The Hokies rallied from a double-digit deficit to beat Syracuse 101-95 in overtime on Saturday afternoon in Cassell Coliseum.
“They’ve done it all year,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said of his group’s resiliency. “… Had a chance to drop your head and pout and feel sorry for yourself; they don’t do that. They hang in there. They’re going to do some things that drive me up a tree, but they’re great kids and they’re great teammates, they enjoy playing with one another and they continue to fight.”
The Orange (12-17, 6-12 ACC) led by 13 points, 69-56, with 8:45 remaining in the second half before Tech (13-16, 8-10) flipped the game on its head. It ripped off a 14-1 run over the next four minutes to knot things up at 70, and it even took a four-point lead with 13 seconds remaining. However, a 3-pointer from Syracuse guard Jaquan Carlos with 0.6 seconds left forced an extra period.
After the Orange jumped in front in overtime off a three-point play from Jyáre Davis, the Hokies fought back to take the lead — courtesy of a Ben Burnham layup at the rim — before an impressive sequence brought the arena to its feet. Patrick Wessler blocked a Davis layup on one end and Ben Hammond buried a 3-pointer on the other to put them up 93-89.
“He played really hard,” Young said of Wessler. “He had a couple good baskets around the hole and that blocked shot was a big, big deal. A great play from Patrick and Ben [Hammond] stuck his nose in there and corralled that thing. That was a big possession.”
An elbow jumper from Jaydon Young, four free throws from Hammond and two more from Jaden Schutt — Tech’s three 20-point scorers — in the final 45 seconds sealed the victory.
The Orange was in control for the majority of the contest and led for 34:58, yet struggled against Tech’s defense in the second half. It had nine turnovers in the period, five of which were Hokie steals, and slowly crumbled.
After making 19 of its 29 field goals (65.5%) in the first half, Syracuse was just 10-of-24 (41.7%) in the second. Once J.J. Starling’s layup made it a 13-point contest with 8:45 to play, it went six minutes without a field goal, with its only offense coming from the free throw line.
Tech dug deep and keyed in on the paint. It was doubled up there in the first half, 28-14, but won that battle 20-12 in the second. Orange center Eddie Lampkin (6-11, 265) and forward Naheem McLeod (7-4, 265) were a combined 8-of-12 for 19 points in the first 20 minutes but only combined for one basket the rest of the way, which came from Lampkin in overtime.
Mylyjael Poteat, who returned from a knee injury (bone bruise) and had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting, was big in that department. He played 25 minutes, about 10 more than was expected. Wessler (six points, two rebounds, two assists) also played a pivotal role.
“Mylyjael’s a good example of our team,” Jaydon Young said. “He fought all week just trying to get back and do recovery and everything, and to come back and play the way he did, he’s a fighter and he’s our leader, so we look up to Mylyjael.”
The Hokies were without leading scorer and rebounder Tobi Lawal, too, who is day-to-day as he recovers from an illness. They hope to have him back on Tuesday vs. North Carolina.
Tech was scrappy in its defensive effort, though, a charge led by Hammond, who had three steals in the final 15 minutes. The Paul VI product was outstanding, finishing with career-highs in points (21) and rebounds (seven) to go with seven assists and his steal total. He was also an effective 7-of-8 from the field and made some big free throws.
“Putting a lot on his plate,” Mike Young said of Hammond. “J.J. Starling is his size and J.J.’s fast with the ball and he gets it going in that right hand and he’s good at it. We’re guarding Ben on Chucky Hepburn, we’re guarding Ben on Markus Burton. Those are some tough matches, but he continues to play good ball, he took care of it, had a couple of bad turnovers. I thought he picked his spots and played a great ball game.”
The freshman’s first two steals, where he pickpocketed Starling and Davis, led to runouts for the Hokies. Tyler Johnson converted a layup after Hammond made the right play, and the shifty point guard went coast-to-coast himself a minute later. His third big defensive play came in overtime, but Jaydon Young missed a dunk that would’ve put Tech up six.
