The Virginia Tech Hokies dropped their first game of the season, falling to the Saint Mary’s Gaels 77-66 in the semifinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas on Thanksgiving Day.
The Hokies
received bad news before tipoff as senior forward Tobi Lawal (12.8 PPG, 10.3 RPG) was ruled out for the remainder of this tournament. Head coach Mike Young shuffled his lineup, moving sophomore point guard Ben Hammon into the starting lineup, to give the Hokies a starting five of Amani Hansberry, Neoklis Avdalas, Jailen Bedford, Tyler Johnson and Hammond.
However, the Gaels represented a formidable challenge. Saint Mary’s, a traditional power from the West Coast Conference, came into the game with a 7-0 record. Led by an impressive frontcourt, featuring 6-foot-8 forward Paulius Murauskas and 7-foot-2 center Andrew McKeever, the Gaels dominated inside the paint, outscoring the Hokies 38-22.
Virginia Tech never led in this game, but there were moments where it appeared the Hokies were closing the gap; however, they couldn’t get enough defensive stops to sustain momentum.
Junior guard Jaden Schutt did his best to keep it close, scoring 17 off the bench, including making several 3s late in the game to keep the Hokies alive. Junior forward Amani Hansberry led the Hokies with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Avdalas finished with 13 points.
In Wednesday’s win over Colorado State, the Hokies were outscored in the paint. That trend continued on Thursday. Is that something to be concerned about moving forward? The Hokies did hang with the Gaels on the boards in this loss, particularly on the offensive end. Lawal was clearly missed, as his length could’ve caused some issues for Saint Mary’s inside.
A problem for Virginia Tech in this game: outside shooting. The Hokies made only seven of 30 from beyond the arc. Schutt was 4 of 8, which meant the rest of the team was 3 of 22. Hansberry missed all six of his attempts. Hansberry is an excellent player, but probably shouldn’t be taking that many 3-point attempts in a game. He can shoot it from outside, but he’s a force in the post and in the mid-range game.
Bedford was the reason VT beat Colorado State on Wednesday, but struggled against the Gaels, scoring only 2 points and missing all 10 of his shots from the field.
Hammond was excellent, scoring 9 points, dishing out six assists, and finishing with three steals.
The Hokies will be back in action on Friday, facing VCU in the third-place game. It’s an exciting matchup between two teams from the Commonwealth. Tech will again be without Lawal. Lawal began his career at VCU before transferring to Virginia Tech. Friday’s game is set for a 10:30 a.m. tipoff
