The Virginia Tech Hokies improved to 9-2 on the season Thursday night with an easy 96-74 win over the Western Carolina Catamounts. Tech is now 6-0 at Cassell Coliseum this season.
The Hokies dominated this game from the jump, never trailing, and taking a double-digit lead six minutes in. Freshman guard Neoklis Avdalas was unstoppable in this one, scoring 30 points, making 10 of his 17 shots from the field, including 4 of 8 from beyond the arc. Avdalas also made 6 of his 8 free throw attempts.
Advertisement
As we’ve seen often this season, it was another balanced scoring effort for the Hokies. While Avdalas led the way, junior forward Amani Hansberry had another big night, finishing with 18 points, six rebounds, a team-high six assists and four steals. Hansberry and sophomore guard Tyler Johnson both fouled out. Johnson scored 13 for Tech.
Sophomore guard Ben Hammond scored 13 off the bench, continuing his recent streak of strong play. Junior guard Jaden Schutt was also solid again off the bench, scoring 10.
The Hokies shot 53% from the field and made 13 of their 27 3-point attempts (48%). An area of concern for head coach Mike Young was Tech going 15 of 23 (65%) from the free-throw line. That’s an area of improvement ahead of ACC play. The fouls were also an issue. With Tobi Lawal still sidelined, the Hokies can ill-afford any of their top players, especially Hansberry, to be in foul trouble.
Advertisement
It was an encouraging performance from Avdalas after he’d struggled from the field recently.
Next up for Virginia Tech is a home date against Maryland Eastern Shore on Sunday.
