Hokies Sting Georgia Tech with 36 Points in the Post
Virginia Tech pulled up to Cassell Coliseum with a two-win streak under its belt and left with another, beating out Georgia Tech 91-67.
While both teams came up empty-handed on their first few possessions, the points started trickling in soon enough as Baye Ndongo got it started with a jumper near the free-throw line with 18:23 on the clock. Virginia Tech was quick to answer with MJ Collins, and there was no looking back.
VT followed with a layup-and-one from Lynn Kidd, and a three from Collins to take an 8-5 lead. The post-play that came after was immaculate. Mylyjael Poteat got it going with a hook shot and a layup. The Yellowjackets were well aware of the two bigs already but were helpless to stop them as the game progressed.
“We look a lot more connected, we look a lot more cohesive. Teams come together at different points."
-Mike Young
“We’ve always had good chemistry but I see connectivity within the unit here of late that has been quite fascinating to watch develop.”
-Mike Young
Already with a 10-point run in their back pocket, VT went to work again during another Georgia Tech drought. Draining a pair of threes and layups for 10, the crowd was more than pleased to see the home team take over with ease.
Kowacie Reeves Jr. tried to grab back a bit of momentum with an emphatic dunk, but Poteat was in his bag for an emphatic block as they neared halftime. Carter Murphy tried to follow up on the next possession with a jumper, but the inevitable Poteat slapped it away once again for his second. His post-play along with Kidd fed the scoreboard, the two with 19 combined at the half. Virginia Tech already had a substantial margin of 16, but it sought to grow it after the break.
“Coming into this week, we thought we had a big advantage down low. Last practice we were practicing post-entrys. We thought we had an advantage and we were able to exploit that throughout the game.”
-Mylyjael Poteat
They went right back to ol’ reliable Lynn Kidd for eight straight to open up the back half, #15 now matching his jersey in scoring. Robbie Beran broke up the wonderful monotony with a dunk of his own, and the Hokies were moving effortlessly.
“In these ACC games, it’s a 40-minute fight. It’s all about just playing together, playing the full 40, and embracing it.”
-Robbie Beran
Georgia Tech eventually strung together a few buckets of their own to bring the game back into single digits, forcing Sean Pedulla’s hand during his oddly quiet night. A duo of treys from him and one from Hunter Cattoor thrust the lead back up to 16. The team knocked a few more to close the game, claiming a 24-point conference win.
“They’ve been playing the right way. I thought they were very very good defensively. They found a couple of things in the second half that they liked and they were spraying the thing around.”
-Mike Young
Poteat finished with 18 points to tie his career-high alongside six rebounds and two blocks. Kidd had 18 of his own in just 16 minutes on the floor. Beran followed with a season-high 14 points and nine rebounds, and Cattoor had 11 on 3-6 3PT shooting.
“There’s such a pause on the opposing coaching staff and sending a double team down to [the post] because of Pedulla, Cattoor, Nickel, Robbie Beran. They’re hard to handle one on one.”
-Mike Young
Ndongo led GT with 16 points, three rebounds, and two blocks. Miles Kelly backed him up with 11 points to round out the Yellowjackets' double-digit scorers.
Virginia Tech will host Duke (15-4) on Monday night in the Cassell, hoping to keep the momentum flowing with the help of a packed arena.
