.
In a game that easily could’ve been swayed in that direction, Tech quickly squashed any of those hopes, jumping out to a 26-2 lead and never really looking back.
The Hokies were 9-of-16 (56.3%) from the floor and 6-of-10 (60%) from three over that stretch of time, while Vermont was a hideous 1-of-17 (5.9%) from the field and had failed to knock down a trey.
“I think a lot of that started with our energy and effort on the defensive end,” sophomore guard Tyler Nickel said. “Offense is what it is. I think for us we’re never really worried about offense, that’s going to come. … I think more than anything, we were just mentally locked in. We just know that they’re known for being able to shoot the ball at a really high level.
“So knowing who their best shooters are and that everybody is looking to shoot, just being attentive to that, making every look they get a difficult one and not giving them really any comfort on catches, that’s kind of what helped us get out to that start.”
Lynn Kidd’s 17 points and 11 rebounds helped lead the way in the 22-point win, with both Nickel (13 points) and Hunter Cattoor (10) also entering double figures.
Tech continued its strong showing from the line, too, hitting 17-of-23 (73.9%) of its shots from the charity stripe. That even includes the three missed attempts from walk-on Conner Venable in the final minute of play, so overall, the Hokies were quite stout.
“When guys that drive it, Pedulla, Cattoor got fouled on a couple, that’s something we pay particular attention to,” Young said. “They only took nine, we took 23. We made [close to twice] as many as they took, so that’s encouraging.”
Tech also outrebounded the Catamounts by a 42-26 differential, failing to allow an offensive board until the second half.
Sean Pedulla returned to the fold, too. After being sidelined in last week’s win over Valparaiso due to a foot injury suffered the weekend before, the junior point guard scored seven points in just 16 minutes of play, with freshman Brandon Rechstenier stepping up to put up five points in 23 minutes.
“Scared to death about the possibility of playing without Pedulla tonight,” Young said. “I wasn’t sure we could beat them without Pedulla, but Rechsteiner got 23 minutes and those are critical minutes for a young person coming into his own.”
Overall, this is a nice win for the Hokies. There’s no doubt about that.
Even without MJ Collins due to a sore knee, Tech had no trouble with the perfect concoction for a sleeper-type game, and now with just one more to go when American comes to town on Thursday at 5 p.m. ET in non-conference play, it sets up nicely for the Hokies to carry a surplus of momentum into the ACC slate.
“It gives us a lot of confidence, especially us already this early in the season having ups and downs,” Nickel said. “So to get a solid win like this, knowing how hard we work and everything, being attentive to the plan and everything like that, I think it’s huge for us mentally knowing that we can go out and execute to that level and put on a performance like that.”
So with just one more tune-up, is Tech ready to go for ACC play?
“I’ve done it 22 times as a head coach, I don’t know that I’ve ever felt like I was quite ready for league play,” Young said. “We bring the end of December and the New Year in with a bang at [Wake Forest] and at [Florida State]. Let’s take care of Monday’s practice, Tuesday, Wednesday and the Eagles and let’s move on.
“Today was a really good step in a positive direction.”