BLACKSBURG – Hunter Cattoor dialed up a season-high 20 points and Lynn Kidd notched his fifth double-double of the season to pace Virginia Tech to an 83-75 victory over Florida State Tuesday night inside Cassell Coliseum.
The second regular-season matchup between the Hokies and the Seminoles was a back-and-forth affair until the final minutes. Tech (14-10, 6-7) was aided by 47.8% shooting (11-23) from 3-point range and 87.5% shooting (28-32) from the free-throw line.
Cattoor, who leads the ACC in 3-point field-goal percentage, produced a 4 for 6 clip from long range en route to his seventh career 20-point outing.
Sean Pedulla (19), Tyler Nickel (15), and Lynn Kidd (12) all put in double-digit scoring performances as well. Kidd also hauled in a career-high-tying 15 rebounds. Pedulla was 14 for 16 from the charity stripe. The Hokies had a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers.
Jamir Watkins led Florida State (13-11, 7-6) with a game-high 26 points on 7 for 9 shooting from the field and a 3 for 3 clip from 3-point range.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After Cattoor opened the scoring with a jump shot, Florida State converted six unanswered points. The Hokies countered with a 7-0 run to put them up 14-10 with 12 minutes remaining in the half.
- Back-to-back jump shots from Nickel, Pedulla and Cattoor put the Hokies back up one. The score was 29-28 with four minutes to go.
- Jaydon Young's 3-pointer tied the game again, this time at 32-32. That was the fifth tie of the first half. Pedulla's eighth and ninth made free throws of the half gave him 11 points and put Tech up four.
- The game was tied at 39 at halftime. The Hokies' 18 rebounds to Florida State's nine were key in the half. Both teams also shot 50% or above from 3-point range, which made for an entertaining first half.
- The Hokies started the second half on a 10-2 run, including an alley-oop dunk by Kidd. Nickel halted a quick 5-0 Seminole run with a putback layup, giving Tech a 5-point lead at the 15-minute mark.
- With a little under 12 minutes left, Pedulla converted his first 3-pointer to give Tech a 55-51 lead. MJ Collins' first field goal, a 3-pointer, extended the Hokie lead to eight.
- After a quick FSU run, Kidd muscled up an and-1 layup to make the score 70-62. Three and a half minutes remained. Free throws from Kidd and Cattoor extended the lead to double figures and put the game on ice. Tech won 83-75.
NOTES
- Virginia Tech now has back-to-back wins against Florida State in Blacksburg for the first time since 2006-2008.
- Hunter Cattoor kept pace with his hot ACC 3-point shooting tonight, knocking down 4-6. He also reached a season-high 20 points tonight.
- Tech split the season series 1-1 with FSU, both games being tightly contested.
- Lynn Kidd put in a double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds, his fifth of the season.
- The Hokies broke their three-game losing streak with the win.
COACH YOUNG QUOTES
- "Lynn Kidd was outstanding. We outrebounded Florida State by 12 and were much quicker to the ball than we were in Tallahassee. Hunter [Cattoor] was terrific, Sean [Pedulla] was quite good. He [Sean Pedulla] battled through some fouls, which you are going to do when you play a team like Florida State. All in all, a really good night for our club."
- "John [Camden] played some good defense for us tonight. In the second half, we just did a better job of putting a body on a body. I don't think we had as many lapses in the second half as we did in the first, which is always a plus."
Gallery: (2-13-2024) MBB: Florida State Game
UP NEXT
- Tech takes a road trip to Chapel Hill to compete against seventh-ranked North Carolina on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on ACC Network with Wes Durham and Dan Bonner on the call.