Despite continued turnover problems, Virginia Tech (8-10) took Wake Forest (14-4) to the brink, but missed opportunities down the stretch led to a 72-63 loss.
After trailing the entire first half, Virginia Tech took the lead just 13 seconds into the second half and hung around until the final minutes.
The Hokies trailed 63-58 with 4:18 remaining before suffering through an untimely two-minute drought. While their defense held strong, missed opportunities down the stretch ultimately doomed Virginia Tech.
“We missed an inordinate amount of layups and some free throws down the stretch,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said of their finish.
While Mike Young was proud of his players for their solid performance, it is obvious he understood just how big a win this could have been. Between emotional reactions and a rare technical foul where he left the bench to confront an official, Young was as fired up as you will ever see him.
Besides the late game offensive struggles, the Hokies pitfall was once again their inability to take care of the ball. Tech gave it away 14 times on the night, and nine of those came in the first half.
“We’ve never played that way,” Young said, dumbfounded by his team’s inexplicable turnovers. “We can’t play that way.”
Wake Forest forced many of those turnovers with aggressive defense, which Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes described in three key points of attack.
“Physical at the point of attack, hedging ball screens (and) warring hand-offs,” were the priorities as Forbes said.
Mike Young is known for coaching strong offensive teams that do their damage in the half-court set. The Demon Deacons were able to keep the Hokies out of an offensive rhythm and hurt their ability to set up offensive sets by doubling the post and blitzing screens, leaving Young impressed.
“In his five years, this is the best defensive team he’s (Forbes) had,” Young said.
With all that being said, Virginia Tech played well in a lot of different areas and demonstrated their obvious improvement over the last few weeks.
“We’re understanding each other so much more (and) we play harder with more intensity,” Hokies forward Tobi Lawal said. “We’re starting to see more basketball because obviously we were inexperienced as a team.”
That intensity was clear as the Hokies won the majority of the 50/50 balls and came out on top in the rebounding battle, with a 35-29 advantage, including a 9-6 offensive rebounding edge.
Lawal and Tyler Johnson specifically dominated the glass, as Lawal had a double-double with a career-high 12 rebounds plus 10 points, while Johnson came just one point short of a double-double with nine points and 10 rebounds.
The Hokies also continued their balanced scoring attack, with four players finishing in double figures, but no one scoring more than 12 points. Virginia Tech got 27 points off the bench, including a team-high 12 points from Jaden Schutt, who just played his second-straight game as 6th man after starting the first 16 games.
“He’s playing with a lot more confidence,” Young said of Schutt, who had five straight single-digit scoring performances, including two scoreless outings, before his clutch 17-point game against NC State.
Notably, Ben Hammond returned to the lineup as starting point guard after a three game absence due to a foot injury he suffered against Miami.
Hammond struggled to shoot the ball in his return, going just 1/9 from the floor and Mike Young conceded he could have done a better job easing him back after the injury.
Nonetheless, Young remains very impressed in the freshman duo of Hammond and Johnson, who are playing bigger roles this year than Hokie freshmen have in years.
“They give us the best chance to win,” Young said of having two freshmen in the starting lineup. “Ben’s ability to touch the paint, get two feet in the paint, is impressive.”
While the Hokies balanced scoring is commendable, it pays to have stars, and Wake Forest had two players, Hunter Sallis and Cameron Hildreth, who proved to be too much for Virginia Tech.
“The last eight minutes he (Forbes) gave the ball to two really good players, and I don’t really have a matchup for either.”
Sallis and Hildreth combined for 45 of the Demon Deacons 72 points, most of which came on the interior.
Wake Forest takes a five game winning streak back to their home court for an in-state battle against North Carolina (12-7) at 9 p.m. on Tuesday, January 21st. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, will take a trip to Atlanta and face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-11) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, January 22nd.
