Virginia Tech has earned a "Cardiac Hokies" reputation due to the number of close games they have played, and this time they were on the receiving end of yet another dagger. On Wednesday night, SMU (13-4) won at the buzzer 77-76 on a half-court heave by standout guard Boopie Miller, after Virginia Tech (13-5) had several chances to ice the game.
Virginia Tech's last four games have all ended in one possession scores, and the Hokies are 1-3 during this stretch. Each game has seen the Hokies' opponents hitting clutch shots in the final seconds.
In what was an intense and closely contested game throughout, SMU gained control early, taking a nine point lead after an uncontested run midway through the first half. The Mustangs controlled the paint, with 16 points coming down low. SMU also had seven offensive boards.
SMU's frontcourt was led by 7'2" Samet Yigitoglu, who had 14 points, three rebounds, and two blocks. Jaden Toombs joined Yigitoglu in the paint, finishing with a double-double of 12 points, 10 rebounds, and a block.
The Hokies clawed their way back to make it a 39-38 SMU lead heading into the locker room. The comeback was led by Jalen Bedford with nine points at the break.
In his return to his home state, Bedford led the team with 22 points on 9-17 (52%) shooting from the field, including nine points from beyond the arc. He also brought down seven rebounds. This game may very well have been his best game to date as a Hokie, from his scoring to his impact defensively when his number was called.
The Hokies controlled the second half, leading by eight points at various points. It did not appear as if Tech was going to run away with it, but the Hokies led for the majority of the half.
The leader of the Mustang’s comeback was Boopie Miller, who is averaging 20 points on the season for SMU. He paced the Mustangs' scoring with 24 points, shooting 6-15 (40%) from the field and 1-6 from beyond the arc.
Miller scored 15 of SMU’s 25 points to end the game; 11 of these came from the free throw line, an area in which the Hokies' struggled in late.
Virginia Tech had four free throw attempts in the final two minutes and missed them all. The first two came from Amani Hansberry, followed by one each from Ben Hammond and Tobi Lawal. These missed opportunities at the charity stripe to put the game away, as well as crucial turnovers, gave SMU one final chance, even after Jaden Schutt appeared to deliver the dagger in the form of his fourth three-pointer of the night with 30 seconds left.
The Hokies turned the ball over on the inbound pass from Amani Hansberry with seven seconds remaining, allowing SMU to score quickly and get within striking range. Hammond later missed the front end of his 1-and-1, but Lawal had a beautiful offensive rebound, putting him at the line, where he repeated Hammond's mistake.
The Mustangs took possession and called timeout with a just under three ticks remaining. Boopie Miller took the inbound pass, dribbled twice, and threw up the final game-winning heave from the left sideline, solidifying another late-game collapse from Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech is currently 2-3 in league play. The Hokies return home to Cassell Coliseum this Saturday to take on Notre Dame.
