Hokie Club
UNCASVILLE, Conn. – Coming off its upset win over No. 3/3 Villanova, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team did not slow down as it stormed past USF 76-58 on Sunday night for its third straight win.
Tech concluded the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament with a perfect 2-0 record. The Hokies improved to 3-0 for the fifth consecutive season after they took care of USF, as the Bulls fall to 1-2 on the year. Tech now gains a 5-4 advantage over USF in the overall series.
In the contest, guard Tyrece Radford had a game-high 21 points on 9 for 12 from the field. It was a balanced attack as four Hokies reached double figures, including Hunter Cattoor (13 points), Cartier Diarra (10), Keve Aluma (12) and Cordell Pemsl (10). Forward Justyn Mutts added a game-high nine boards along with two assists.
As a team, the Hokies shot 54% from the field and outscored USF in the paint by a 42-24 margin. Tech's bench performed for the second straight game as they recorded 33 points to the Bulls 13.
On the defensive end, Tech held USF to 37% shooting from the field and only gave up three triples, which is the lowest 3-pointer total an opponent has had against the Hokies this season. Tech forced the Bulls to commit 13 turnovers and the Hokies capitalized as they scored 19 points off those turnovers.
THE GAME
Early on in the first, the two teams were knotted at 6-6 when the Hokies went on an 8-2 spurt which included back-to-back triples from Radford and Cattoor to give Tech a 14-8 lead.
With just under six minutes to go in the half, Radford sparked a Hokie run by scoring four straight points. The 11-2 spurt was capped off by a deep 3-pointer from Aluma to close out the half and put Tech up 36-23 at the break.
Radford came out of the gate still on fire in the second as he kicked off the half with a key three-point-play to give Tech a 39-23 advantage. With just over 15 minutes left in action, the Hokies went on an 8-2 run which included four straight paint points to put Tech up 49-32. The Hokies led by double-digits for the rest of the outing and eased past the Bulls 76-58.
GAME NOTES
- Guard Radford had a season-high 21 points in the win over USF.
- Graduate student Pemsl recorded 10 points, which are the most he has scored since Nov. 24, 2019, against Cal Poly when he was at Iowa.
- The Hokies bench has now scored 20 or more points in back-to-back outings with 33 tonight and 25 against No. 3/3 Villanova.
- Forward Mutts grabbed a season-high nine rebounds at Tech in his second-ever start for the Hokies.
UP NEXT
- The Hokies will return to Blacksburg to play host to VMI on Thursday, Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. ET inside Cassell Coliseum.
Gallery: (11-29-2020) 2020 MEN'S BASKETBALL vs. USF