Article by Dan Tortora
The final match-up of Day One of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Tournament in its 69th year offered a bittersweet reality: either the defending champion Virginia Tech Hokies would be leaving early or Mike Brey's farewell tour would come to an end in this his season prior to retirement.
11th-seeded Virgnia Tech, who won the ACC Tournament last year when it was held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, their first-ever ACC Tournament championship, never trailed for over 19 minutes, from the beginning of the game to 1:02 remaining in the first half.
The first lead of the game for the 14th-seeded Notre Dame Fighting Irish came with 1:01 left on the first-half clock, when graduate guard Marcus Hammond connected on a layup that made it 32-31 Irish.
Sophomore guard Sean Pedulla would answer right back, however, and the Hokies would take a one-point lead into the break, 33-32, after his layup.
Entering into the second half with the score at 33-32 Virginia Tech, there would be 11 ties with the seesaw getting more than its fair share of a workout.
A steal followed by a steal and a steal led to a wide open lay-in by senior forward Justyn Mutts of Virginia Tech, giving them a one-point lead 63-62 with 1:02 to play.
The officials would call a common foul on Pedulla with 42 seconds remaining, followed by many minutes of discussion after reviewing the play.
Pedulla's foul would stand and a deadball technical foul was assessed to junior forward Matt Zona.
Graduate guard Trey Wertz would make both free throws for the Fighting Irish, while Pedulla would make one of two at the charity stripe.
The Hokies would follow by making the most of their possession awarded after the free throws from the technical, with Mutts cashing in at the rim, giving Virginia Tech a two-point lead, 66-64.
Pedulla would go 1-for-2 once again at the line shortly after, keeping the Hokies ahead by one possession, 67-64, with 10 seconds to play.
Graduate forward Nate Laszewski would get the final shot for Notre Dame...
The ball would come off the rim as time expired, with Virginia Tech moving onto the second round of the ACC Tournament to face the 6th-seeded N.C. State Wolfpack in the late game, beginning at approximately 9:30pmET on Wednesday, March 8th.
With the victory, the Hokies are alive to continue their attempt at a championship repeat, while Brey finishes his tenure at Notre Dame on an 11-21 season, a tough exit for a stand-up coach.
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