The Hokies opened Year 6 under Mike Young with an 83-60 win over Delaware State Monday night.
“I knew we’d have a long way to go. We do, but our team did some good things,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said after the game. “I’m proud of some of the execution that we had. … I knew it was going to be a little choppy, I knew it was going to be like scratch your head on some stuff, and I did, but we got through it and we’ll have an opportunity to get better here over the next couple of days.”
Tech (1-0) caught fire early, jumping out to a 24-8 lead over the Hornets (0-1) through the first eight minutes. Things slowly slipped for a while, though. After an 8-of-11 start from the field, Tech missed seven shots in a row and nine of its next 11. It only led 40-32 at halftime.
Things looked a little bleak to start the second half as the Hokies missed nine straight field goal attempts and Delaware State cut the margin to six with 13:51 to play, but it started to come together on the defensive end for Tech.
The Hokies defended well for the first few minutes of the game — DSU started 1-of-6 — but lost some of their luster as the first half wore on. They regained that form when they needed it most, though, and forced seven consecutive misses over the next four minutes. They got two consecutive “SUTS,” which the program defines as three stops in a row.
“We did good things,” Young said. “We stayed down on [Martaz Robinson]’s shot fake, we didn’t foul, and [he’s] pretty good. Contested shots, we rebounded the ball, limited them to one shot. Consequently, they can’t get to the three-quarter court press and slow us down a tad.
“… I thought we were really good in that category during that stretch, but goodness gracious, some scouting mess-ups. … A lot to clean up, but they’re eager and they want to learn and learn they will as we continue to move along.”
While the Hokies gained momentum defensively, they found more of a rhythm on the offensive end. Free throws pushed the lead back to double digits with 10 minutes to play and it stayed that way for the remainder of the contest. Tech finished strong, making 11 of its final 17 shots. Weirdly, that featured stretches of six and four makes in a row, respectively, and also included five straight misses.
Overall, it was a roller coaster of a game. It didn’t feel like the Hokies were in complete control until the final few minutes, but they shot 47% for the contest (26-of-55) while limiting the Hornets to 35% (17-of-49). They just let Delaware State, led by Robinson’s 30-point night, hang around too long.
High-flying VCU transfer Tobi Lawal played a pivotal role for the Hokies, a small glimpse of what his junior year might look like — highlighted by his acrobatic dunk with 2:15 remaining. He recorded 23 points (on 6-of-9 shooting) with two 3-pointers and a 9-of-11 mark from the foul line with eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals. The negative: he had five giveaways.
“Four turnovers a half drives me insane,” Young said of Lawal, “but to see him play with confidence… He’s such an explosive person. Eight rebounds is certainly encouraging. … He’s a darn good one and had a good ballgame in here tonight.”
Returners Mylyjael Poteat and Jaydon Young joined Lawal in double figures. Poteat scored 14 to go along with five boards, a career-high five assists and two swatted shots. Young had 13 points with four assists and three boards, knocking down two treys in the process.
Duke transfer Jaden Schutt and freshman Tyler Johnson also had impactful performances. The former is fully healthy and tallied nine points, four rebounds and two assists in his first action since March 2023. Meanwhile, Johnson played 25 minutes in his collegiate debut, seemingly doing it all with eight points, six rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal.
“He played 25 minutes as a freshman. That’s a lot,” Young said of Johnson. “He did some things that scratch your head, but he’s a darn good basketball player, knows what it’s supposed to look like, really well-coached. The more plays they see, the better they’re going to get.”
In third career start, point guard Brandon Rechsteiner had a quiet six points, three rebounds and two assists for Tech. Seven-foot center Patrick Wessler made some noise, though, with four points and five boards, looking pretty smooth in the process.
In all, the Hokies won the rebounding battle by 12 (41-29) and hit their stride at the end. They moved the ball well in stretches, too, finishing with 20 assists on 26 made baskets. They just had too many lulls on both ends — both somewhat expected but also slightly surprising for a group with so many new faces.
In a few moments, they looked like a pretty well-oiled machine; for other stretches, they looked like a five-on-five pickup team thrown together at the last minute. (And to that point, the Hokies sort of are.)
Timing, chemistry and trust should come with time; it’s more a matter of when. While Tech showed some of its potential against Delaware State, it also revealed a number of weaknesses that have to be shored up, especially before non-conference games against the likes Penn State, Michigan and Vanderbilt — Power Four opponents that can take advantage of said flaws.
“I think we had some good ups and downs, some good flashes, good segments and bad segments,” Poteat said. “A lot to learn from, and a lot of things we did well that we can really build upon.”
Box Score: Virginia Tech 83, Delaware State 60
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