Virginia Tech's 82-73 double-overtime loss to California in the first round of the ACC Tournament epitomizes the Hokies' 2024-2025 season, but Tech head coach Mike Young is still hopeful about the future in Blacksburg.
"If you could dream it, we've done it," Young said about the mistakes made against California. "Again, we're going to get a lot better. We're going to get a lot better. A lot was missing. Just call it what it is. They're great kids and a pleasure to work with. We've got to get more talented, and we're going to, quick."
Tech entered the contest as the better seeded team compared the Golden Bears, yet the betting seeds quickly went out of the window as Cal showed they could hang with the Hokies.
The Hokies led 34-31 at halftime, and despite Tech's slim three-point lead, Tech seemed to have control over the game.
That all changed at the beginning of the second half. Cal went on an 8-0 run, taking a 39-34 lead over the Hokies, which they seemed to hold for the remainder of regulation.
No matter how the Hokies struck, it was not enough to derail Cal's offense, led by Andrej Stojakovic, who finished the game with 29 points.
The biggest reason Tech was in the deficit it was in was its lack of three-pointers—or should I say, lack of made three-pointers. The Hokies finished the contest shooting 3-26 from beyond the arc, an abysmal 11.5%, even missing wide-open looks from three.
"At the end of the day, we say control what you can control," senior forward Mylyjael Poteat said. "Stuff like defense and rebounding. That's a part of the game; you are going to miss shots."
"Coach (Young) always says that you can only control your three Es. Your energy, effort, and enthusiasm," Poteat said. "I thought we did a pretty decent job of that, trying to control what we can control and stay in the game despite our shooting."
Sophomore guard Jaydon Young, who has sparked the Hokies offense recently, finished the game shooting an uncharacteristic 0-11 from long range.
"I couldn't hit any threes for the life of me," Jaydon Young said postgame. "I dont think I will change my game. I just need to stay in the gym, work on my craft, and everything will work out."
"I would say we had some good shot selection," Rechsteiner said. "I don't think anyone was being selfish or forcing it. We just weren't hitting the shots."
This poor shooting performance from the Hokies was seemingly echoed by the Golden Bears, who shot 5-26 from distance. However, the two more made threes were enough to make a difference in the game for Cal.
Stojakovic buried all three of his triples in the first half (3-3 3FG), and each shot kept Cal within striking distance of the Hokies lead.
Sophomore guard Brandon Rechsteiner looked to right the ship, knocking down the team's only three triples, including a massive three to give the Hokies a 60-59 lead with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation.
"We had a similar play earlier when he tried to throw to the cutter, and I was telling (Jaydon Young) when he drives baseline, my man is cutting in," Rechsteiner recalled the play leading to his go-ahead triple. "So I told him to throw it. So we kind of talked that through."
With 8.4 seconds remaining in regulation, the Hokies seemed to get the stop they needed, defending Jeremiah Wilkinson, who missed a layup and deflected the ball out of bounds. With the ball in Tech's possession, up one with under 10 seconds left, the game seemed to be over, outside of an errand turnover.
But that is exactly what Tech did. Ben Burnham threw an ill-advised pass intended for Tobi Lawal, and Cal guard DJ Campbell stole the ball and got fouled on a layup attempt, going to the line for two shots with 5.3 seconds left.
Campbell split a pair of free throws, tying the game at 60, and the Hokies could not get a buzzer beater at the other end, sending the game to its first overtime.
The first points of overtime came two minutes into extra basketball, and Rechsteiner knocked down a pair of free throws from the line, giving the Hokies a two-point lead.
Stojakovic split a pair of free throws at the other end of the floor, opening the door for the Hokies to extend their lead, and Rechsteiner walked through it, burying a triple on Tech's next possession to extend Tech's lead to four (65-61).
This game and shots like that were symbolic of the growth Rechsteiner has shown this season.
"His improvement from his freshman year to this year, even from November-December until now, has been amazing," Poteat said. "He's great on the ball screens, a great decision-maker, and I really thought he picked up his defense down the stretch, too. I think his improvement has been great, and I am really excited to watch his game in the future."
Yet, the Hokies gave up four straight points, allowing Cal to tie the ball game at 65 a piece before Tobi Lawal rose to grab an offensive rebound over three Golden Bear defenders, where he was fouled.
Lawal sunk both from the line, putting the Hokies back up two with 48.2 seconds remaining in the first overtime period, but Stojakovic returned the favor, nailing a pair of his own free throws to tie the game again at 67.
The Hokies held the ball for the final possession of the first overtime, but with 2.9 seconds left, (Jaydon) Young threw the ball out of bounds, a pass intended for Lawal in the post that was a little too out in front of him.
"We just had to let the game run its course; there are ups and downs," Poteat said. "I thought we had the game at the end of regulation and at the end of OT, but no one was going to buckle our chinstrap for us; we just had to go out there and play basketball."
Even though Cal could not convert from halfcourt as the first overtime buzzer sounded, they went into their huddle with energy, knowing they were still in the fight.
This was seemingly the catalyst for Cal, who, out of the break, went on an 8-0 run to begin the second overtime period (10-0, including the end of the first overtime).
Before the Hokies could blink, Cal led 75-67, a lead Tech could not recover.
"Stojakovic got going," Mike Young said. "He's a good player, nice young man. But 31 (Rytis Petraitis), golly day, I admire that kid. He's tough, he's rugged. He's a good basketball player. Dort and Sissiko are men. We get caught coming over to help go after a blocked shot, and they get the thing up on the rim. We weren't big enough or physical enough to get them down on the baseline where we could corral that ball with others."
California recorded the second win for a No. 15 seed in ACC Tournament history and looks to get another on Wednesday, March 12, when it faces the No. 7 seed Stanford Cardinal.
The Hokies will make the trip back to Blacksburg, where they will begin to revamp for the 2025-2026 season.
