Hokies Hold Off Boston College To Draw Even In Conference Play

Carter Hill

Editor-in-Chief

January 24, 2024

BLACKSBURG – There’s a first for everything, and in this case, it was a big one.  

Riding hot first-half shooting, a perfect 16-of-16 night at the line and a team-high 17 points from standout guard Hunter Cattoor, Virginia Tech (12-7, 4-4 ACC) knocked off Boston College (11-8, 2-6) for the first time since 2019 in a 76-71 win over the Eagles on Tuesday night inside Cassell Coliseum. 

“I’ve been around here five years now,” Tech head coach Mike Young said. “Any of these ACC wins, I don’t give a damn who it is, what it is, where it is. Sign me up. We beat a good team.” 

The Hokies had to do so without the likes of Mehki Long, Brandon Rechsteiner and John Camden. Long missed Tuesday’s victory due to a knee injury, Rechsteiner due to being poked in the eye and Camden as a result of coming down with an illness. 

As a result, Tech had to turn to a seven-man rotation, the thinnest the Hokies have been all season. 

For the most part, the maroon and orange didn’t skip a beat, shooting 60.7% (17-of-28) in the first half and 49.1% (26-of-53) for the game in the five-point win. 

“The ball moved,” Young said. “We were playing the right way. The ball was getting to multiple sides. They were having some difficulties with some of our actions, and our kids were executing it properly.  

“The ball was moving at a good pace, and that’s very important with how we play.” 

Indeed, Tech dished out 16 assists to just 11 turnovers, a steady improvement over the recent past.  

Coming into Tuesday night, the Hokies had turned the ball over an alarming 49 times with just 38 assists over the past three contests, so to see that rate decrease, certainly was a much-needed plus.  

The perfect 16-of-16 mark from the charity stripe paid dividends, too, marking the first time Tech has accomplished the feat since a meeting with North Carolina back in 2009. 

“That’s the difference right there,” said guard Sean Pedulla, who finished the night with 16 points. “The game came down to one or two possessions. That’s huge, guys stepping up to the line and taking care of business. Free throws might have been the story at the end of the game. ... You’ve got to hit those free throws.  

“[The] guys are just doing what they’re supposed to do.” 

Defensively, the Hokies were sharp as well.  

Tech turned the Eagles over 15 times over the course of the contest and limited standout forward Quinten Post to just 15 points.  

That’s the second straight game the Hokies have kept the opposing big man at bay, with NC State’s DJ Burns scoring just eight points in Tech’s Saturday win. 

“To limit Quinten to 15 is big,” Young said. “That’s a great job. We were dialed up on him now. We really wanted to take away his three, he got one down in the second half. 

"I thought Lynn [Kidd] and Mylyjael [Poteat] did a really good job on him and our team did a good job in giving him something to think about with that ballside guard digging down on him a little bit.” 

On a night where it had to happen, everyone contributed, too.  

All seven to reach the floor scored for Virginia Tech, with four Hokies entering double figures.  

While Cattoor and Pedulla both led the way, MJ Collins’ 11 points served as a big boost on the offensive end, while Kidd’s 10, Robbie Beran’s nine, Poteat’s eight and Tyler Nickel’s five each provided a pulse when the team needed it most.  

Now, all of a sudden, Tech’s in a fairly good spot.  

Sitting at .500 in conference play with two more home games to come, the Hokies have once again put themselves in position to be in position for a conversation in March. 

There’s still a ways to go, but Tech’s starting to find it. And with Georgia Tech on-deck this Saturday, that’s another big-time opportunity to vault ahead in a postseason chase. 

“We’re just getting a flow going, offensively and defensively” Pedulla said. “I think every game we’re being more tough and physical than the teams we’re playing, and we have to have that identity going forward of just being the tougher team and throwing the first punch.” 

“Let’s continue to get better,” Young said. “We got better today. We fought through some adversity with those guys down. Let’s come back and play a quality ballgame on Saturday.”