TECH FALLS TO CAL IN DOUBLE OVERTIME TOURNAMENT LOSS

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Sometimes, it’s just not your night. 

In a double overtime slugfest, No. 10 seed Virginia Tech (13-19) could not hold on as it fell to No. 15 seed California (14-18) 82-73, in the first round of the ACC Tournament. 

The Hokies were unable to play consistent basketball Tuesday, shooting a measley 3-of-25 (12%) from three-point range while turning the ball over 18 times. 

“You've got to step to the plate and you've got to get that thing home,” Tech head coach Mike Young said. “That's just the bottom line. Need to do better.

“Bases on balls in baseball, turnovers in football, turnovers in basketball are going to kill you. I don't know, man. I don't know.” 

Despite the poor shooting effiency throughout, the Hokies closed out the first half with a quick 4-0 run and held a 34-31 lead at the break. 

Jaydon Young led the team with 10 points at halftime. Mylyjael Poteat and Brandon Rechsteiner each had seven. 

Tech was just 1-of-9 from downtown, but 12-of-14 inside the arc. 

“I mean, it's part of the game,” Tech forward Tobi Lawal said. “You're going to shoot the same shots that you practice and that you take in games. If they don't go in, there's nothing you can do.” 

The Golden Bears took control in the second half, opening the frame with an 8-0 scoring run, getting out to a 39-34 lead. 

Part of the problem for Tech’s defense was California guard Andrej Stojakovic. The sophmore finished with 29 points, shooting 11-of-20. 

“It's definitely been a heck of an experience,” Stojakovic said. “The biggest thing is trying to stay resilient. We keep each other company on the off days. But it's been great. We've been on the road for 10 days, and I wouldn't change it for anything else.” 

After the California run that kicked off the second half, the two sides were on par from there, and Tech was able to find themselves down 59-57 with 1:10 to go. 

A driving layup attempt by Stojakovic was missed, then Young was able to find Rechsteiner in the corner on the other end—he nailed it, giving the Hokies a 60-59 lead. 

“We had a similar play earlier when [Jaydon] tried to throw to the cutter,” Rechsteiner said. “And I was telling him when [he] drives baseline, my man is cutting in. So I told him to throw it.” 

On the other end, Lawal smacked a shot out of bounds with 15.6 seconds left, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Tyler Johnson then made a great play on the ball as California’s Jeremiah Wilkinson was trying to go in for a layup, giving Tech the ball with a one-point lead and just five seconds to play. 

On the ensuing inbounds attempt, Ben Burnham threw it away, allowing D.J. Campbell to retrieve a steal and get fouled at the cup. 

Campbell went 1-of-2 from the line, sending the game to its first overtime period. 

“If you could dream it, we've done it,” Coach Young said. “Again, we're going to get a lot better.” 

Neither side could find a groove in the first overtime. Rechsteiner had scored the first five points for the Hokies, making two free throws and another one of Tech’s few threes of the evening. 

After a pair at the charity stripe from Lawal, the Hokies had a 67-65 lead with 27 seconds remaining. 

A questionable foul call on Poteat sent Stojakovic to the line. He knocked down both. 

“I thought it was questionable,” Coach Young said. “Now, I'll go back and see it tomorrow, and more often than not, they get it right. You got a lot better look at it than I do. I thought it was a questionable call, but the official that made that call is a good one. I will defer to him.”

Those free throws sent the game to a second overtime after both teams failed to convert with one more chance. 

In double overtime, it was all Golden Bears. 

California opened up with an 8-0 scoring run, holding a 75-67 lead with 1:54 to play. 

Tech was not able to pull a miracle together, and fell to the Golden Bears, 82-73. 

The Golden Bears are just the second ever No. 15 seed to win a game in the ACC Tournament. They will take on No. 7 seed Stanford Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET. 

“I'm proud of our guys,” California head coach Mark Madsen said. “I'm proud of our team. … Everyone on our team made so many winning plays. I'm so proud of them.”

For the Hokies, a down year comes to an end. Despite still performing better than many pundits expected, they did not achieve their goal of making a run in the tournament. 

“Every game is a championship game,” Lawal said. “The only way you can keep playing is if you win, so that's what my mindset was. I feel like especially for people like Ben Burnham and Mylyjael, that's how they've been trying to play the whole season. It's harder for them because it's their last one.” 

For guys like Lawal and Rechsteiner, they will get another chance, whether it be at Virginia Tech or somewhere else. With that said, every season-ending loss is tough to handle. 

Rechsteiner finished with 19 points on 6-of-14 shooting. 

“It's truly heartbreaking to know that we had a chance right there and we lost, because we were definitely planning on being here for a minute,” Rechsteiner said. “We liked how our schedule was, and we were very confident, felt prepared as a team. We were all confident. It hurts.”