Hokies Hoops Avoid Another Close Game Let Down, Beat The Citadel 64-61

It came up Milhouse for Virginia Tech today.

[Alex Koma]

Perhaps a three-point win over a bad Southern Conference team is something to be a little frustrated with.

Perhaps. But, after all, a three-point loss would've been harder to swallow, so there is some solace to take in Tech's 64-61 win over The Citadel.

"We're thankful that we won, we lost three games just like this," said head coach Buzz Williams.

Indeed, the game seemed like it was about to be very reminiscent of Tech's last-second losses to Appalachian State, Radford and Penn State, yet the Hokies came out on the winning end of things this time around.

"It feels great. First of all, we should've never let it get down to that point, but it feels good to get this kind of game," said guard Justin Bibbs.

But while Buzz likes to see a hard earned win like this one, he's also conscious of what it means for the team's mentality going forward.

"I think they'd become accustomed to being on the other end of it and being somewhat like it's a moral victory," Williams said. "Somehow you have to cross the threshold of you play to win, not to lose by one possession."

So what was it that helped the Hokies end up with the "W" after a trio of losses in these late game situations?

It certainly wasn't their perimeter defense. They let The Citadel hit 13 of 34 three-pointers, with guard Ashton Moore taking over for long stretches with seven triples of his own.

"12 gave us absolutely all we could handle," Williams said. "Set a Cassell Coliseum record for most threes ever by a player."

Instead, it was part Adam Smith's tremendous second half effort in his best scoring effort this month, leading the team with 16 total points, and part free throw shooting.

The Hokies were abysmal from the charity stripe in the first half, but hit several down the stretch to help seal the game.

"It's not as if we hired a free throw consultant at the eight minute media timeout," Williams said. "We made one free throw in the first half and 14 in the second half. So why did we shoot more? That meant the ball was going more north and south, which forces rotation. It's a mentality thing, and in my opinion mentality is a portion of confidence."

Both teams started out slow offensively. After four-and-a-half minutes of play, the Hokies grabbed a slim 5-4 lead, with Ahmed Hill picking up the entirety of the team's points.

He put the Hokies ahead with a pretty lay-in that likely represented the best offensive display of either team so far.

Buzz was also merciful this time around, letting Devin Wilson and Joey Van Zegeren check in to the game after keeping them glued to the bench in favor of the truly strange pairing of Justin Bibbs and Christian Beyer as Tech's point guard and power forward.

He was similarly kind to Malik Mueller and Jalen Hudson, giving them work after a timeout just two minutes later.

Yet the group's addition did little to lessen Tech's offensive woes. They traded baskets with the Bulldogs, ultimately grabbing a one point lead on a rare Devin Wilson three-pointer with a little more than 12 minutes to go in the half.

But The Citadel's own barrage of threes continued. Three minutes later they had a 17-14 lead on the strength of their 4 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc, with three alone coming from senior guard Ashton Moore.

"They hit a lot of shots, a lot of contested shots, but I think we played it pretty well," said guard Ahmed Hill.

As the half wore on, the rest of the bench got more work, with Satchel Pierce and Shane Henry getting into the game a bit. Pierce was even able to set a nifty screen to free Adam Smith for a three to draw the Hokies within 20-16 with nine minutes left in the half.

Jumpers by Hill and Bibbs and one The Citadel free throw brought the contest to 21-20, but a pair of Bulldog threes was matched only by one Van Zegeren bucket, giving The Citadel a 27-22 lead with two minutes left.

Van Zegeren brought the crowd to life with a big block to force a shot clock violation with 30 seconds to go, and the Hokies were able to call timeout.

Williams worked furiously to draw up a play, but a pair of missed threes by Wilson and Smith sent the Hokies into the half still down by five.

But then Smith found his shooting touch as soon as the second half kicked off. He hit two quick threes to go with a pair of free throws, giving the Hokies a 30-29 lead.

