Little worked for the Hokies in their 54-36 loss at Boston College late Tuesday night. It marked their fewest points ever in an ACC contest.
Though Virginia Tech (11-15, 6-9 ACC) started each half well — it was 2-of-2 in the game's opening two minutes and 5-of-6 in the first 4:15 out of the halftime locker room — it was 8-of-43 (18.6%) for the rest of the game (35:45). It experienced two separate stretches where it missed 13 and 12 shots in a row, each of which spanned nine minutes.
Led by Donald Hand Jr.'s game-high 16 points, the Eagles (11-15, 3-12) took advantage of Tech's struggles and jumped out to a 26-11 lead at intermission. That mark tied the Hokies' worst first-half output in an ACC contest, which came on Feb. 26, 2020, vs. Virginia.
Earlier that season, Tech couldn't crack 40 in a 65-39 loss in Charlottesville (Jan. 4), which was, until Thursday, the school record for fewest points in an ACC contest. However, that Cavaliers defense was No. 1 in the country, according to Ken Pomeroy; Boston College is No. 185.
The Hokies just weren't there in Chestnut Hill. This is a matchup they've struggled with under Mike Young — they're 1-6 since he took over in 2019 and the win came in Cassell Coliseum last year — and they're just 4-15 at BC as a program. Three of those wins were in consecutive trips under Buzz Williams from 2016-18.
In an arena that featured just 2,567 fans, bringing your own energy is required — something Tech didn't do this time around. It was OK defensively in the first half but was pushed around in moments by the Eagles, who entered the day having lost 10 of their last 11 games. However, the offensive woes slowly trickled over to the defensive side of the ball, and a 12-0 BC run over six minutes turned the tide. Tyler Johnson's layup off an offensive rebound with 6:10 to play in the first half snapped the nine-minute scoring drought.
Though the Hokies trailed by 15 at the break, they appeared to be rejuvenated to start the second half. After Ben Hammond's 3-pointer with 15:45 remaining, it was a 33-23 game and they had the momentum. Yet, they stalled out and didn't score for another nine minutes. Their next basket came with 6:18 left. Over that time, the Eagles put up nine points and closed the door.
Tech's lone double-digit scorer was Mylyjael Poteat, who had 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting with five rebounds. Tobi Lawal posted seven points and 10 rebounds, Ben Hammond chipped in seven points and four steals while Tyler Johnson had seven points and six boards. The group was very one-dimensional, though, as it made just three of its 19 3-point attempts. Of the team's 36 points, 22 game in the paint.
Turnovers were also killer. It was the second time this year (Penn State) Virginia Tech finished with more turnovers (17) than made field goals (15). Eleven of those came in the first half.
Hand Jr., a product of Landstown High School in Virginia Beach, was Boston College's key contributor while getting some contributions from Chad Venning and Jayden Hastings (eight points apiece).
The Hokies are off to Miami on Saturday (6 p.m. ET, ACCN) before closing the year with three home games — vs. No. 25 Louisville, Syracuse and North Carolina — and a road trip to No. 18 Clemson.
Box Score: Boston College 54, Virginia Tech 36