In a 
thrilling overtime victory, the Hokies learned what it meant to be truly lucky. Coming from a team and program that has had it’s share of devastating losses and 40-foot three pointers, this seasons has become a breath of fresh air to a fanbase who only knows that of heart-breaking defeat.
Of course, “luck” can mean different things to different people but to me “luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” The Hokies came in with a good gameplan and were able to use that gameplan when it mattered most.
Tech struggled mightily in the first half, scoring just four points through the first ten minutes of this game. However, UVA had its share of shooting woes and each team battled until the buzzer where the Hokies were able to escape into the locker rooms with a miraculous one-point lead.
The second half was largely dominated by UVA and a portion of that stemmed from Jeff Allen’s ejection midway through the period. But, despite the poor shooting and endless turnovers, UVA could not bury the Hokies. After the final media timeout with just 3:02 left on the clock, the Hokies found themselves down 10 inside a jubilant John Paul Jones arena. Tech went to work. The Hokies reeled off 13 straight points to take a three-point lead with just over ten seconds left. But, the Cavaliers starting point guard Sammy Zeglinski hit a long three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
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In overtime, the Cavs could never get anything going and the Hokies worked their flex-sets to perfection. JT Thompson came alive and scored eight of his 17 points in the extra session, giving the Hokies the spark they needed to close out another win in the JPJ arena.
This win moves the Hokies to 16-3 overall and 3-2 in the ACC, which currently is good for third in the conference standings. This win seemed improbable from the start as Tech looked horrendous in the first half, but some how these resilient Hokies managed to snake their way into the locker room with the lead.
Then, despite losing Allen after he threw an inadvertent elbow in the second half, Tech once again rallied around each other and found a way to win their first road ACC game of the season. There’s no way around it, the Hokies needed to win this game. With a very winnable game this weekend against Miami, the Hokies could be 4-2 in the ACC when they come back home to face the struggling UNC Tar Heels. In fact, if Tech could beat Miami and UNC, it could potentially set up a huge matchup with the Clemson Tigers for first place in the ACC next weekend.
But after watching this team this season, I think it’s important for everybody around this program to take this season one game at a time.
Stats
Bullet Points
- Jeff Allen was ejected at the 13:41 mark in the 2nd half but honestly I don’t understand why he was ejected. Maybe it was because of his past, maybe it was because the refs didn’t have a good view of the foul, or maybe the ACC officials just have Allen as a marked man these days. Whatever it was, I don’t understand how a player can be ejected for making a basketball move. Coach Greenberg stated in his post game press conference that the player Allen hit was one of his former AAU teammate and that Allen said he didn’t know the player was there. Whether that’s true or not, the punishment just did not fit the crime. I would understand a flagrant foul since this is a rivalry game but to eject a player on that type of play is something I do not understand.
- I’ve often thought about adding a “Player of the Game” segment in these articles but haven’t done so to date. But, if I had one, JT Thompson would easily have been the player of the game. After Allen was ejected, Thompson played the final 18 minutes and played just about as well as he ever has in a Hokie uniform. JT hit five of his six free throws and scored 15 of his 17 points during that stretch as well. Combine that with seven rebounds and two assist and JT had himself quite a night.
- With this win, Tech has now won four of the last five meetings between these two in-state rivals and will have a chance to sweep UVA for the 2nd time in the last three years on February 13th.
- Since Jeff Allen’s foul was night considered a “fight,” Allen will not be subjected to a one game suspension. The league will review it and determine if a suspension is necessary but in this case it looks like Allen will play against the Canes on Sunday.
- Malcolm Delaney is still the current ACC scoring leader after Thursday night. He is averaging 19.9 points per game, which is a full 1.1 points better than John Scheyer of Duke. That average includes a five point effort against NC Central and a 0 point effort against Longwood when Delaney sprained his ankle.
Next Up
Next up for the Hokies is a trip to Coral Gables, Florida to face the 15-5 (1-5) Miami Hurricanes. The Canes have struggled in ACC play, with their only win coming over Wake Forest five games ago. Miami is on a four game losing streak, which started the night Tech ran up a 30 point lead on them in the first half. Miami needs to win this game to avoid falling completely out of contention at the end of January so the Hokies better bring their "A" game if they want to pull off a fourth straight win against the Miami Hurricanes.
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