Still, Hammond was outstanding on both ends — an especially impressive performance considering he came off the bench. Sophomore point guard Brandon Rechsteiner started after his 18-point performance on Tuesday vs. No. 19 Louisville.
Schutt was in a similar boat. After battling a sickness and struggling recently — he had just 15 total points the last five outings — he provided a spark as a substitute and went off for a career-high 20 points. He made six of his seven field goals and five of his six free throws.
“It’s the proper response,” Young said of Hammond and Schutt’s play off the bench. “[They] can get mad at me, but again, they’re great people and great teammates and Rechsteiner played well against Louisville and into the game they come when I insert them. They helped our team in a big, big way.”
Then there was Young, who has been on a tear lately. Prior to his breakout game a week ago against Miami, his career-high was 14 points. He went off for 27 in Coral Gables, had a productive 11 points against the Cardinals and then followed it up with a 26-point showing on Saturday vs. Syracuse where he was 10-of-20.
It was the first time three Tech players scored 20-plus in the same game since Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Ahmed Hill and Justin Robinson did so in the 2017 Charleston Classic vs. Purdue.
“Just looks so comfortable,” Mike Young said of Jaydon Young. “[It’s] explosive, that last bounce getting into his midrange, it’s hard and it’s taking him into his jump shot and he’s getting the top of it. He’s playing very, very well, and much better defensively as we head down the stretch.”
Though the Hokies had offensive success throughout the afternoon, their defense was inconsistent and they found themselves in a 13-point hole. They could’ve easily fallen apart, but like so many other times this year, they rallied and found a way back into the game. And the main difference from the Louisville loss: When they found themselves in a situation with a chance to take the lead against the Orange, they seized it.
“Just our poise, being able to learn from the mistakes we made early,” Jaydon Young said of his team’s play in the waning moments. “I was talking to Mylyjael and everybody keeps saying in our huddles, ‘We can win, we can win.’ I’m like, ‘Bro, it’s too late in the season to be saying, ‘We can.’ It’s time to actually start winning.’ So I think we’re actually picking up what we’re supposed to be doing later on in the games.”
They also didn’t waver despite allowing Syracuse to tie the game in the final seconds of regulation. Mike Young informed the media afterward that he wanted his team to foul up three and indicated as much, but it didn’t happen. Instead, Carlos had a good look and drained it.
“Without getting too technical, it’s my fault,” he said. “We’re supposed to be connected. Not very well executed. That’s on me. … I had wanted to [foul up three]! I told them…”
That could’ve very easily swung all of the momentum in the Orange’s direction — Hammond described it as “a punch in the chest” — but Virginia Tech stayed level-headed and responded well, eventually pulling in front for good.
“I think for like three seconds all of us dropped our heads, like, ‘Man,’” Jaydon Young said. “But we got in the huddle, everybody said, ‘It’s all good; let’s win the game.’ And then every day in practice, we do this thing called four-minute games, so that’s kind of our personality. Let’s play hard for these last four minutes and we can probably pull it out, so that’s what we did.”
The 101 points were the most Tech’s scored since it posted 103 in a win over Washington in Madison Square Garden on Nov. 17, 2017. It was also the program’s first overtime win since Darius Maddox hit that shot to beat Clemson in the 2022 ACC Tournament.
The Hokies head into the final week of the regular season with some momentum and have bounced back well since their dreadful 36-point showing at Boston College 11 days ago.
They host North Carolina (19-11, 12-6 ACC) on Tuesday night (7 p.m. ET, ESPNU) in their final home game of the year with a single bye in the ACC Tournament at stake.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 101, Syracuse 95 (OT)
Thoughts from #Hokies' 101-95 overtime win over Syracuse: pic.twitter.com/lYtOtrjrL6
— David Cunningham (@therealdcunna) March 1, 2025