hokies use all-around stellar night to extinguish big red, 93-60

By Carter Hill

Staff Writer

December 8, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Battle-scarred, beaten down, and defeated after losing three of its last four games, Virginia Tech was in desperate need of a victory on the hardwood.

Fortunately for the Hokies (7-3, 0-1 ACC), they were able to achieve that and then some on Wednesday evening inside Cassell Coliseum, downing Cornell (8-2) in dominant fashion, 93-60.

“We played a good ballgame,”said head coach Mike Young, who saw his team bounce back after losing to a top-10 Memphis team, Xavier, who was ranked in the top-25, and then a Saturday clunker at home to Wake Forest. “A real step in a positive direction on both sides of the ball.”

Despite the 93 points, though, it was the defensive side of the ball that got the most attention inside of that Virginia Tech locker room.

“It was definitely important to get things right, especially defensively,” said star forward Keve Aluma, who led the way for Tech with 16 points. “We've got a lot of guys who can score, so if we’re able to lock in on defense, we’ll be able to win a lot more games.”

Cornell came into last night’s contest averaging 91.2 points per game, good for second in the nation. It didn’t even come close to that on Wednesday evening, as the Big Red shot just a mere 38.5% from the field, and a tad over 30% from three throughout an overall woeful shooting night for a typical high-powered offense.

“They’re tall and athletic,” said Cornell head coach Brian Earl on the Hokies’ defense. “They’re tough, they’re great athletes, really well-coached. Everything was hard. I think they changed their pace a little bit to match ours, they just competed. It’s tough to get the sense of how big and fast and strong they are on video.”

Tech also forced the Big Red to turn the ball over 16 times over the course of the contest, and seemed much more physical than in previous outings.

“We were just more connected, there was more attention to detail,” Young said. “We looked like garbage [recently on defense], I’m responsible for that. But they’re smart people, they’re conscientious people, and they responded very well on Monday...which was as good a practice as we’ve had in awhile.”

Let’s not forget about the offensive end either.

Not only did the Hokies put up a season-high 93 points, they shot 54% from the field, 52% from beyond the arc, adding 40 points in the paint en route to a dominant offensive showing that featured seven scorers in double-figures for the first time since 2016.

“We had rhythm shots, good distribution, I just thought the ball moved better, [than against the Demon Deacons] it didn’t stick, it was sticking on Saturday. … [I was] encouraged by that,” Young added.

Though Aluma led the way in scoring for Tech, perhaps the combination of Darius Maddox and Sean Pedulla impressed the most, who each tallied career-highs with 14 and 11 points, respectively.

It’s particularly eye-opening for Maddox, as the sophomore from Maryland has quietly had a solid start to the season for the Hokies, arguably Young’s most reliable piece off the bench when called upon in big moments.

“Darius Maddox was outstanding,” Young said about his former ESPN 100 recruit. “He’s been doing it every night, he’s been playing good ball for us.”

David N’Guessan has captivated attention as well, adding 10 points of his own off the bench.

“He needed some positive things to happen for him,” Young said. “I thought he did some really nice things for us. He was assertive and definitive with his movements and drive to the ball. Proud of those men.”

Nahiem Alleyne (13 points), Hunter Cattoor (11) and Justyn Mutts (10) rounded the a list of Hokies to register double-figures in the box score, serving as the cherry on top to the offensive turnaround shown by Virginia Tech.

“This is probably the most intimidating team we’ve played in 600-something days,” Earl said. “Our sophomores and freshmen haven’t really experienced it much outside of maybe Penn State, but this was a different pace.”

Young still sees room for improvement though before a gruesome stretch of counterparts. Immediately, he turned his attention to getting back on the floor inside the Hahn Hurst Basketball Practice Center to prepare for the challenge.

“We need some time for Virginia Tech and not worry about our next opponent,” he said. “We don’t have time for that before Dayton, but we do have Sunday to Friday before St. Bonaventure in Charlotte...we’ll have a little time to sharpen the saw and this team needs it. I know our team and coaching staff are excited about the road ahead.”