Near-perfect balance propels Virginia Tech past Georgia Tech, 91-67

By Raza Umerani

Staff Writer

January 28, 2024

BLACKSBURG – It looked like Virginia Tech finally put it all together on Saturday.

RIding a balanced scoring output and a lockdown defensive effort in the first half, the Hokies (13-7, 5-4 ACC) overpowered Georgia Tech (9-11, 2-7) 91-67 inside Cassell Coliseum for their third-consecutive victory in conference play.

After a 61% shooting effort in its last game on Jan. 23 against Boston College, Virginia Tech once again had the hot hand, shooting 55% on field goals and 44% from beyond the arc including 12 threes. 

The Hokies had five players reach double figures in scoring, highlighted by forwards Lynn Kidd and Mylyjael Poteat each pouring in 18 points. 

“They're [Lynn and Poteat] hard to handle one on one,” Hokies fifth-year head coach Mike Young said to reporters after the game. “They're big, they're different. Mylyjael moves very well for a big person. Lynn is really athletic vertically. So it's a great inside-outside punch and I'm enjoying watching them play.”

Poteat’s 18 points on 6-for-9 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the free throw line tied a career high. He also had two emphatic rejections to go along with six rebounds.

“We thought we had a big advantage down low,” Poteat said. “Last practice, we were practicing post entries, we thought we had an advantage and we were able to exploit that throughout the game.”

Despite foul trouble throughout the game, Kidd’s 18 points came in just 16 minutes on 7-for-9 shooting.

“He's done it all year,” Young said. “He's unselfish. He doesn't take bad shots. If he doesn't like something, back onto the perimeter and run into a ball screen, which is what we want him to do. He's playing great. I'm really proud of him.”

Forward Robbie Beran notched 14 points and nine rebounds of his own while guards Hunter Cattoor and Tyler Nickel finished with 11 points apiece. 

Standout guard Sean Pedulla ended the night with nine points and five assists. Guard MJ Collins tallied seven points — all of which came in the first half — while grabbing three rebounds and dishing out four assists all while playing his usual stellar brand of defense.

With ball security being an extra point of emphasis, Virginia Tech handled the ball out exquisitely all night long, recording 23 assists on 32 field goals while committing just seven turnovers.

“It sounds simplistic but it really [is] making easier plays,” Young said. “Don't try to hit the home run. Just make the old nickel and dime play, the easy play. And everybody's touching it, everybody's a part of it.”

Virginia Tech led for all but the first 44 seconds of the game, including a 16-point halftime lead on the heels of a 52% shooting effort. It would lead by as much as 19 early in the second half, but Georgia Tech slowly found itself getting back in the ballgame, reducing the deficit to as little as seven with under eight minutes to play.

That’s when Young called a timeout to talk things over. After the discussion, the Hokies broke off an 11-0 run which featured three consecutive triples — two from Pedulla and one from Cattoor — to essentially put the game on ice. The scoring run wound up at 27-10 by the final buzzer.

“I typically don't call a timeout when that team makes a stab at you,” Young said. “That's part of the game. We figure it out. But to their credit we came over and [there were] no far away looks, no look of despair...made a three to push it back to 10. And then went on from there.

“I'd like to tell you that it was something masterful that I gave them. It wasn't. That is so overrated. It was a matter of getting them settled. Everything's fine. Alright, what's next? We'd had a couple of uncharacteristic offensive possessions. The ball didn't move as well. Just get it recentered. ... Cool your jets. Alright, we are a-okay around here. This thing's a game of runs. They've got a good team. They've got good players. We'll figure it out. And that's exactly what we did.”

While the Hokies struggled to put the pieces together in the early goings of the season between rotation issues and injuries, they seem to have finally figured things out. Not only is it showing, but it’s paying dividends as they’ve rattled off three wins in a row and four of their last six to get above .500 in conference play. 

“Team has come together at different points,” Young said. “When you're adding, incorporating and trying to blend in new faces, there's some gnawing of gears, if you will, trying to find the right match and the right chemistry. We've always had good chemistry, but I see connectivity within the unit that has been quite fascinating to watch develop. And that's what it's all about. Guys playing as a fist — we taught this, five players playing as one playing as a fist. And we're doing that. That's the formula: tough, together [and] physical. And they're doing that night in and night out.

“Teams evolve, and the game, the unit evolves, and this one has evolved into something far different than what it was a month ago.”

Next up for Virginia Tech is a Big Monday showdown against No. 12 Duke (15-4, 6-2) inside Cassell Coliseum (7 p.m. ET, ESPN) while Georgia Tech hosts No. 3 North Carolina (17-3, 9-0) in Atlanta on Tuesday night.

“Really good team coming to town,” Young said. “We're going to have to play well to win. We all understand that. 

“But, let's load it up and let's play the right way again, and compete our tails off and find a way to win another one.”