BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech men's basketball team received a 23-point performance from its bench on Sunday as the Hokies ran past Merrimack, 72-43, to earn program victory No. 1,500 at Cassell Coliseum.
Virginia Tech (5-0) had two players score in double figures, led by Storm Murphy, who had 14 points. Nahiem Alleyne tacked on 12 points and Justyn Mutts added nine points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Tech took advantage of excellent ball movement in Sunday's game, piling up 15 assists on 27 made field goals. Mutts' five assists led the distribution list for the Hokies and Sean Pedulla also added four assists of his own.
Virginia Tech forced 15 Merrimack turnovers while committing 12 themselves in Sunday's game. The Hokies turned those takeaways into 16 points on the offensive end of the floor. Hunter Cattoor's two steals led the way for Virginia Tech.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 15-11 advantage, Virginia Tech went on an 8-0 run with 9:59 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Mutts, to increase its lead to 23-11. The Hokies then added four points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 34-18 advantage. Virginia Tech relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down five shots to account for 15 of its 34 points.
Following intermission, Virginia Tech kept widening that lead, expanding it to 64-43 before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Ben Varga's three, to grow the lead to 72-43 with three seconds to go in the contest, The Hokies held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 72-43 win. Virginia Tech shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting six shots from deep to score 18 of its 38 points.
Game Notes
» Sunday marked program win No. 1,500 for Virginia Tech.
» The Hokies are the 90th NCAA Division I men's basketball program to eclipse 1,500 program victories.
» Tech is 5-0 for the second time within three seasons (2019-20).
» Virginia Tech has won eight consecutive non-conference regular season games.
» The Hokies set a season high for made 3-point field goals, knocking down 11-of-23 long-range attempts (47.8 percent).
» Tech's defense held its opponent below 40-percent shooting for the fifth consecutive game (38.8 percent).
» The Hokies entered Sunday with the NCAA-best scoring defense, having now allowed 48.2 points per contest this season.
» Virginia Tech won Sunday's game in wire-to-wire fashion.
» As a team, the Hokies recorded 15-plus assists (15) for the second time this season.
» Tech's bench outscored that of Merrimack, 23-11.
» Virginia Tech had a 32-22 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Hokies forced 15 turnovers.
» Tech was active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying five blocks as a team.
» Storm Murphy led the Hokies with 14 points.
» Justyn Mutts paced Tech on the glass with seven rebounds.
This article was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
Gallery: (11-21-2021) MBB: Merrimack Game