I had a bad feeling about this one from the pregame to the early moments of the second half. It started when a TSL poster -- I don't remember who, and I can't find the post now -- noted that the Hokies weren't shooting well in pre-game warmups.
Yeah, I know ... it doesn't matter. But it didn't help me feel better.
Then it extended into the first half, when the Hokies were missing wide-open three-pointers, but Wake Forest was seeing a big basket.
https://twitter.com/TechSideline/status/839636110959587328
The Hokies were hanging in there, but I had a feeling of dread that Wake Forest, with their hot shooting, would suddenly widen the margin to 10 or 15 points with a big run. I even went to Twitter, on my personal account, to express my dread:
https://twitter.com/WillStewartTSL/status/839635869774581760
Wake Forest kept pouring it on, eventually running their three-point shooting to 5-of-7, while the Hokies were starting out 2-of-9, which included 0-for-3 from Justin Bibbs and 0-for-2 from Ty Outlaw.
Amazingly, the Hokies were staying close, down just 31-27 despite the disparity in three-point shooting. And then Zach LeDay hit a three-pointer to close it to 31-30.
In retrospect, that was Zach LeDay serving notice that he was going to be the story in this game, not Wake Forest's three-point shooters or Wake's highly-touted John Collins. As the Hokies were getting off to a slow start and looking lethargic both offensively and defensively, LeDay was almost single-handedly keeping them in it:
https://twitter.com/TechSideline/status/839640600542597120
Not only that, but LeDay piled up 7 first-half rebounds and took -- and made -- all four of Virginia Tech's first-half free throws.
But he had a disastrous end of the half. First he committed a goaltending violation to put Wake Forest up 41-37 with just 1.1 seconds left in the half, and then, while being shoved in the back, he let a long pass slip through his fingers, leading to this:
Knowing what we know now, we can (sort of) laugh at that shot. But at the time, there was nothing funny about it. Greg McClinton is a little-used reserve who averages 7.2 minutes a game, and who until then hadn't even attempted a three-pointer this season, much less thrown one in from about 80 feet out.
It put the hot-shooting Deacs at 6-of-9 from three point range for the half and staked them to a 7-point (44-37) lead that wasn't insurmountable, but was a hill to climb, emotionally more than anything else.
The start of the second half seemed more of the same: Outlaw missed another three-pointer, and so did Ahmed Hill, and the Hokies' outside shooting fell to 3-of-13.
The Game Turns Tech's Way
And then things shifted in a moment. The Hokies poured it on, getting an And-1 from Hill, two three-pointers from Outlaw, and even a "Whoa!" bucket in the lane from Khadim Sy, to outscore Wake Forest 13-7 in the first media period and close it to 51-50. McClinton's full-court heave was erased, and it was anyone's ballgame.
You know the rest: the Hokies hung 62 points on Wake Forest in the second half to win 99-90. After the half-time break, the Deacs made just 1 of their first 9 three-point attempts, while Tech, from the moment they were 3-of-13 from out there, made 7 of their last 11. Outlaw canned four straight to bounce back from his poor start and finish 4-of-7 from three with 14 points. Seth Allen (18 points), Bibbs (15) and Ahmed Hill (12) all played well, and Justin Robinson, the Human Bruise, was tough as nails.
It was as if McClinton's buzzer-beating heave was a turning point, a moment in which the Hokies planted a stake in the ground and said "no more."
Independent of what was happening with the score, I can tell you the moment I thought the Hokies were going to win: it was 8:37 PM, when I texted my old college roommate, "Pssstttt ... I'm starting to feel good about winning this. Don't tell anyone."
It's hard to say what made me think that. I don't remember the exact score at that moment, but it was still tight, still back and forth. But Wake Forest was starting to get that look about them, that out-of-synch, everything's-hard look. And the Hokies were getting the opposite look, that look of confidence that said they knew they were taking control, and they were going to keep it.
I had the ACC Network production of the event on my television (not ESPN2), and within a few minutes of me getting that feeling, analyst Dan Bonner started to talk about the "momentum shift" in the Hokies' direction. I thought to myself, "Darn right."
There were a few nerve-wracking moments there towards the end. After VT broke a 67-all tie with a 24-12 run to take a 91-79 lead with 1:06 left, Wake found their shooting stroke again, making three straight 3s in the next 23 seconds. The Hokies were meanwhile going just 3-of-6 from the line, and it was suddenly 94-88 with 40 seconds left. That turned out to be nothing but a hiccup, though.
LeDay Out Front
Throughout that barnstorming second half, Zach LeDay was the bell cow, scowling and scrapping and taking contact and scoring anyway. His effort was consistent throughout. He had 15 first half points and 16 second half points; 7 first half rebounds and 8 second half rebounds; he was 5-of-9 in the first half and 3-of-6 in the second half. You get the point. Don't let your memory tell you that LeDay just led the Hokies to victory in the second half. Give him credit for all 40 minutes, because he was there the whole time, carrying his teammates and setting the tone.https://twitter.com/TechSideline/status/839663505657720833
Seth Allen has gotten all the attention for his game-winning shots this season, deservedly so, but it's LeDay who leads the Hokies in both scoring and rebounding, and it's LeDay who brings the battle every game. Wake's John Collins is a great player, one who finished second in the ACC Player of the Year voting, but in the last two games, LeDay has outscored Collins 55-28, outrebounded Collins 25-19, and outscowled Collins a million to one.
I hated that Wake Forest spoiled Allen and LeDay's Senior Night last Saturday, but at least the Hokies got revenge. LeDay made it clear after Saturday's game how unhappy he was, and he made sure it didn't happen twice in a row. That's Zach being Zach, and he'll have to turn right around Thursday and face Florida State's forest of tall trees.
But that's for later. For now, enjoy a scowl and another game, courtesy of Zach LeDay. I'll leave you with this:
https://twitter.com/WillStewartTSL/status/839699203223871488