Virginia Tech Men's and Women's Basketball: Weekend Wrapped

Hokies (13-9, 5-6 ACC) Can't Weather the Storm, Fall to Miami (15-7, 6-5 ACC) in Coral Gables by a final of  82-74

Once again, the story of Hokies men's basketball in recent years has been not being able to close out games when they have kept the lead for the majority of the contest.

Well, in an instance of Deja Vu for Virginia Tech, they were defeated by Miami for the second time this season.

Up as much as 11 points in the second half and holding a ten-point lead around the 11:00 mark, their lead was diminished in less than five minutes, and even after holding a 65-60 lead at the 5:03 mark, the Hurricanes ended the game on a 22-9 run, snatching a much-needed resume win from the jaws of the Hokies.

Both teams shot fairly well, but the real kicker for Tech was free-throw shooting. The Hokies shot 7-of-14 (50%) from the line, while the Hurricanes converted 27-of-29 (93.1%), a wide disparity that, of course, would give Miami the edge.

Sean Pedulla and Hunter Cattoor led the charge for the Hokies with 21 and 19, respectively, nailing eight combined threes. Robbie Beran also added a solid 10 points in the contest, but once again, the Hokies shot themselves in the foot in one too many ways and couldn't get the victory.

With really no more huge chances to boost their tournament resume except against No. 3 North Carolina on the road, the Hokies time may be up this season, but all you can ask for is for them to continue fighting through the rest of the season; nothing is impossible.

No. 17 Virginia Tech (18-4, 9-2 ACC) Staves Off No. 24 North Carolina (15-8, 7-4 ACC) by a final of 70-61

In the Hokies first meeting with the Tar Heels, Virginia Tech held out against UNC in a game that went into overtime and included uncharacteristically bad shooting from both squads.

With the biggest lead in the game from either team being nine, which only came when the clock hit 00:00 to give the Hokies the victory, both teams were evenly matched in this top-25 matchup.

Shots just were not falling for Elizabeth Kitley, Georgia Amoore, and Cayla King, as they all struggled mightily to get anything going in this one. With lines from the field of 7-of-21, 6-of-21, and 2-of-11, respectively, for the trio, they somehow found a way to finish this game out and pick up a huge ranked win away from home.

While Amoore still led the Hokies in the scoring column with 21, the player of this game had to be Matilda Ekh. Ekh, who finished the game with 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including four threes and eight rebounds, came up clutch not just in crunchtime offensively but continued to get important stops on the defensive end that just don't show up in the box score.

The Hokies were fortunate to get a win in this game, and with some tough opponents still to come in ACC play, Virginia Tech has to just put this game behind them, take the win, and prepare for their next matchup, a road meeting with No. 5 NC State this Friday at 8:00 p.m.