The Virginia Tech Hokies improved to 4-0 on the season Friday night with an 82-62 victory over the Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers in Blacksburg.
The Hokies jumped on the Mountaineers early, opening a 7-0 lead. Mount St. Mary’s clawed back, but the Hokies always responded. Mount St. Mary’s made it 15-9 on a 3-pointer, but Amani Hansberry responded with a bucket, followed by a Ben Hammond three, and it was back to an 11-point lead. Tech kept scoring, opening up a 16-point lead before going into halftime
with a 12-point lead (42-30).
The second half wasn’t as smooth for Virginia Tech as the first 20 minutes. The Hokies didn’t shoot as well in the second half, and at one point, with under seven minutes remaining, the Mountaineers cut the lead to seven. However, the Hokies quickly put them away with a 15-2 run, pushing the lead back to 20.
Hansberry led the way with 20 points, while Hammond scored 18 and dished out a season-high eight assists. Junior guard Isaiah Elohim scored 16 for Tech. Tyler Johnson scored 10 points and finished with a team-high nine rebounds off the bench.
Tech shot only 40% from the field and made 9 of 27 (33%) from 3-point range. The Hokies also missed 10 free throws (19-of-29). They outrebounded Mount St. Mary’s 41-32.
Next up for Virginia Tech is a home date against 3-1 Richmond on Monday night at Cassell Coliseum.
