Jalen Cone Scores 18 points as Virginia Tech outlasts Notre Dame

Jackson Didlake

January 10, 2021

BLACKSBURG, Va. — After taking a seven-point deficit into halftime, No. 19 Virginia Tech outscored Notre Dame by 21 in the second half to win 77-63.

Notre Dame (3-7, 0-4 ACC) shot an impressive 55.2% from the field in the first half but was just 2 of 19 in the second.

“We didn’t adjust a darn thing,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said. “We guarded in the second half the way we wanted to in the second half.”

Another huge factor in the Virginia Tech (9-2, 3-1) victory was the Hokies outrebounding the Fighting Irish 41-24, including 16-6 in offensive rebounds.

“They’ve been telling us to pick it up the last few games,” Keve Aluma said.

Jalen Cone led the way for the Hokies with 18 points, including four threes. Aluma had 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Hunter Cattoor drilled three shots from behind the arc and finished with 15 points and four rebounds. Justyn Mutts added 14 points and seven rebounds.

Nate Laszewski led the way for the Fighting Irish with 17 points, 11 of which were from the charity stripe, and four rebounds before fouling out. Dane Goodwin recorded 12 points and Cormac Ryan had 10 points and seven rebounds.

The Fighting Irish started the contest off on a roll, shooting 75% from the field (9 of 12) in the first eight minutes. After the hot start that included an 8-0 run, Notre Dame missed its next four field goals and Virginia Tech drilled back-to-back threes from Cone and Cattoor to tie it at 21.

Cone struck again from three about five minutes later to cap off a 6-0 Hokies run to take a 29-26 lead. Aluma had the play of the half on a highlight reel slam, but the jam was in the midst of a 11-2 Notre Dame run. The Fighting Irish took a 42-35 lead into the break.

Notre Dame was lights out in the half compared to the Hokies 42.4%. Cone had 14 points in the period, making four of seven from deep. The rest of Virginia Tech was one-of-seven from behind the arc.

“Coming into the second half, we emphasized defense,” Cone said.

The Hokies started the second half on an 8-0 run that included a Mutts slam to retake the lead. Virginia Tech later extended its lead on a 9-1 lead that began with a Cattoor three.

Cattoor hit another big time trey as the shot clock expired with less than three minutes remaining to put the Hokies up 11 and in a good spot before the game clock wound down.

The Hokies improve to 3-1 in conference play while the Fighting Irish drop to 4-0. Virginia Tech will host No. 21 Duke on Tuesday.

“We start thinking about [Duke] tonight,” Aluma said.