GREENSBORO, N.C. (Release via Virginia Tech Athletics) – Grant Basile, Justyn Mutts and Sean Pedulla combined to score 51 of Virginia Tech’s 67 total points as the Hokies took down Notre Dame, 67-64, in the first round of the New York Life ACC Tournament. Tech will face No. 6 seed NC State on Wednesday night at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The Hokies (19-13) had four players score in double figures, led by Basile, who had 20 points. Mutts added a double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds and Pedulla chipped in as well with 13 points.
Tech trailed by four points with 2:08 remaining in the game before freshman Rodney Rice knocked down a key three and Mutts scored a pair of buckets in the final 65 seconds to push the Hokies back in front.
After jumping out to a 12-point lead in the first half, Virginia Tech saw its advantage diminish as Notre Dame’s Marcus Hammond got hot and pulled the Fighting Irish back into the game. In a back-and-forth second half, Notre Dame looked like it started to pull away from Tech before Basile scored five consecutive points to draw the Hokies back in.
How It Happened
After jumping out to a 14-12 advantage, Virginia Tech went on a 9-0 run with 12:06 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from MJ Collins, to increase its lead to 23-12. The Hokies then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 33-32 advantage. Virginia Tech relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down five shots to account for 15 of its 33 points.
Notre Dame proceeded to take a 62-58 lead before Virginia Tech went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Mutts’ layup, to seize a 63-62 lead with 1:02 to go in the contest. The Hokies kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 67-64 win. Virginia Tech took care of business in the paint, recording 20 of its 34 points in the lane.