BLACKSBURG – On a day in which Virginia Tech didn't play its best for the most part, Hunter Cattoor came up big, scoring a career-high 14 points to lift the Hokies to a 64-55 nonconference victory over VMI on Saturday at Carilion Clinic Court.
The win marked the third straight for the Hokies, who moved to 9-3 overall on the season and extended their home-court nonconference winning streak to 31 consecutive games. VMI fell to 5-8.
Cattoor came off the bench to hit 4 of 8 from the floor, including two 3-pointers for the Hokies, who won their third straight game despite shooting a season-low 34% (21 of 61). Isaiah Wilkins, who also came off the bench, added 13 points for Tech.
Virginia Tech, which didn't hit a field goal in the first 7:39 of the game, led by just six late in the second half, but scored five points on one possession when point guard Wabissa Bede hit a lay-up just as the shot clock sounded to give the Hokies a 47-39 lead. Following the shot, VMI head coach Dan Earl was given a technical foul, and the Hokies' Jalen Cone hit both free throws with 7:29 remaining to give Virginia Tech a 49-39 advantage.
VMI cut the lead to 57-51 on a 3-pointer by Kamdyn Curfman with 3:02, but missed five shots over their next two possessions and got no closer. Cattoor hit 3-of-4 from the free-throw line in the final 20 seconds to help the Hokies hold off the Keydets. Cattoor also grabbed five rebounds.
Curfman paced the Keydets with 15 points. Travis Evee led with 20, but had seven turnovers. VMI scored its fewest points of the season and turned the ball over a season-high 23 times.
QUOTES TO NOTE
Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young
(On the Hokies' slow start)
"We practiced really well. Really well. The matchup is hard to simulate. It's like a single-wing in football. It's something you don't see a lot, and it's very hard to practice against. I've played them any number of times and never had those difficulties, but I shoulder all of the blame. My team wanted to do the right things. We found some things in the second half, but it was a bit of a struggle. But I've never been part of a bad win. I'll take that and move on down the line. Look for Santa Claus here in a couple of days."
(On the Hokies' performance from their bench players)
"Isaiah Wilkins was terrific. Hunter Cattoor had his best game. Both of those kids have played well for us … The ball moved a little bit better. We found some things that we, I think we went to the first media timeout without a basket – certainly not a scoring outburst – but those guys helped us immensely. That's what good teams do … Good teams have other people help them win. Certainly we saw that tonight."
Virginia Tech guard Hunter Cattoor
(On the Hokies' 38 points off the bench)
"Coming off the bench, we created energy. You can kind of see how the game unfolds. You can see from the bench how they're playing defense and their tendencies and stuff like that. It's good to see that before you get in the game and start playing."
(On the Hokies forcing 23 turnovers)
"I think it was good defense. We were locked in throughout the week in practice, watching film and going through scout. I think it was just us know the kind of stuff they're going to run and the sets they're going to run and us being in the right position."
GAME NOTES
• The Hokies have gotten at least 20 points from their bench in six of their 12 games this season.
• Tech's 26 points off VMI's turnovers tied for their most off turnovers this season (26 vs. Lehigh).
• VMI's 23 turnovers were the most by a Tech opponent since Gardner-Webb committed 29 on Nov. 9, 2018.
• Cattoor has scored in double figures in back-to-back games and in five games this season.
• Cattoor's previous career high in points was 12, which came in the Hokies' loss to Dayton in Maui.
• Wilkins now has scored in double figures in back-to-back games after scoring in double figures just once in the Hokies first 10 games.
• Tyrece Radford finished with 10 rebounds for the second consecutive game and for the third time this season.
UP NEXT
The Hokies now get an eight-day break before returning to the court Dec. 29 with a home game against Maryland Eastern Shore. The game tips at 6 p.m.Gallery: (12/21/2019) 2019 MEN'S BASKETBALL vs. VMI