Mar 11, 2021; Greensboro, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies guard Hunter Cattoor (0) looks to pass against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the quarterfinal round of the 2021 ACC tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. The North Carolina Tar Heels won 81-73. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports
Virginia Tech rode the long-distance shooting of Hunter Cattoor and Storm Murphy to a stunningly decisive 86-49 win over St. Bonaventure on Friday afternoon in the Hall of Fame Shootout in Charlotte, N.C.
Virginia Tech (8-4) scored the game’s first 13 points and St. Bonaventure never challenged as Cattoor notched a career-high 21 points, making all five of his shots from beyond the arc. Murphy added 18 points, hitting 4 of 7 shots from 3-point range.
The Hokies made 54.9% of their shots while limiting the Bonnies to 33.1% shooting. Tech also had a 34-27 rebounding edge and forced St. Bonaventure to commit 20 turnovers.
St. Bonaventure (8-3) welcomed back its best player Kyle Lofton, who missed the previous three games with an ankle injury. But in 26 minutes of action, Lofton scored just 3 points, 14 below his average.
The Bonnies, with all five starters back from a team that captured the Atlantic 10 title, were uncharacteristically flat. Dominick Welch led St. Bonaventure with 11 points. But Jaren Holmes and Jalen Adaway, who were averaging a combined 32 points per game, scored just five between them as they missed a combined 16 of 17 shots from the floor.
Tech was dominant from the start at both ends of the floor. Over the first 6:16, the Hokies harassed the Bonnies into three turnovers and misses on their first nine shots. Meanwhile, Cattoor hit a pair of 3-pointers and Nahiem Alleyne (nine points) added another as Tech raced to a 13-0 lead.
Midway through the half, Sean Pedulla came off the bench and sparked the Hokies, making a pull up jumper in the lane and then drawing a charging foul on Lofton. Murphy followed with a 3-pointer and John Ojiako added two free throws as Tech pushed its lead to 18 points.
As Cattoor and Murphy made 3-pointers late in the half, the Hokies extended their advantage to 42-20 at the break.
Virginia Tech kept pouring it on in the second half. When Cattoor and Murphy made back-to-back 3-pointers late in the game, the Hokies lead swelled to 40 points.
Keve Aluma added 12 points and four assists for Tech.
–Field Level Media