Hokies lose a tough one to Seton Hall

Virginia Tech and Seton Hall played a tight game, but in the end it was the Pirates coming away with a 68-67 win.  The Hokies dropped to 3-3 with the loss, while Seton Hall improved to 4-2.

Jarell Eddie paced the Hokies with 19 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and four blocks, but he also had several plays down the stretch that he would like to have back.  Over the final few minutes, Eddie missed a deep jumper off the top of the shot clock, missed a short jumper in traffic on the inside rather than passing it to a wide open Ben Emelogu, left his man wide open on Seton Hall's game-winning three-pointer, and threw an inbouds pass out of bounds with just 12 seconds left and the Pirates up by three.

On the whole, Eddie was Tech's top player throughout the game.  However, the senior forward would probably like to have the last two minutes of the game back.

Freshman wing Ben Emelogu scored 18 points for the Hokies, including two very deep three-pointers  on Tech's final two possessions to keep his team in the game.  He was 7-of-11 from the field and 4-of-5 from three-point range.  Adam Smith added 11 points for the Hokies.

Freshman point guard Devin Wilson struggled mightily on Friday night against Michigan State, but he played better against Seton Hall.  Though he only scored two points, he did finish the game with eight assists and five rebounds.

Turnovers continue to be an issue for the Hokies.  Tech turned the ball over 14 times, while Seton Hall had just seven turnovers.  Coming into the game, the Pirates had struggled with turnovers just as much as VT, but they were able to gain the advantage in turnover margin on Saturday night.

On the season as a whole, turnovers are perhaps Virginia Tech's biggest issue.  The Hokies have 86 turnovers through seven games, while they have forced just 47 turnovers.

Tech had a chance to win this game.  They led 61-57 with 1:44 left, but things came apart in the final moments.  The Hokies allowed Tom Maayan to score an easy layup, and then Fuquan Edwin was left wide open on the wing for a three-pointer with 22 seconds remaining that put the Pirates up for good.

Virginia Tech returns to action on Tuesday, November 26 when they host Furman.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm in Cassell Coliseum, and the game can be seen online on ESPN3.