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Virginia Tech shoots the lights out against the Syracuse 2-3 zone in 85-70 win

Chris Graham
virginia tech men's basketball
Image: Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech hit 11 threes in a torrid first half, and coasted to an 85-70 win over Syracuse on Saturday at the Cassell.

Tech (13-8, 3-7 ACC) won its second straight after a 1-7 start in the ACC, adding to a 77-75 home win over Duke on Monday.

The Hokies shot 62.5 percent from the floor in the first half on their way to a 52-33 lead at the break, as Syracuse (13-9, 6-5 ACC) was consistently behind in its rotations in its 2-3 zone.

The most interesting that things got in the second half was when a Judah Mintz jumper got the margin down to 12, at 65-53, with 11:01 left.

Virginia Tech responded with an 8-0 run over the next 3:38 to go back up 20, and it never got closer than the final margin from there.

Grant Basile had 25 points for Tech on 11-of-23 shooting, and Hunter Cattoor had 20 points and eight assists.

Justyn Mutts may have been the key guy for the Hokies, with 11 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists, playing the distributor role in the middle of the zone offense to perfection.

Tech shot 53.3 percent for the game.

Mintz had 21 points and eight assists for Syracuse, which has to turn around to host sixth-ranked Virginia on Monday.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].