Maddox, Hokies upset UNC, advance to ACC Championship
BROOKLYN, NY — The seventh-seeded Virginia Tech Hokies upset the third-seeded and No. 25 ranked UNC Tar Heels 72-59 in the ACC Tournament semifinals late Friday night in the Barclays Center.
Sophomore guard Darius Maddox recorded a career-high 20 points and six rebounds off the bench, putting in four triples from beyond the arc. Maddox’s career night comes just days after his game-winning three-pointer advanced the Hokies over Clemson to the quarterfinals.
Before the game, Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young told his players, “I know for a fact we’re the deeper team. Just go out there and have fun.” The Hokies depth was later highlighted as eight total players provided points for Virginia Tech
Coming into this matchup, UNC was 6-0 since their loss to Pitt and had won 12 of their last 14 games.
The game started scrappy as both teams lived at the free-throw line early. The score was notched up at 14 midway through the first half and would stay that way for four additional minutes.
Virginia Tech began to heat up toward the end of the half as they went into halftime on a 9-2 run and led 32-26 at the break. Hokies forward Keve Aluma led all first-half scorers with 11 points. The Maryland native finished with 18 points, four rebounds, and shot 5-5 from the free-throw strike.
Guard Caleb Love led the Tar Heels with 10 points and four assists at halftime. Love has averaged 17.9 points for UNC in his last eight games.
Virginia Tech jumped out of halftime on a 12-0 run which ultimately swayed the outcome of the game. Maddox caught fire nailing three three-pointers for the Hokies as their lead grew to as much as 20 with 12:49 to go in regulation.
UNC attempted to spark a comeback as buckets from All-ACC First Team big man Armando Bacot led to a 9-0 Tar Heels run, cutting their deficit to 11. Bacot finished with 19 points and 14 rebounds, extending his UNC double-double record to 25 games.
The Hokies answered the Tar Heel storm with an 11-2 run as Maddox converted a four-point play after being fouled by Caleb Love. Hokies forward Justyn Mutts helped further extend Virginia Tech’s lead down the stretch as he finished with nine points and four rebounds.
Virginia Tech started the season 2-7 in the ACC and have won 11 of their last 13 games. The Hokies now advance to their first ACC Championship appearance in school history against the first seeded and No. 4 ranked Duke Blue Devils tomorrow night on ESPN at 8:30 ET.