Moore's Half-Court Heave Stuns Virginia Tech, Miami Wins Thriller In Blacksburg

By Carter Hill

Staff Writer

January 26, 2022

BLACKSBURG — With under two seconds remaining, it felt like Virginia Tech’s postseason hopes hung in-limbo.

Hunter Cattoor’s potential go-ahead triple had just clanked off the back iron with four seconds remaining, and as the score stood at tied at 75, Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga scurried quickly to call a timeout, looking to draw up a play that would vault the surprise Hurricanes to the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Guarded by Storm Murphy, Miami guard Charlie Moore came off a screen from Sam Waardenburg as he received the inbounded pass. Moore took a few dribbles before firing up a prayer from halfcourt.

The result? Keve Aluma threw his hands up in the air, Nahiem Alleyne put his head down walking towards the Tech bench, and Sean Pedulla put his hands over his head in disgust as they watched Moore’s half-court heave bank-in through the bottom of the nylon, silencing Cassell Coliseum as Miami (15-5, 7-2 ACC) shocked Virginia Tech (10-10, 2-7 ACC) in a 78-75 loss.

Moore’s shot was well-defended and was the one the Hokies wanted him to take. Though at the same time, it serves as a perfect representation of Virginia Tech’s season. A year full of both heartbreak, and disappointment. So close, yet so far.

“My team deserved better,” said Tech head coach Mike Young, who was visibly frustrated during his postgame press conference. “We’ve deserved better outcomes, but that’s the game, man. It doesn’t owe you a damn thing. You’ve got to suck it up and play better,” admitted the third-year big whistle.

It’s safe to say that the Hokies certainly played well enough to win.

Tech shot 50% both from the field and from 3, was 80% from the line, outrebounded Miami 28-22, and committed just two turnovers in the entirety of the second half. (VT had 12 turnovers in the first half).

Not only that, Darius Maddox, Hunter Cattoor, Aluma and Allyene reached double figures, and were able to mine 23 points out from the bench.

The matter of the fact is, the Hurricanes showed off why they find themselves atop the ACC, putting up impressive numbers across the board on Wednesday evening.

“They’re really good offensively,” Young continued when talking about his recent counterpart. “They don’t pass the ball, they’re like Notre Dame on steroids.”

Miami ended up shooting nearly 55% from the field, tallying a 61% mark from three. While that seems alarming on paper, the Hokies actually defended fairly well throughout the duration of the contest, much to the liking of Young.

“They shot 54.7% on our team. That’s not good enough…but I thought we contested shots pretty darn well. They just made contested shots, and that happens sometimes.”

Young put a particular emphasis on a handful of his guys for their defensive efforts throughout the night, with Cattoor especially standing out on star perimeter shooter Isaiah Wong.

“I thought he was awesome,” Young said about Cattoor’s play on the defensive end. “Isaiah Wong…he’s a killer…he’s an exceptional basketball player. He’s got it all, he can get by you, he can use his body, he can get it up on the glass.

“He’s got a lethal shot-fake, he does it night in and night out; I thought Hunter Cattoor, yet again, did an exceptional job on their best player on a team with a lot of good players.”

Alleyne and Aluma had admirable defensive outings as well, but it was Cattoor that stood out in the colorful cast for his efforts on Miami’s second-leading scorer.

Wong was held to just 12 points, though the ‘Canes still found a way to slot all five starters into double figures, truly indicating how good this Miami team really can be.

Kameron McGusty led all-scorers with 19 points, while Jordan Miller (18), Moore (13), Wong (12), and Waardenburg (12) also heavily contributed in the box score as well.

There’s something to be said about both talent and experience, and that’s exactly what Larrañaga’s team has down in South Florida.

On the Virginia Tech side, Aluma steered the ship with 14 points of his own, while Alleyne (13), Cattoor (13), Maddox (13), and Mutts (9) each hovered around double-digits.

Maddox, a sophomore from Maryland, may have played his best game of the season, continuing to pitch Mike Young for more and more minutes with his on-the-floor play.

All in all though, it was all for naught. First half turnovers, timely Miami shots, and a prayer answered that finished the game on an 8-0 Hurricanes run stands out in what was another deflating Virginia Tech loss in a season full of deflating moments.

Cattoor says the Hokies can’t get down on themselves, though.

“At the end of the day, these games are all coming down to a couple of possessions,” Cattoor said. “It’s not like we’re not there every game. We easily could be 7-2 (in conference play), so you easily could flip the script on that. We know what team we have, it’s a long season, and we know our season’s not over after this game; we still have games to play, and we’ll get ready for Florida State on Saturday.”

So with Tech at 10-10 overall and 2-7 in ACC action, what did the Hokies need to hear following as crushing a loss as crushing comes?

“I’m very proud of you, and I really appreciate your effort,” Young disclosed. “We’ve got a really good basketball team. I’m very proud of my bunch, I’d like to hug each of them. They probably need one, the head coach needs one.”

A shot that so perfectly represents a season filled with shockers and surprises. Once again, so close, yet so far.

Virginia Tech can now only hope that the same won’t be said when tournament time comes around in March.