SYRACUSE, N.Y. – Looking to bounce back, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team did so, picking up its second ACC road win of the season by defeating Syracuse 67-63 on Tuesday night inside the Carrier Dome.
The Hokies (11-4, 2-2 ACC) took down Syracuse (8-7,1-3) for their first ever win over 'Cuse in the Carrier Dome and just the second-ever victory at the Dome (Fairfield, 2000). In a true team effort, Tech combined for 20 assists on 21 made field goals.
Freshman Jalen Cone scored a career-high 19 points and hit five 3-pointers. Cone also sparked a 17-2 run by hitting multiple clutch triples, which separated Tech in the second half to help lift the Hokies over Syracuse.
Redshirt freshman Landers Nolley (13 points) and forward P.J. Horne (12) each reached double-figures and made critical plays down the stretch to help the Hokies emerge victoriously.
Tech outscored the Orange 27-12 in bench points and 14-1 in fastbreak points. The Hokies also had 20 assists to the Cuse six, with guard Wabissa Bede recording eight of those for Tech.
THE GAME
The Hokies found themselves behind 30-19 late in the first half when sophomore Isaiah Wilkins drilled a much-needed 3-pointer followed by a triple of his own from freshman Nahiem Alleyne both assisted by guard Hunter Cattoor. Alleyne then found guard Tyrece Radford under the basket for a layup to cut into the deficit and Tech went into the break behind 33-27.
The Hokies were trailing 37-42 with 10:43 left in the second when Cone hit from downtown to cut the lead to just two points. Nolley then had a steal and plus the slam followed by a four-point play from Cone to give Tech a 46-44 lead.
With just under two minutes to go in the game, the Orange cut the deficit to only three points when Cone nailed a clutch 3-pointer to give the Hokies a 60-54 advantage. Horne drilled a jumper from the corner with just seconds left in action to close out the contest as Tech won 67-63.
QUOTING TECH COACH MIKE YOUNG
On what turned things around when Tech was down nine with 12 minutes to go?
"We were so bad offensively – 27 first-half points. Could you tell I've never played against Coach (Boeheim) before? I knew that (Jalen) Cone, if we were going to win, was going to have to get a couple of shots down. I don't know that I expected him to get five of them down from long range, but that's what he does. He is a dynamic scorer. That was his rep coming out of high school where he was a really, really good player. Significant win for the Hokies. We are tickled to get out of here with a great one."
QUOTING JALEN CONE
On the team being able to bounce back like this on the road after the Virginia loss:
"It's showed the potential that we have. The most important thing is to guard and rebound and that's something that we definitely have to do, especially come conference play. We are a younger and smaller team than everybody. So, I feel like this win tonight shows the potential that we have."
GAME NOTES
- Cone registered his career-high in points with 19 and tied his career best in 3-pointers with five on the night. Cone also went a perfect 4 for 4 from the line tonight, which is his fifth time this season shooting 100 percent from the charity stripe.
- Radford grabbed nine rebounds against Syracuse and now has 34 boards over his last five contests. Radford has secured seven or more rebounds in eight games this season.
- Nolley scored 13 points against the Orange, which is game No. 13 that he has reached double-figures in scoring.
- Horne scored 12 points against the Orange marking his fifth game this season where he has reached double-figures.
- Bede dished out eight assists in the win over Syracuse. Bede now has eight or more assists in four games this season and ranks third in the ACC in assists with a 6.1 average.
UP NEXT
The Hokies will return to Blacksburg to face NC State on Saturday, Jan. 11 at 2 p.m. at Cassell Coliseum.
Gallery: (1/7/2020) 2020 MEN'S BASKETBALL at SYRACUSE