Second-Half Surge Catapults Hokies to 73-68 Overtime Victory Over NC State

The year atop the calendar may have been different, but the product on the court appeared unchanged. Buzz Williams' young and undersized lineup was dominated inside early, seemed disjointed on offense and subsequently limped into halftime facing a double-digit deficit.

But then the second half arrived.

And oh, was the second half different. The Hokies battled valiantly in the interior, knocked down clutch shots, harassed ACC Player of the Year candidate Cat Barber, and on the shoulders of 23-point performances from Seth Allen and Jalen Hudson, knocked off the visiting Wolfpack with a 73-68 overtime victory that had the opening beats of Enter Sandman ringing through the rafters of Cassell Coliseum postgame.

"We just kinda hung around," said Williams of his third ACC win. "And it turned into instead of a basketball game, it was more of a body-blow, body-blow, body-blow fight. And I thought it was the first time we didn't have to hit a prayer or something miraculous didn't have to happen in order to win."

The aforementioned Allen turned in perhaps his finest game as a Hokie, not only pitching in 23 points but also limiting Barber to 21 on just 7 of 21 shooting. Known more for his offensive prowess than his defensive abilities, Allen flashed a second dimension to his game that should bode well for the Hokies as conference play progresses.

"I take a lot of pride (in my defense)," said Allen. "That's what we said — we were gonna win this game with stops...We knew he (Barber) was going to get his. We just wanted to make him get it in as many shots as possible."

Hudson, who despite boundless potential has struggled to make much of an impact this season, scored 19 points in the second half and overtime alone, proving himself to be a matchup nightmare for the Wolfpack over the game's final 25 minutes.

"I just feel like I'm in a playground...I just play," said Hudson of when he plays his best. " I can't really explain it."

And while the Hokies likely won't need Hudson to consistently score 20-some points per game throughout the year, Williams appreciates how much the threat of Hudson scoring loosens up opposing defenses.

"I've said since Thanksgiving of last year, he's the most talented guy on our roster," said Williams. "Because of all the things that have transpired with our roster, the thing that I would say is he doesn't have to score 23 every night. But he has to be in a position that they're guarding him like he could potentially score 23."

Wolfpack center BJ Anya and his 7'9" wingspan gave Hokies' forwards Zach LeDay and Kerry Blackshear fits throughout the game's first twenty minutes as Tech's bigs mustered up just 4 points on 1 of 9 shooting in the first half. But following the halftime break LeDay and Blackshear made a concerted effort to get into the body of Anya — and thus limiting the renowned shot blocker's sizable length advantage — and each finished the afternoon surprisingly close to double-double territory.

The Hokies tallied just 3 assists on the afternoon, an alarmingly low number attributable to a solid Wolfpack defense and a heavy one-on-one focus on the offensive end. But despite the concerning assists number, Tech committed just four turnovers, their lowest mark on the season by a wide margin. Neither team shot particularly well from the field — NC State finished at just 32.3%, the Hokies, 39.1% — but limiting the Wolfpack's extra possessions proved beneficial.

The Wolfpack jumped on the Hokies early and led 21-11 through 12 minutes as the Hokies were largely resigned to working on the perimeter thanks to the dominant interior play of Anya. The Wolfpack stretched their lead out to 16 at the 2:34 mark, but Tech managed to crawl back within 10 just before the half.

The second half saw much of the same early as the Wolfpack led 48-38 with 10:31 to play, but the Hokies went on a 7-0 run courtesy of a three-pointer from Blackshear and a four-point play from Hudson. The Wolfpack proceeded to extend their lead back to six, but an Allen three and Hudson layup cut the lead to just one and forced Mark Gottfried to burn a timeout. The Hokies blocked two Wolfpack shot attempts on the ensuing possession, and LeDay found Allen streaking down the court unguarded following the second rejection. Allen hauled in the LeDay pass mid-sprint and brought Cassell Coliseum to a fever pitch with a two-handed slam that gave the Hokies a 52-51 lead with 4:20 left in regulation.

NC State battled back and took a 61-58 lead with just 33 seconds to play, but Allen drilled a three to tie the game on a well-designed play from Williams that featured Justin Bibbs — the Hokies' best shooter from distance — as a pick-and-pop threat. Shane Henry, who was swapped in for Blackshear repeatedly in the latter portion of the game in offense-defense substitutions, blocked another Barber shot attempt as time expired in regulation to force overtime.

Overtime was a back-and-forth affair for the first three minutes, but the Hokies took a 69-67 lead off a Blackshear layup with just 1:23 to play. Following two missed free throws from NC State's Abdul-Malik Abu, Bibbs was fouled by Barber and proceeded to knock down two clutch free throws to extend the Hokies' lead to four.

Hudson fouled out on the ensuing possession while attempting to guard Barber, and the Wolfpack's star hit one of two free throws to keep the Pack within striking distance. The Wolfpack, forced to foul with just 17 seconds remaining in overtime, hacked LeDay near midcourt, but the South Florida transfer iced the game with two free throws of his own that gave the Hokies a five point lead. Barber threw up a deep prayer at the eight second mark, but as Shane Henry pulled in the rebound, the Hokies began to celebrate their first regular season conference win since February 9, 2015.

The Hokies will have no time to rest on their laurels as they are set to battle No. 5 Virginia on Monday evening in Blacksburg. And despite an early-season loss to George Washington, Tony Bennett appears to have his Cavaliers primed for yet another run at an ACC championship.

"I think Coach Bennett is an early entry Hall of Fame candidate," said Williams. "I think their players are way better players than they get credit for. I do believe that the system offensively and defensively is elite...I think they're good enough to win the national championship."

And with just two days to prepare for Virginia's pack line defense and impressively efficient offense, the Hokies certainly have a tall task ahead of them. But if this young team continues to take their coach's words to heart — he spoke to them for nearly two hours following Wednesday's loss to West Virginia — perhaps the unthinkable could happen in Cassell Coliseum come Monday night.

Williams' message? Surprisingly succinct.

"It takes your soul to win," said Blackshear. "It takes everything. That's what we did today."