CHARLESTON, S.C. – Virginia Tech earned its spot in the Charleston Classic semifinals with a 75-71 victory over Old Dominion on Thursday afternoon.
The Hokies had five players score in double figures, led by Sean Pedulla, who had 18 points and seven assists. Grant Basile added 15 points and two blocks off of the bench, while Darius Maddox chipped in with 12 points.
Virginia Tech did a great job taking care of the basketball, dishing out 13 assists while only turning the ball over six times. Pedulla’s seven assists were the most for the Hokies.
Tech will take on Penn State on Friday at noon (ESPN2/ESPNU), with the winner earning a spot in the championship game on Sunday.
How It Happened
After playing to an 8-8 tie, Virginia Tech went on an 8-0 run with 13:39 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Justyn Mutts, to take a 16-8 lead. The Hokies then added six points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 39-25 advantage. Virginia Tech relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 39 points.
The Monarch chipped into Tech’s lead throughout the second half by shooting 48.4-percent from the field in the second half, including hitting six shots from deep. A 5-0 run by Old Dominion brought the lead dwon to six with 5:56 remaining in the game, but Darius Maddox hit the first of two late 3-pointers to steady the Hokies. Again, the Monarchs would hit a pair of runs that brought the game down to two, but Tech finished the game hitting five-straight free throws to come away on top.
Game Notes
» The Hokies have shot 43.5-percent or higher from beyond the arc in three of four games this season.
» Virginia Tech allowed ODU to get 18 offensive rebounds – the most by any opponent since Florida State reached the same number on March 8, 2017.
» Tech is now 3-1 in the last four games that it has been out-rebounded in.
» Pedulla had 7+ assists for the third time in his career. Furthermore, he extended his streak of scoring 18+ points to five games dating back to last season.
» Virginia Tech had five players reach double-figure scoring for the first time since facing Notre Dame in the 2022 ACC Tournament on March 10, 2022.
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