Teel: Hokies steal a game they desperately needed at Miami | College Sports
Mike Young was struggling to process what he’d just witnessed from his Virginia Tech basketball team Saturday afternoon at Miami. He tried “golly” and “gosh,” and rambled some more before nailing it with five concise words.
“You can’t win that game.”
No, you can’t. But the Hokies did, 71-70, on Darius Maddox’s cold-blooded 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining.
Tech outscored Miami 12-3 in the final 92 seconds, erasing an eight-point deficit and showcasing the clutch gene that has fueled an eight-wins-in-nine-games stretch that maybe, just maybe, will propel this bunch into the NCAA tournament.
In some regards, the Hokies deserved to lose. They committed a season-high 18 turnovers, many in live-ball situations, which the Hurricanes converted into 25 points.
“What the hell are we doing?” is how Young described his sideline reaction.
Young almost certainly was flashing back to last month, when Miami scored 23 points off 14 turnovers at Cassell Coliseum and defeated Tech 78-75 on Charlie Moore’s half-court heave at the horn. There was no such magic for the Hurricanes on Saturday as Sam Waardenburg’s last-second 3-pointer missed.
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“Please, please, please don’t go in,” Sean Pedulla said of his emotions as he watched Waardenburg’s shot arc toward the rim.
As with all unfathomable comebacks, Tech’s needed assistance, and Miami provided it long supply.
The Hurricanes (20-9, 12-6 ACC) missed three of their final four foul shots. Waardenburg fouled Pedulla as the latter made a layup with 44.6 seconds left — Pedulla made the free throw — and Kam McGusty threw a poor inbounds pass with 17.8 seconds showing.
Hunter Cattoor deflected the pass, and Maddox gathered the ball on the right wing. Without hesitation, the 6-foot-5 reserve took a step back and elevated over the 6-10 Waardenburg for the winning 3.
Watching on television, the shot felt rushed, and it gave Miami considerable time to counter. But Young was fine with it.
“I want him to shoot it more,” he said of Maddox.
Little wonder. Maddox is shooting 53.2% overall, 51.7% on 3-pointers.
Maddox and Pedulla combined for 30 points off the bench Saturday, Pedulla sagely exploiting the Hurricanes late by driving to the rim. Miami ranks last among the ACC’s 15 teams in 2-point percentage defense, and Tech (18-11, 10-8) attacked that weakness ruthlessly to survive a fifth consecutive sub-par game beyond the arc (7 of 24).
The Hokies shot a stunning 81.5% inside the arc (22 of 27), accuracy that had Young double-checking the stat sheet for confirmation. Tech’s best player, Keve Aluma, embodied that interior dominance, making 8 of 9 and scoring a game-high 18 points.
But we expect such quality from Aluma. The X factor in the Hokies recovery from a 2-7 ACC start, which mired them in last place in the conference, has been the bench.
Pedulla scored 19 points combined in Tech’s first nine ACC games. He’s contributed 71 in the last nine.
Maddox managed 19 points in the Hokies’ first eight league contests. In the last 10, he’s scored 83.
They earned the coaching staff’s trust in practice and have affirmed it in games.
Neither was flawless Saturday — both committed two turnovers, and Pedulla missed 7 of 9 beyond the arc. But they are an essential part of this team’s toughness.
Case in point with about eight minutes remaining in the first half, when Maddox rebounded Pedulla’s errant 3-pointer at the rim, absorbed contact from 6-7 Jordan Miller and made a layup.
“Obviously I have a slim frame,” the 180-pound Maddox said, “but I’m definitely not frail on the basketball court.”
A frail team would have blinked after losing its first four ACC games. A frail team would have slunk away after falling to 2-7.
This group is 8-1 since, and remarkably, the Hokies are enduring in the midst of a 3-point slump. They’ve been the league’s best deep shooting team throughout the season, but in their last five games they are 28 of 123 (22.8%).
That the Hokies have continued to win is testament to their defense, poise and confidence, and now, with their first victory that the NET rankings classify as Quadrant 1, they remain in the NCAA tournament conversation.
“They’re a lot of fun,” Young said. “They drive me crazy sometimes, but they’re a lot of fun to coach.”
