Virginia Tech fended off Navy for an 80-72 win on Sunday in Cassell Coliseum, its second straight victory.
The Hokies (5-6) were slow out of the gates and trailed the Midshipmen (3-8) by 12 at the 9:09 mark of the first half, but they gradually found their footing. They used a 12-0 run to knot things up at 27 with 6:27 to play and were fine from there, eventually pulling away midway through the second half thanks to a 9-0 run over four minutes.
“I thought we were a little slow and lethargic for whatever reason,” Hokies head coach Mike Young said of his team’s start. “I liked our practices leading up to it. [Navy] went up 12. Now, we stepped on the gas and cut it back to five. … And then slowly but surely, I thought we played better basketball. Not very good defensively at all in the first half, to give up 41 points is hard to watch, but proud of our team. Nice to get this one to close out non-league play at home.”
It was a little scary early for Tech. Navy made its first eight shots and didn’t miss until the 8:33 mark — though as Young explained, the Hokies were poor on the defensive end over that stretch.
“My mom will tell me after the game, ‘Son, they were really shooting the ball well,’” Young said, “and I will quickly correct her and say, ‘Mother, we weren’t guarding worth a damn and getting shots contested and playing the way we’re supposed to play.’ So let’s not misconstrue what happened. Yes, they were shooting the ball well, but we better start games better on that end of the floor.”
It was no coincidence Tech got going once it started to play better defense. Navy missed five of its next six field goal attempts, which allowed the Hokies to get back into things, and they took a 46-41 lead into intermission — impressive considering they had just 15 points at the nine-minute mark. They made 11 of their 16 shots to end the half and scored 31 points.
“We got our feet on the ground,” Young said. “We got some shots in the basket. ... Just looked more like ourselves. … We’ve started games pretty well; we didn’t today. That’s a big deal, starting the game in those first four minutes and setting your tone defensively, offensively, screening, rebounding. Didn’t do that. We weren’t as effective there as we have been.”
Tech’s depth was at the center of that success. It was similar to Thursday’s win over North Carolina A&T where Hammond, Patrick Wessler and Brown came off the bench to lead the team in scoring. This time around, Ben Burnham, Brown and Hammond joined starters Mylyjael Poteat and Jaden Schutt in double figures.
Burnham had a game-high 17, his best output of the season, and had a few crucial buckets late into the shot clock that beat the buzzer. In a four-point contest with 3:57 remaining, the Hokies were scrambling and found Burnham at the top of the key, who got a defender in the air with a pump fake, side-stepped and knocked down a trey that stretched the lead to seven.
“He plays really, really hard,” Young said of Burnham. “… You know exactly what you’re going to get. He’s ferocious. … He keeps a lot of things alive and he’s a much better athlete than advertised. The shot at the top of the floor was big. Had something on for Schutt, the thing squirts out of there. We had some luck on that one and I’ll take it.”
Brown and Hammond also played well and each chipped in 11 points, three assists and two steals. The former was 3-of-4 from behind the arc and is now 6-of-9 in his last two games. Meanwhile, Hammond was 4-of-6 from the floor and helped the Hokies take care of the ball. They had just 10 turnovers, their third-fewest in a contest this year.
Young has moved to more of a 10-man rotation the last two games and his bench has answered the bell. It recorded 55 points vs. North Carolina A&T and 46 in Sunday’s matinee against the Midshipmen.
All 10 players scored for the Hokies, who were an efficient 53 percent (27-of-51) from the field and 56 percent (10-of-18) from behind the arc. They were selective with their shots for the most part and took what the defense gave them. They got to the foul line and made 16 of their 18 free throws, too.
Poteat and Schutt had 12 and 11 points, respectively. Tyler Johnson chipped in seven, Patrick Wessler added four, Jaydon Young knocked down a 3-pointer and Tobi Lawal and Brandon Rechsteiner had two points apiece.
“We’re playing 10 guys and that’s a real luxury,” Young said. “I haven’t been able to do that in quite some time, maybe our second year together. But I’m enjoying that. … I think we’re getting pretty close to a good rotation and I think that’s important as we head into league play here soon.”
Tech’s second-half defense was the ultimate difference. The Midshipmen were an impressive 13-of-18 (72%) in the first but struggled at just a 33 percent clip (11-of-33) in the latter 20 minutes.
Rebounding kept them alive. Tech allowed 15 offensive boards, 13 of which came in the second half, which led to some second-chance opportunities. Jordan Pennick and Reston native Lysander Rehnstrom led Navy with 14 points each while Jinwoo Kim added 12 — all of which came in the first half. Aiden Kehoe and Donovan Draper each corralled nine rebounds too.
“We did a better job contesting shots,” Young said of his second-half defense. “[Navy] only scored 31, which is better. Man, they fly around. They play so hard. … Played them quite a bit in my career, they don’t quit. It’s like VMI and The Citadel, they do not stop; they keep coming. And I thought our team handled themselves well.”
Tech has one final non-conference game at Saint Joseph’s in the 2024 Holiday Hoopfest on Saturday, Dec. 21, at the historic Palestra in Philadelphia, Pa., before conference play starts back up on New Year’s Eve at No. 4 Duke.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 80, Navy 72
Thoughts from two #Hokies basketball games:
- Men's 80-72 win over Navy
- Women's 73-34 win over Radford pic.twitter.com/vYBpxqx7mc
— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) December 16, 2024