The Virginia Tech Hokies survived an upset bid from the Elon Phoenix on Saturday, escaping with an 82-81 overtime victory. Already without senior forward Tobi Lawal, the Hokies learned before the game they’d be without freshman star Neoklis Avdalas (illness) and freshman big man Antonio Dorn (back).
Elon took advantage, dominating the Hokies throughout the first half, including opening up a 19-point lead. Elon maintained that double-digit lead for much of the first half, but Virginia Tech’s brief
run before the half narrowed the lead to eight points, 43-35.
The difference in the first half: Elon shot 53% from the field and made 7 3-pointers. Virginia Tech made zero from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes.
Elon led 53-41 at the 14-minute mark of the second half when Virginia Tech sophomore guard Ben Hammond drained a 3. After an Amani Hansberry steal, junior guard Jaden Schutt responded with another 3-pointer, making it 53-47. After another defensive stop, Schutt drained another trey and suddenly it was a 3-point game. A Hansberry layup made it 53-52.
But Elon continued to hold off Tech. However, with 5:25 remaining in the game, a Hansberry bucket gave the Hokies a 63-62 lead. It was VT’s first lead of the day. Just as it looked like the Hokies might pull away, Elon would not go away, taking back the lead with one minute left. It took another Hansberry basket late to force overtime.
The teams would go back and forth in overtime until Virginia Tech freshman Christian Gurdak’s bucket with 10 seconds remaining. Hammond steals the ball away, and Elon fouls VT guard Izaiah Pasha. Pasha missed both free throws. The Phoenix would get off one more shot as time expired, but came up just short, giving the Hokies a hard-fought win.
Virginia Tech improved to 11-2 with the win and has 11 days off before hosting Virginia on New Year’s Eve to open ACC play.
Hansberry led the way with another dominant performance, scoring 20 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Gurdak was key, scoring a career-high 17 points, while Hammond scored 15. Pasha and Schutt contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench.
A gritty, hard-fought win for Tech without two of its top three players was impressive. While Avdalas will be back next week, there’s no word on when Lawal returns. If the Hokies can get Lawal back, next week’s game against the Cavaliers could be outstanding.
