Virginia Tech Overcomes Slow Start To Handle USC Upstate

Raza Umerani

Editor-in-Chief

November 8, 2024

BLACKSBURG — Game two of Virginia Tech’s men’s basketball season looked a heck of a lot like game one did.

Once again, the Hokies (2-0) overcame a very slow start to blow past an overmatched squad as they downed USC Upstate 93-74 on Friday night inside Cassell Coliseum.

Tech trailed 16-2 after about seven minutes, but blitzed the Spartans (1-2) from there on out, using a scintillating shooting effort and much cleaner offense in a dominant second half to put things to bed.

“We did some better things in some areas, and we did some things in some areas that weren't as good as they were on Monday,” Hokies head coach Mike Young said. “You know, it's that kind of year.”

After finding itself down by 14, Tech used runs of 11-0 and 9-0 to slowly but surely crawl back and take a first-half lead. Down 26-14, Young called his first timeout — from there, Tech finished the first half on a 23-6 run to take a 37-32 lead into the break.

“Our message was, ‘What are we doing? Let’s lock in,’” Hokies guard Brandon Rechsteiner said. “But I don't think anyone was stressed, honestly. I mean, we just go long stretches without scoring sometimes. It's bad. We're young, we’re figuring it out, but we can't have that anymore throughout the year.”

The early struggles for the Hokies came down to poor offensive execution as they started the game shooting just 5-for-21 from the floor and missed their first seven threes while turning the ball over six times in the first half.

But, the latter part of the first half and entire second half were essentially the exact opposite. After finishing the first 20 minutes with a 8-for-11 shooting effort, including 4-for-5 from distance, Tech shot it at a blazing 18-for-30 clip in the second half and drilled seven of its final 14 attempts from beyond the arc. All the while, it committed just one turnover. 

“How do you find your way back? You do it possession by possession,” Young said. “You're not going to come back into it with one shot or a media timeout. You chip away at it. And I thought we ended the game well, and ended the half well.”

Tech finished the game with an even 31-for-62 outing from the field, and by finding its stroke, it was able to open up the game and start to assert itself on both ends of the floor.

Scoring came in bunches up and down the lineup as six Hokies set new career-highs in scoring: Rechsteiner (19), Mylyjael Poteat (19), Tyler Johnson (16), Jaydon Young (14), Jaden Schutt (10) and Ben Hammond (4). The sophomore duo of Rechsteiner and Young also set career-bests in field goals and three pointers made (seven and three, four and four, respectively). 

Johnson was the primary scorer off the bench for Tech, and the spunky freshman provided a spark on both ends of the floor. His 16 points came on an efficient 5-for-7 clip — going 6-for-7 at the line along the way — while snaring four boards.

“Tyler Johnson was really, really good,” Young said. “He's just going to continue to get better and better. … He’s going to be a dandy. Big, strong, not afraid of the moment.”

Poteat’s night was highlighted by asserting himself in the paint, hitting six of his eight attempts while going 7-for-9 at the line; he grabbed five boards to boot. Schutt drained a couple of big shots to help the Hokies find their groove all while dishing out a career-best and game-high four assists and grabbing three boards.

Though the Spartans also shot the ball well (50.9% from the field, 42.9% from three), the Hokies forced 17 turnovers and out-rebounded them 32-to-25. Tobi Lawal led Tech with eight rebounds to go along with two blocks and a solid 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting.

“We're going to do what we do,” Young said. “We got our hands on a couple of balls, and those deflections for any team at any level is a big deal. It slows the other team down. It's disruptive. It affects their timing.”

The shift in momentum allowed the Hokies to outscore the Spartans 56-42 in the second half — the highest scoring output in a half since Nov. 19 of last year against Wofford — putting a game that was once at least an eyebrow raiser comfortably to bed.

Two slow starts in as many games isn’t necessarily what you want to see out of a team like Tech, particularly when you consider the quality of competition. But these slow starts are going to happen; they’re a product of a roster that’s still figuring itself out, akin to a puzzle yet to be fully solved. Almost the entire team is composed of players who have no starting experience, and not much game experience in general. 

But, once they settle in, they’ve shown how effective they can be. The ball gets around the court. The offensive action starts to look organized. The defense starts to pounce and get after it. The shots start to fall. The scoring doesn’t dissipate. Well-oiled basketball is played.

That’s what makes games like these so important to get under your belt at this point in the season.

“[They’re] trying to find their way, just so eager to play well and help our team,” Young said. “Sometimes, just slow down. Just slow down and let it happen. Don't try to make it happen. And you come by that with more experience and playing in games.”

Those games will come, and they’re ramping up fast. Tech ends its season-opening homestand against Winthrop on Monday (7 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra) before heading up to Baltimore, Md. to take on a fiery Penn State team for its first real early season test on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:30 p.m. ET on Peacock.