Virginia Tech and Mylyjael Poteat weren't good enough against Jacksonville. (Jon Fleming)

Virginia Tech was upstaged Wednesday night in Cassell Coliseum, losing 74-64 to Jacksonville in a “buy game.”

As part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, which begins Monday in South Florida, the Hokies (3-2) paid the Dolphins (3-2) $100,000 to visit Blacksburg, per a FOIA request, and were outmatched. It’s the first time Tech’s lost a “buy game” at home since falling to Alabama State in 2015. Moreover, it was the program’s first non-league defeat in its own building to a non-power conference foe by 10-plus since 1993 vs. FIU.

“Those guys came in here with a good plan,” Tech head coach Mike Young said of Jacksonville. “They fought and the better team won the game, unfortunately for the Hokies.”

After a back-and-forth first 15 minutes, Tech pulled away right before intermission thanks to a 6-0 run sparked by Jaydon Young and Tobi Lawal. It entered the break up 39-29 after a steal and a transition dunk from Young as the buzzer sounded.

However, Jacksonville was better out of the locker room. Like Penn State’s approach against the Hokies on Friday in Baltimore, Md., an 86-64 contest in the Nittany Lions’ favor, the Dolphins got up in Tech’s grill and pressed to start the second half. In a way, they followed PSU’s blueprint, wearing VT down in the first half via some man-to-man looks before turning things up in the second.

Jacksonville coach Jordan Mincy described it as a “run-and-jump” press, and it worked against the Hokies, who were rattled and practically handed away the game. Tech had just five turnovers in the first half but 11 in the second, a few of which came in the backcourt from the pressure. In the first two minutes of the half, the Dolphins jumped out to an 8-0 run and were immediately back in the contest.

“When we watched the Penn State film, being able to see them press from the very beginning of the game, it allowed for us to be able to come out in that second half,” Mincy said. “We did the exact same run-and-jump press that we saw on film. We didn’t really want to show it in the first half; we just wanted to pick up full-court man, but we knew second half, if we hold onto it, they don’t have time to really adjust or talk about it at halftime. That was part of the 8-0 run out of half, being able to turn those guys over.”

The approach took the Hokies out of rhythm, and they never found it again. Jacksonville outscored Virginia Tech 45-25 in the final 20 minutes, the program’s worst deficit in a half in Cassell since 2015 vs. Miami.

“We’re getting good shots,” Young said. “Can’t turn the ball over. You can’t miss on an action. It’s supposed to be screened, it’s got to be screened. Offensively, we were fair in the first half, limited them to three made 3-point baskets. Forty-two from the field is OK, pretty good, but we’ve got a ways to go.

“I’d like to tell you that it’s really good in practice; it hasn’t been. We don’t play with the best basketball IQ and that’s on me. I’ve got to teach it better, I’ve got to drill it better.”

It was extremely sloppy basketball on both ends. The Hokies were discombobulated and on completely different pages, and it was especially evident on the defensive end, where they let the Dolphins shoot 62 percent (18-of-29) in the second half after a 42 percent mark (13-of-31) in the first.

Jacksonville practically got downhill at will and Tech could do nothing to stop it. Young tried moving some pieces around and rolled with a smaller lineup for some stretches in an attempt to match the athleticism, but it was no use. The Hokies just didn’t have it Wednesday and were outplayed on both ends by a team that appeared to want it more.

“I just feel like we were a bit lethargic,” said Lawal, who finished with 14 points, four rebounds and five turnovers. “We weren’t moving as much [offensively] as before, we were just taking longer to get into our actions so that really messed us up. The main thing is that we weren’t on the same page for long enough. You have to be on the same page for 40 minutes, on defense and on offense, and if you don’t do that, you’re going to make it harder for yourself to win.”

The pendulum swung the Dolphins’ way for good with nine minutes to play when Donovan Rivers responded to a Brandon Rechsteiner 3-pointer and gave the away squad a 55-53 lead. It never trailed again and slowly pulled away from Tech, who tried to claw its way back but couldn’t hang.

A 7-0 run over 90 seconds from Jacksonville, which featured buckets from Stephon Payne (6 points), Robert McCray (17 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds) and Zimi Nwokeji (team-high 19 points, 9 rebounds), was the nail in Tech’s coffin. The Hokies had just called timeout with 5:52 remaining after Jaydon Young got a 3-pointer down, which cut the margin to two, but they missed a layup, two free throws (Mylyjael Poteat) and a jumper (Young) while the Dolphins capitalized on their opportunities.

“We have to have better basketball IQ to understand the ebbs and flows of the game,” Lawal said, “and how they’re going on their run and we shut their water off quick and we go on our run. But you can’t do that if you don’t communicate and everyone’s trying to play as an individual.”

It was an embarrassing performance from Tech, which had won its last 29 “buy games” under Young. His previous teams consistently played like winning ones against inferior competition — even the group that finished 16-16 in 2019-20 — something the Hokies didn’t do against the Dolphins.

They looked incredibly out of sync on both ends, especially when handling the ball against the pressure, which appeared to catch them off guard. In most ways, they were outclassed by a program in Jacksonville that, while it had historic success in the past (NCAA runner-up in 1970), has only won more than 18 games once in the last decade.

What happens when Tech faces better competition like it will over the next four games in Michigan, South Carolina/Xavier, Vanderbilt and Pitt? The team that took the floor Wednesday night didn’t seem like one that could take care of business against good teams.

“We’ve got a long way to go,” Young said. “… We’ve got three days of practice to prepare for the Michigan Wolverines. Haven’t played well at all here in these last two and the road gets more difficult as we go along. Improvements to be made, certainly, and they understand that, as well as our coaching staff.”

Indeed, and the Hokies better act fast if they don’t want this season to be over before they know it.

Box Score: Jacksonville 74, Virginia Tech 64