That seemed to embolden him, and he immediately started playing aggressively. Five minutes into the half, he took the ball coast-to-coast and put it up, allowing Van Zegeren to tip it in. and give Tech a 34-31 lead.

"I didn't think we were particularly good in the first half. I thought our energy level was distinctly different in the second half," Williams said. "We have to play with confidence, it's almost like when we go on that run or other runs intermingled throughout the season, similar to PSU or even Miami (OH) it's like we go on the run and go 'we're winning, now what are we going to do?'"

The Bulldogs wisely called a timeout to slow things down, but Tech kept pushing the pace, as demonstrated by a Wilson layup to give the Hokies their biggest lead of the game at 36-31.

The Citadel cut the lead to three on a layup, but solid defensive efforts kept the fast break moving. Hudson and Smith hit a pair of quick layups, before Wilson tossed a beauty of an alley-oop to Hudson to give Tech a 42-33 lead.

But The Citadel took yet another timeout, switched up the lineup, and that seemed to settle things down. Moore drained another three, then hit a pair of free throws to cut the Hokies' lead to four.

Moore stayed hot for the next two minutes, hitting another three to go along with a Quinton Marshall jumper to draw the Bulldogs within one as part of 10-2 run.

One more three from Moore gave The Citadel a brief one point lead, but a Hill layup tied things up with eight minutes remaining in the contest.

But the lead was short lived. Another five points from Moore, plus a Jake Wright jumper gave The Citadel a 54-50 lead with five-and-a-half minutes to play.

The Hokies responded, however, thanks to a putback dunk by Henry and a pretty pick and roll layup from Bibbs.

Henry showed some impressive ups on The Citadel's next trip down the floor with an emphatic block, keeping the score tied at 54 with three minutes left.

"Everybody gets up out of their seats for them," Hill said of Henry's blocks. "Everybody gets hype, it gives us a little more energy, pushes us to go even harder."

The teams traded scores once more to keep the game tied (this time at 58), and a minute later, Wilson came through with a layup to break the stalemate. But, predictably, he couldn't make the and-one.

The next possession was nearly disastrous for Tech. Moore missed a three pointer, but The The Citadel grabbed the rebound. The Hokies didn't exactly put on a clinic when it comes to defensive rotations, and The Citadel was able to get a man wide open from three.

But Henry closed that space in a hurry, swatting the ball into the stands, and The Citadel couldn't recover.

He very nearly went right past him, and certainly would've had there been any kind of shot fake, a fact he freely admits.

"I knew I would've been in big trouble if he pump faked but I'm glad he didn't," Henry said with a laugh.

Williams credits his impressive second half energy with a large part of the team's defensive turnaround.

"I'm thankful we were able to play Shane there at the end, I thought it was the difference down the stretch," Williams said.

The Hokies hit three more free throws to get comfortable with a five point lead, yet yielded one more three to put the score at 63-61 with two seconds left.

Bibbs hit one of two free throws to get the lead to three, and after a final foul, Moore airballed a three to end this one.

"It feels good, just knowing we've had some really intense practices," Henry said.

Now the Hokies ready for a very different test in VMI, a team that's shot over 400 triples this year already (compared with Tech's 228).

The perimeter defense will have to improve to avoid yet another let down, but for now, the Hokies are a 6-4 team.

Comments

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

"That kid you're talking to right there, I think he played his nuts off! And you can quote me on that shit!" -Bud Foster

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

Plan for the worst and hope for the best, not the other way around.

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

VT '10--US Citizen; (804) Virginian By Birth; (210) Texan By the Grace of God.

Rick Monday... You Made a Great Play...

I also root for: The Keydets, Army, TexAggies, NY Giants, NY Rangers, ATL Braves, and SA Brahmas

Please join The Key Players Club to read or post comments.

'Its easy to grin, when your ship comes in, and you've got the stock market beat,
but the man worthwhile, is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat'