Hokies hold onto lead, NCAA hopes in win over Pitt

By Sam Alves

Staff Writer

February 6, 2022

PITTSBURGH — With the game threatening to spiral fully out of control in the second half once Virginia Tech’s lead slipped from a comfortable 27-point margin to just a handful, Storm Murphy was there to hush the crowd at the Petersen Events Center.

Virginia Tech’s point guard, the graduate transfer who played under head coach Mike Young at Wofford and now runs his offense for the Hokies, posted 20 points — his highest total in maroon and orange — and pushed the right buttons late to close out an unexpected nail-biter against Pitt.

The Hokies (13-10, 5-7 Atlantic Coast) took a commanding 27-point halftime lead, but the Panthers (8-15, 3-9 ACC) pulled within three points in the last minute of an all-too-tight affair. In the end, experience and timely playmaking was the difference for a veteran squad that still has its eyes on the NCAA tournament.

“They’ve got nothing to lose,” Young started, explaining how Pitt made an almost unthinkable comeback. “What can go wrong? So here they come, and they’ve got their ears laid back…Human nature, you get on your heels a little bit and you start to press.

“A credit to Pittsburgh. Those kids are high-character people. They kept fighting. Last time I checked, that thing goes in the column as a win. There’s no such thing as a bad win.”

The first half — when the Hokies bolted out to a lead they needed every ounce of in the end — was a continuation of a torrid shooting stretch for Tech. The Hokies shot 10-for-13 (77%) from deep and 18-for-24 (75%) from the floor. That bookended a stretch of seven halves of basketball dating back to the first half against Miami on Jan. 26 during which Virginia Tech shot 49-for-84 (58%) from behind the arc.

Put another way, the Hokies had double the 3-pointers (10) than Pitt had rebounds (5) in the first half.

“Ball was really moving [in the first half,]” Young said. “It’s really an easy game when the ball is moving and going in the basket…Just really sharp. Guys sharing the ball, making the extra pass — turning down a good shot for a great shot. Really fun to watch there.”

Virginia Tech played complementary ball over the first 20 minutes, forcing nine turnovers and assisting 10 times on 18 field goals.

“We were just aggressive [in the first half,]” Murphy said. “I think our defensive mindset really helped fuel our offense. We were helping each other. We were really aggressive on defense. I think that just fueled our aggressive play in the first. We tried to put [Pitt center John] Hugley in a lot of ball screens and space the floor. We knocked down some open shots.”

Indeed, Hugley was a non-factor for the Panthers on Saturday. The former ESPN Top-100 recruit scored two points and matched his four rebounds with four turnovers. The Hokies relentlessly double-teamed the 6-foot-9, 280-pound center in the post, and he was repeatedly late passing to the open man.

“We just thought it was essential [to double him,] what the game dictated, or he would foul Mutts and Aluma out by himself if we played him one on one,” Young said. “We did a masterful job there.”

That put the pressure on the rest of Pitt’s lineup to contribute. Guards Jamarius Burton and Femi Odukale did just that, finishing with a combined 46 points after teaming up for just 10 in the first half.

The Hokies’ recipe for success is a three-headed attack — the exact trio is different game to game — and Saturday night it was Murphy, Justyn Mutts (16 points) and Nahiem Alleyne (14).

Murphy nailed a corner three to push the lead back to nine with 7:53 in regulation — what Young called the shot of the game — and made two more plays to nudge the lead back to double digits, a pass to a back-cutting Hunter Cattoor and blow-by past Pitt guard Ithiel Horton. It was enough to guide the Hokies to victory.

“A collection of what could go wrong in the second half did go wrong, but it all worked out in the end,” Young said.

And in the end, it was Storm Murphy who, along with his Hokies, withstood Murphy’s Law and a late Panther push for a third straight ACC win.