Tuesday night's game vs. Cal got away from the Hokies and Brandon Rechsteiner in double overtime. (Virginia Tech athletics)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It was the same old story for the Hokies in their 82-73 double overtime loss to Cal on Tuesday in the first round of the ACC Tournament, ending their season.

The worst turnover team in Mike Young’s career struggled once again to take care of the ball, giving it away 18 times, including 10 in the second half. Despite fighting tooth and nail, self-inflicted mistakes punished 10th-seeded Virginia Tech (13-19) in the waning moments against the 15th-seeded Golden Bears (14-18) in the Spectrum Center.

“If you could dream it, we’ve done it,” Young said of the turnovers. “… I’ve tossed and turned and gone back and forth and tried everything. I mean, you can’t do it. … Bases on balls in baseball, turnovers in football, turnovers in basketball are going to kill you.

“I don’t know, man. Address some things in the offseason, I can assure you of that. … We’re going to get a lot better.”

Tech led 34-31 at intermission but yielded an 8-0 run to open the second half and went 5:34 without scoring. It eventually clawed its way back to retake the lead, courtesy of a corner three from Brandon Rechsteiner with 27 seconds left in regulation — one of the group’s three 3-pointers on 25 attempts — but couldn’t hold on.

The Hokies were up 60-59 after that shot but Ben Burnham turned it over on an inbound, leading to a foul and DJ Campbell’s game-tying free throw that forced overtime. In the first extra period, two foul shots from Tobi Lawal gave them a 67-65 lead, but after forcing a miss from Cal’s Andrej Stojakovic, Rechsteiner stepped out of bounds in front of the Golden Bears’ bench when trapped in the corner.

“[The turnovers were] unforced, honestly,” Rechsteiner said. “We were careless sometimes. Especially as a point guard, I’ve got to do better. That’s my main thing going into the offseason.”

Stojakovic drove to the rim on the following possession, and though it appeared Tech blocked his shot, a foul was called and Cal tied it with two makes from the stripe.

The Hokies still had an opportunity to win it, but Jaydon Young’s feed to Lawal on the baseline missed him and trickled out of bounds with 3.5 seconds left. Rytis Petraitis’ halfcourt heave at the buzzer for the Golden Bears ricocheted off the backboard, forcing double overtime.

Brandon Rechsteiner knocked down the Hokies' only three 3-pointers on the day against Cal. (Virginia Tech athletics)

Then things truly unraveled. Cal churned out an 8-0 run to start the period, courtesy of back-to-back baskets from Mady Sissoko, followed by two shots from Stojakovic. The Hokies were 1-of-9 in the period with a turnover and slowly watched their season come to an end, never drawing closer than six points.

“Stojakovic got going,” Young said. “… And [Lee] Dort and Sissoko are men. We get caught coming over to help going after a blocked shot and they get the thing up on the rim and we weren’t big enough, physical enough to get them down on the baseline where we could corral that ball with others.”

The contest epitomized Tech’s season in many ways: Inconsistent. A few good moments mixed in with some bad, but underwhelming overall.

The Hokies were 21-of-33 (64%) on 2-point shots but continued to unload from deep, only converting three times. It was just the second time they’ve shot 12 percent or worse from distance on double-digit attempts under Young (vs. Florida Atlantic in 2023-24). Rechsteiner was 3-of-10 while Jaydon Young was 0-of-11.

“You can draw that thing up, and somebody has got to step to the plate and get the thing to the bottom of the barrel,” Mike Young said. “We had great one after great one after great one.”

It was a sloppy and scrappy game, expected against a Cal team that leads the ACC in free throw attempts and makes. There were a combined 47 fouls called and 71 attempts from the stripe, and in a game that was extended twice, Tech missed nine of its 31 shots at the line.

Again, slim margins, and the choppiness made it difficult for both teams to find a rhythm.

All things considered, the Hokies were OK overall on the glass against a stout Golden Bears squad — the final margin was 46-41 — though they allowed 18 offensive boards, which led to 15 second-chance points. One or two of those could’ve made the difference considering the tight margin.

Sissoko and Petraitis were big in that category. Though they combined to shoot 8-of-19, they had 28 points and 20 rebounds — nine of which came on the offensive end — while seemingly making the Hokies sweat every time a shot went up. A few of their hustle plays swung things, too, allowing Cal to become just the second No. 15 seed to win in the ACC Tournament (Notre Dame in 2019).

Rytis Petraitis and Cal were impressive on the glass against the Hokies in Charlotte. (The ACC)

“The big deal for us was rebounding, and we did a fair job,” Young said, “but [Petraitis], golly day, I admire that kid. … He’s tough, he’s rugged. He’s a good basketball player. Kept a couple of balls [alive].”

As has been the case all season, Tech hung tough until the very end, but the result was more of the same. It’s a bunch that’s had some positive moments throughout the year — highlighted by five league road wins — but has ultimately disappointed and been held back by its own errors, especially in some close games.

It’s the program’s first losing season in a decade — since Buzz Williams was 11-22 (2-16 ACC) in his first year in 2014-15 — and change is near. The Hokies are now in offseason mode and Young has plenty to address.

“A lot was missing [this year],” Young said. “Just call it what it is. They’re great kids and a pleasure to work with. We’ve got to get more talented, and we’re going to, quick. … I’m not living through that again.”

Box Score: Cal 82, Virginia Tech 73 (2OT)