The Briefing: Strong Second Half Pushes Hokies Past The Spartans
Blacksburg, VA- Despite a sluggish first half that saw the Hokies trail by as many as 14, coach Mike Young's side compiled a needed comeback in Tech's 93-74 win.
"Our message was what are we doing? Like let's lock in. But no, I don't think anyone was stressing honestly. I mean, we just go long stretches without scoring anymore, which is bad. But we can't have that anymore."
Above are the words of scoring leader Brandon Rechsteiner. The Acworth, Georgia native tallied a career-high 19 points off a smooth 7/12 from the field which included nine from beyond the arc.
For the majority of the first period, Tech looked as if they had never left the dressing rooms. There was a surplus of turnovers, combined with superb shooting from USC Upstate, leaving the Hokies in a world of trouble, and that was before the four-point play from Upstate Player Carmelo Adkins.
Rechsteiner attributed the early mishaps to Upstate's "drop coverage." Which, according to the sophomore gave the Hokies an early open shot, but it was often faced with a Spartan trailing behind the shooter, leaving Tech in an uncomfortable position. However, Rechsteiner claims that when you take your time, and don't force up an early effort, it melts the coverage and makes things much easier for an offense to produce.
"How do you find your way back? You do it possession-by-possession and not going to come back into it. You know, with one shot or an immediate timeout. It's, you know, you chip away at it," said Young during his obligatory postgame duties.
While it may have taken a few more possessions than wanted, Tech entered the break up 37-32 thanks to a neat final few-minute run that saw Duke transfer Jaden Schutt score the team's last six points, including a near-buzzer-beater Schutt jumper that sent the redshirt sophomore sprinting into the locker room before his comrades.
Freshman guard Tyler Johnson absorbed the spotlight in his second ever collegiate game.
“Really, really good again, he's just going to continue to get better and better. [He] played 21 minutes, which is probably where he needs to be at this point in the year. He's going to be a dandy. [He’s] big, strong, not afraid of the moment.”
Johnson flourished with 16 points, being one of six Tech players who accumulated at least 10 points. Along with Johnson and Rechsteiner was Hokie grad student Mylyjael Poteat. Poteat tallied 19 points, with seven of those coming from the stripe.
"He's, you know, proven to us that he's a capable scorer. He only played...He's going to have to be up there around 27. And I thought he handed himself with a plum tonight.”
Despite in the second half never piecing together a run more than seven pre-garbage time, Tech looked a lot more in control. Players were getting more fluid shots, and those shots, as Young would put it, were "great rather than good," as his maroon-trimmed squad marked 56 second-half points on an efficient 60% from the field, moving his side to 2-0.
"We gotta learn fast," was one of the final sentiments from Rechsteiner as the Hokies next host Winthrop Monday evening.
Additional Links:
Virginia Tech Men's Basketball: 5 Takeaways From The Hokies Win vs Delaware State
Virginia Tech Women's Basketball: 5 Takeaways From Virginia Tech's Win vs UNC Wilmington
Virginia Tech Basketball: 2024-2025 Men's Basketball Season Preview
