hokies storm back, take down syracuse in overtime

Bradley Winterling

Editor-in-Chief

March 1, 2025

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech’s 2024-25 basketball season has been defined by overcoming adversity.

Once again, the Hokies (13-16, 8-10 ACC) didn’t back down. After trailing Syracuse (12-17, 6-12) 69-56 with 8:45 left, Tech stormed back, ultimately outlasting the Orange 101-95 in overtime. 

“My God, we handled some things poorly,” Tech head coach Mike Young said. “Had a chance to drop your head and pout and feel sorry for yourself. They don't do that. They hang in there. 

“They're going to do some things that drive me up a tree. But they're great kids, and they're great teammates. They enjoy playing with one another, and they continue to fight.”

Both teams shot the ball well in the first half. Syracuse was just better. The Orange shot 65.5% (19-of-29) while the Hokies still shot an impressive 57.7% (15-of-26) from the floor. 

With Tech star forward Tobi Lawal sidelined due to a lower leg injury, Syracuse dominated the paint in the first half.

Orange forward Eddie Lampkin had 14 points and seven boards at halftime, while Tech found itself down 47-38. 

“They had 27 of 49 points in the paint In the first half,” Mike Young said. “We rebounded great against a very good rebounding Louisville team, and we didn't rebound worth a flip tonight against a good Syracuse rebounding team.” 

Tech was going to need to find a way to stop Lampkin in the second half. And they did just that, as Lampkin did not score a point in the second frame. Tech went with a bigger lineup to try to combat the dominance that he caused in the first half. 

“I gotta get my team bigger,” Mike Young said. “My wife agrees with me. … I just thought the ball was moving at such a rapid pace, we had to get a little more length.” 

Despite the stoppage of Lampkin’s dominance in the paint, Tech still couldn’t find a way to chip away at Syracuse’s lead, finding themselves down 70-61 with 7:29 to play. 

But after a pair of free throws for the Orange, Jaydon Young came down and hit a deep three, making it a six-point game. 

On the next Syracuse possession, after Tech gave up multiple offensive rebounds, it found a way to get a stop. Hammond came down the court and pulled up from mid-range to cut it to a four-point deficit, forcing Syracuse to take a timeout with 6:04 to play. 

The crowd had finally got involved. 

Syracuse guard J.J. Starling drew a controversial foul on a three-point attempt, but missed all three free throws, sending the Cassell Coliseum crowd into a frenzy.

“I felt like a lot of people were really loud because they didn't think it was a foul,” Hammond said. “I didn't think it was a foul either. I mean, ball doesn’t lie ever. … [The fans] were helping us out a lot.” 

After the misses, Young hit a pull up jumper on the other end. Then Hammond forced a steal on defense. He rushed down the court and dished it to Tyler Johnson, who tied the game up at 70. 

The fastbreak layup topped off a 9-0 Tech run that felt like the blink of an eye. 

“Everybody keeps saying in our huddles, ‘We can win, we can win,’” Jaydon Young said. “It's too late in the season to be saying ‘we can.’ It's time to start actually winning. I think we're actually picking up what we're supposed to be doing later on in the games.

“We just play hard. So when we play as hard as we possibly can, it just turns into good things for us.” 

After some back and forth basketball, Tech wound up holding a three-point lead with four seconds to go after Jaden Schutt went 1-of-2 from the free throw line. Tech elected not to foul, and Jaquan Carlos shocked the home crowd, nailing a three for the Orange at the buzzer to send it to extra time. 

“I think for like three seconds, all of us dropped our heads,” Jaydon Young said. “But we got in the huddle, and everybody said, ‘It’s all good, let's win the game.’

“Every day in practice, we do this thing called four-minute games. So we’re kind of immune to it. That's our personality—just play hard for these last four minutes.”

Playing hard is exactly what the Hokies did. 

Jyare Davis kicked off the period with an and-one at the rack for the Orange. However, Young answered with an and-one of his own—then came right back down and hit a shot from downtown to give the Hokies a three-point lead. 

The sophmore guard wound up finishing with 26 points while hitting a career-high 10 shots from the field. Young has now scored 26+ points in two of his last three games. 

“He just looks so comfortable and explosive,” Mike Young said. “He's playing very, very well. And much better defensively as well as we head down the stretch.”

Syracuse took the lead back after a layup from Davis and a pair of free throws from Chris Bell. But once again, Tech answered as Ben Burnham hit a short jumper. Then Patrick Wessler, getting playing time because of the Lawal illness, blocked a shot on the other end that led to a Hammond three, which gave the Hokies a 93-89 lead with 1:36 to play. 

The Orange never tied it up or took the lead again, as Tech went on to win, 101-95. 

Syracuse seemed to have all the momentum heading into overtime, but the Hokies didn’t let the buzzer-beater rattle them.

“If someone hits a game tying three, it's a deflating moment,” Schutt said. “It's heartbreaking. But at the same time, you just have to reset. 

“We went into the huddle and I thought we had a good mindset. We came out and just attacked it. We stayed aggressive and didn't really let that deflating moment bother us too much.”

Also battling an illness—Schutt finished with a career-high 20 points—shooting 3-of-4 from deep. 

“Jaden Schutt is a bad guy,” Hammond said. “We've been saying that all year. We've been waiting for him to get back to himself. He's been a little sick lately. That happens, you know, he was able to fight through it. He was big for us today.” 

Schutt was not the only one who hit a career-high on Saturday. 

Hammond finished with 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting and seven boards, both being season-highs for the freshman. Not only was the 5’11 point guard’s seven rebounds a career-high, but it also led the team. 

“[We’re] putting a lot on his plate.” Mike Young said. … “But he continues to play good ball. He took care of it—had a couple of bad turnovers. I thought he picked his spots and played a great ball game.” 

Mylyjael Poteat also had a big game, playing 25 minutes and making key plays in Lawal’s absence. The forward finished with 14 points, making a couple of clutch shots at the end of regulation and in overtime. 

After three seasons with the Hokies since transferring from Rice, Poteat will play his final game in Cassell on Tuesday night against North Carolina at 7 p.m. ET. 

With the win over Syracuse, the Hokies now have two games left in the regular season as they push for an ACC Tournament bye.

“It means a lot,” Jaydon Young said. “As you know, we need to win a few games, but it definitely means a lot. Gives us a little confidence going into Tuesday, and hopefully we can get the Tar Heels out of here.” 

After its final home game against North Carolina on Tuesday, Tech will travel to Clemson to take on the No. 13 Tigers in the season finale on Saturday, March 8 at 6 p.m. ET.