RALEIGH, N.C. – Hot second-half shooting lifted five Hokies into double figures as Virginia Tech pulled away from NC State, 84-78, for its first road win of the season Saturday afternoon inside PNC Arena.
The one and only regular-season matchup between the Hokies and the Wolfpack was a back and forth affair until the final buzzer. Tech (11-7, 3-4 ACC) overcame 20 turnovers behind a momentum-swinging 24-7 run late in the second half. NC State slid to 13-5, 5-2 after dropping its second home game of the season.
Hunter Cattoor led all Tech scorers with 19 points on 3 of 6 shooting from 3-point range. Lynn Kidd (14), Sean Pedulla (13), Tyler Nickel (12), and Robbie Beran (11) all put in double-digit scoring performances as well. The Hokies lit up the hoop in the second half by shooting 62.5% (15-24).
Casey Morsell tied Cattoor for game-high honors with 19 points, pouring in 9 of 10 from the free-throw line for the Pack. Speaking of the foul line, the Hokies were exceptional from there, converting 23 of their 28 attempts (82.1%).
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Lynn Kidd broke a 6-0 NC State run at the 17-minute mark to open up the scoring for the Hokies. Hunter Cattoor followed with a 3-pointer.
- At the 12-minute mark, Tyler Nickel broke the Hokies scoring drought with an and-1 layup. Tech was up 11-10. Kidd followed with an alley-oop to give Tech back the lead.
- MJ Collins' layup gave Tech a seven-point lead. Kidd followed with an and-1 layup to make the score 26-20 with five minutes remaining in the half.
- Mylyjael Poteat's putback put Tech up 33-29 with under a minute to go. The Hokies led 33-32 going into the half. Tech committed 12 first-half turnovers.
- Kidd opened the second half scoring for Tech with a layup, the third tie of the game at 35-35. Robbie Beran followed with a 3-pointer to tie the game at 38-38.
- Nickel knotted the game at 44 with a 3-pointer a little under 14 minutes to go. Nickel led all scorers with 12 to that point. Pedulla tied the game at 49 with a layup a little less than 10 minutes to go.
- Pedulla gave Tech the lead by virtue of a 3-pointer with seven minutes to go. The Hokies were on an 11-2 run. Back-to-back threes by Cattoor propelled VT in front by 12 (70-58) with 3:49 to go.
- Six straight points from Beran helped the Hokies put the game out of reach.
NOTES
- Today's win gave Tech their first road victory of the season. This was the first win of such type since a 71-54 triumph over Louisville on Feb. 28, 2023.
- The Hokies were able to overcome 20 turnovers by shooting 9 of 19 (47.4%) from 3-point range.
- Today's win was redemption from Tech's 20-point loss to the Wolfpack in the 2023 ACC tournament.
- Tech secured back-to-back regular-season wins against NC State for the first time since 2019-20.
- Today's win was a Quadrant 1 victory, Tech's third of the season.
UP NEXT
- Tech returns to Cassell Coliseum for a three-game homestand beginning Tuesday at 9 p.m. against Boston College. Fans are encouraged to wear black for the Black Out game theme.
Gallery: (1-20-2024) MBB: at NC State