Virginia Tech men's basketball earned its biggest win of the year in a 74-68 triumph over No. 6 Virginia on Saturday afternoon. The Hokies controlled the game the entire way, not allowing a single lead to the Cavaliers en route to their Smithfield Commonwealth Clash victory. This is the Hokies' highest ranked win of the season and their second ranked win overall. Virginia Tech is now 14-9 on its 2022-23 campaign, improving to 4-8 in ACC play.
The Hokies have now defeated the 'Hoos three times in Blacksburg – their longest streak in the series since four in a row (2007-10).
In a contest that split the 2022-23 series between Virginia Tech and Virginia, Hokies' guard Sean Pedulla led all scorers with 22 points, his fifth 20-point performance this season. Close behind Pedulla was Virginia's star forward Jayden Gardner, who tallied 20 points in the Cavaliers' losing effort. Despite never capturing a lead, Virginia worked the score to a tie three separate times.
Pedulla's 14-point first half lifted the Hokies to a 32-30 halftime advantage.
Out of the locker room, Virginia worked its way to a tie for the final time at 38-38, only five minutes into the second half. Gardner – alongside senior guard Kihei Clark, who finished with 17 points – produced a 6-0 scoring run early in the second half to earn their final tie.
That Cavaliers scoring run was the biggest between either contingent in the contest, a very competitive affair despite Tech never surrendering its lead.
In the two sides' first meeting in Charlottesville, Tech only managed two trips to the foul line. Behind the Hokies' penetration in the lane, they visited the charity stripe 17 times, going 13 for 17. UVA, which statistically has the ACC's best defense, struggled to limit the Tech offense. The Hokies finished with a 50.9% clip from the floor, connecting on 27 of 53.
Reece Beekman added 15 points and five assists for the visitors.
Hunter Cattoor, Grant Basile, and Justyn Mutts were the three other Hokies to finish with at least 10 points.
Cattoor had another solid night from beyond the arc, finishing 3 of 7 from downtown. He put up at least 10 points for the fourth straight game.
Basile shined in the second half with his 14-point performance, cashing four field goals in the final seven minutes of play. He tallied three blocks on the night – a team high – his ninth multi-block game of the year.
Mutts once again led the field in assists, tallying eight to go along with his 17-point performance. The sixth-year senior curated a high-efficiency night, helping bolster the Hokies to victory, going 7 for 11 from the floor.
The win gives the Hokies half a point in the Commonwealth Clash, presented by Smithfield. The score for the Commonwealth Clash currently is 5-2 in favor of Virginia. For more information, visit vthoki.es/Smithfield.
Virginia Tech will stay in Blacksburg for one more game, as it prepares for Boston College on Wednesday, Feb. 8.
