Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – On a special afternoon in Cassell Coliseum that honored seniors Hunter Cattoor and Justyn Mutts, Sean Pedulla stole the show with a 25-point outing in Virginia Tech's 82-60 win over Florida State.
The Hokies had five players score in double figures, led by Pedulla, who had 25 points. Cattoor tacked on 14 points and four assists and Grant Basile chipped in as well with 13 points and eight rebounds.
Mutts put up a well-rounded scoreline of eight points, seven boards and six assists.
Tech jumped out to a 14-0 lead early, which set the tone for the afternoon that saw the Hokies shoot 51.8% from the field throughout the game. With 16 threes, Virginia Tech tied its season high set earlier in the year against William & Mary. In the first half alone, the Pedulla shot 5-5 from the floor with a game-high 14 points.
The Hokies shared the ball well, assisting on 21 buckets, which is the second-highest tally of the season (26 vs. Syracuse on 1/28/23).
How It Happened
Virginia Tech started out the scoring by going on a 12-0 run, culminating in a three from Pedulla, to take an early lead with 14:36 left in the first half. The Hokies then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 39-30 advantage. Virginia Tech relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 39 points.
Following intermission, Virginia Tech kept widening that lead, expanding it to 69-52 before going on a 10-0 run, finished off by Pedulla's jumper, to grow the lead to 79-52 with 2:44 to go in the contest. The Seminoles narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Hokies still cruised the rest of the way for the 82-60 win. Virginia Tech shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting nine shots from deep to score 27 of its 43 points.
Game Notes
» The Hokies shot well from three point range, knocking down 16 of 34 long range attempts.
» Virginia Tech never trailed on the way to an 82-60 victory.
» The Hokies put on a passing clinic, recording an assist on 72% of made field goals.
» Virginia Tech had a 30-24 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Virginia Tech defense forced 13 turnovers, the most since it caused 15 against Syracuse on 1/28/23.
» Virginia Tech turned the ball over 10 times while dishing out 21 assists.
» Sean Pedulla led the Hokies with a game-high 25 points.
» Virginia Tech got a game-high eight rebounds from Grant Basile.Gallery: (3-4-2023) MBB: Florida State game