Coming off a big road win against N.C. State last Wednesday, Tech took their two-game conference winning streak to John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, VA to take on Sean Singletary and the Cavaliers. They won, 92-82 in overtime.
Tech has now won two road games in a row, something they failed to accomplish last season.
The team has had struggles on the road for much of the past three years and the feat was highlighted by the fact that both games were conference games. The team also exacted revenge on a Virginia team that beat them at the end of last aseason.
Matt Causey led the Jackets with 18 points off the bench, 12 of them coming in overtime and all after the start of the second half. He added five assists. Four other players scored in double figures as well.
Gani Lawal scored 15 points in just 22 minutes and added six rebounds. He remained on the bench for much of the stretch run, though, due to his 5-for-12 mark at the free throw line.
Maurice Miller added 11 points, four assists and five rebounds. Lewis Clinch scored 14 points, hitting four shots from behind the arc. Zach Peacock also had double figures with 12 off the bench, to go with eight rebounds.
For the Cavs, Calvin Baker and Mamadi Diane scored 16 points a piece. Their star, Sean Singletary, scored just 11 points on 5-19 shooting, but did have eight assists.
The story from the Cavaliers’ side was their shooting.
During the first half, Virginia outscored Tech at a torrid pace, building up a lead that stretched to as big as 13 points towards the end of the half.
Lance Storrs’ three-point shot with 30 seconds left in the first half dropped the lead to 10.
The Cavs shot 45 percent in the first half, including 9-of-18 from behind the arc. In the second half, though, that number dropped drastically.
They went 2-14 from behind the arc and shot 31 percent overall to allow Tech to claw their way back into the game.
Tech slowly brought themselves back into the game with timely baskets and a solid defense.
The Jackets turned the ball over just twice in the second half, which helped the team’s offensive continuity and reduced the number of fast break opportunities for the Cavaliers.
With 13 minutes left in the second half, Clinch’s three-pointer tied the game and the teams played a see-saw game until overtime.
A Singletary lay-up took the Cavs lead up to six just two minutes later, but the Jackets answered back quickly.
Alade Aminu hit a jumper followed by another Clinch three pointer to bring the lead down to one.
Adrian Joseph then hit a two-pointer to bring the Cavaliers’ lead back to three. The teams went back -and-forth down to the end. With just under two minutes left, Singletary had a chance to put Virginia on top, but missed a crucial free throw.
A minute later, Matt Causey stole a pass on a broken play and passed to D’Andre Bell who dished to Peacock for the slam dunk and a two-point Tech lead.
The following play, with time winding down, saw Singletary split defenders and make a no-look layup that sent the game to overtime.
In the overtime period, Causey dominated and scored eight of his 18 points, leading Tech to a strong finish.
The teams started by trading jumpers.With the score tied, Causey hit his first three, then scored on a lay-up.
On the following possession, with Tech up by four, Causey hit a deep three pointer which gave Tech a seven-point advantage. Tech made their free throws down the stretch and held on to beat the Cavs.
Tech comes home to play Maryland this Saturday at noon at the Coliseum. Tech has not beaten Maryland since they swept the season series in 2003-04, their Final Four season.