BALTIMORE, Md. — Virginia Tech never led in its 86-64 loss to Penn State on Friday in the Hall of Fame Series in CFG Arena.
“We didn’t start the game very well,” Tech head coach Mike Young said. “I’ve got to call timeout, which I hate to do. We found our footing and played better basketball. … Started the second half poor.
“I’ve got a young bunch and [Penn State coach Mike Rhoades] has an older bunch with an elite point guard and I thought they got into us a little bit, we got back on our heels.”
Like their second game of the season against USC Upstate, the Hokies (3-1) dug themselves a giant hole early — though they were facing much better competition this time around and couldn’t crawl out of it.
Tech finished with more fouls (28) and turnovers (24) than made field goals (20). It was the most turnovers in a single game for the Hokies since they had 25 on Dec. 30, 2014, against Bob Huggins and “Press Virginia” in Morgantown.
“We spent an inordinate amount of time on the press and Mike does a very good job with it,” Young said. “I think we kicked it one time against the press. Twenty-four turnovers, I’m not sure I’ve had 24 turnovers in my career, but we did tonight.”
The Nittany Lions (4-0) jumped out to a 10-2 lead at the first media timeout and extended it to 15-2 soon after, courtesy of three 3-pointers — two of which came from Zach Hicks. Meanwhile, Tech had five giveaways in that span.
The Hokies settled down, got some stops and slowly pulled back within an arm’s reach, thanks to separate 6-0 and 9-0 runs, both of which were sparked by Ben Burnham. The College of Charleston transfer knocked down the team’s first 3-pointer — and his first on the year — with 14:18 to play, which jumpstarted the offense. He also had five quick points to trim the deficit to five (22-17) at the 7:08 mark.
“He looked more comfortable and looked to be searching for his shot, not so hesitant,” Young said of Burnham. “This stuff is so new to him that he’s not playing full tilt, and I thought he laid his ears back and played the way the game’s supposed to be played tonight. It was encouraging to see.”
However, the Hokies never fully found a rhythm, despite having some solid stretches of play, a combination of Penn State’s havoc style on the defensive end and the choppiness of the game. In all, 50 fouls were called — 25 of which came in the first half.
Young had to sit VCU transfer Tobi Lawal for a large chunk of time as a result, and he kept Burnham on the floor with two fouls — which made sense considering he got the offense going — though the senior picked up a third before the break. He fouled out with 8:34 remaining in the contest.
“It makes for a slog,” Young said. “And I think with so many new guys, the fouls get you back on your heels. I’m harping, ‘We don’t play hard without fouling; fouling negates great effort,’ and in doing so, you get back on your heels and can’t play that way, certainly not against a team like Penn State.”
Tech freshmen Tyler Johnson and Ben Hammond also saw their minutes fluctuate due to foul trouble. Still, there was an opportunity to have momentum going into intermission when Mylyjael Poteat had an individual 4-0 run. Tech kept fighting, especially on the defensive end, and after allowing the Nittany Lions to start 9-of-13, it held them to 3-of-13 to end the half.
The Hokies didn’t take advantage of their opportunities around that time, though, from Poteat not converting transition layup to Brandon Rechsteiner missing one of his two foul shots after PSU guard Ace Baldwin was issued for a technical.
“I thought we had a couple of shots get down,” Young said. “We had a couple of really good offensive possessions. Wish we could’ve finished the half a little bit better. … I thought we were in good shape. Hadn’t played great. … Credit where credit’s due: Penn State was that much better than we were tonight.”
Instead, the Nittany Lions took an eight-point lead into the break, and the dam broke in the first few minutes of the second half. A nine-point margin exploded into a 16-point one in the blink of an eye when three sloppy turnovers in a row from the Hokies led to points the other way for Penn State’s Puff Johnson.
“I just said, ‘We’re going to have adversity, so the No. 1 thing is, how do you handle it?’” Nittany Lions coach Mike Rhoades said. “… I thought at halftime we adjusted. There was no yelling, nobody was complaining, it was, ‘That wasn’t good enough, that wasn’t to our standard.’ … And when you have adversity, that’s when the standards get tested the most.”
It was a done deal from there. The Nittany Lions outscored the Hokies 37-31 over the final 16:42 and Young let his reserves play the final 3:26.
Poteat led Virginia Tech in scoring with 15 points, seven of which came from the foul line (on nine attempts). Burnham, Lawal and Jaden Schutt each added eight points. Rechsteiner had six points and five assists at point guard, where he split time with Hammond, who had four points. Center Patrick Wessler chipped in a career-high five points and two blocks.
It was the first time since Dec. 19, 2020, vs. Coppin State that the Hokies had three separate players with at least four turnovers. Hammond, Lawal and Poteat did so against the Nittany Lions, and Johnson and Jaydon Young weren’t behind with three each.
“They pressed, trying to speed us up, and I thought we handled that well,” Poteat said, “but I think once we got into the halfcourt after that, they were getting into us, pushing out a lot of our catches and forcing a lot of turnovers.”
On the other side, Baldwin led Penn State with a 19-point, 10-rebound double-double in his hometown. Hicks had 19 points, too, while Nick Kern (16) and Freddie Dilione V (11) also scored in double figures. Johnson added nine while Kachi Nzeh contributed eight. The Nittany Lions shot 51 percent as a team.
The surprise of the night was that seven-footer Yanic Konan Niederhauser did not have an impact for PSU after entering Friday as the team’s leading scorer with 15 points per game. He dealt with foul trouble throughout the contest, though, and fouled out with 5:36 left.
Now the Hokies turn their attention to Jacksonville, who ventures to Cassell Coliseum on Wednesday. It’ll be the first meeting since 1986, a game Tech later forfeited because of an ineligible player (Russell Pierre). After that, it’s off to the Fort Myers Tip-Off in Florida. So how does the team respond after its first loss on the year?
“We will get back home and we’ll look at it and get better and we’ll grow from obviously a tough night,” Young said. “First time we’ve been on the road — a neutral court — with this Hokie team.”
Box Score: Penn State 86, Virginia Tech 64
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