National Basketball Association
Virginia Tech 86, St. Bonaventure 49
When: 4:00 PM ET, Friday, December 17, 2021
Where: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, North Carolina
Officials:
# Clarence Armstrong, # Brent Hampton, # Lee Cassell
Attendance:
N/A
By Field Level Media
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 percent of their shots while limiting the Bonnies to 33.3 percent 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
Top Game Performances
St. Bonaventure |
|
Virginia Tech |
Dominick Welch 11 |
Scoring |
Hunter Cattoor 21 |
Kyle Lofton 3 |
Assists |
Keve Aluma 4 |
Jalen Adaway 6 |
Rebounds |
Justyn Mutts 7 |
Jalen Adaway 2 |
Free Throws Made |
John Ojiako 5 |
Kyle Lofton 2 |
Steals |
Keve Aluma 3 |
Osun Osunniyi 4 |
Blocks |
Keve Aluma 2 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
St. Bonaventure
|
49 |
33.3 |
6-23 |
7-13 |
8 |
23 |
5 |
7 |
20 |
Virginia Tech
|
86 |
54.9 |
13-28 |
17-23 |
14 |
31 |
5 |
8 |
14 |