Amani Hansberry delivered 20 points, five assists and five steals as Virginia Tech remained unbeaten with a wire-to-wire, 82-62 victory over Mount St. Mary’s Friday in Blacksburg, Va.
Ben Hammond contributed 18 points and eight assists for the Hokies (4-0), who scored the game’s first seven points but had trouble pulling away from the pesky Mountaineers.
Isaiah Elohim added 16 points as Virginia Tech extended its nonconference home winning streak to 13 games, with the last loss coming on Dec. 4, 2024 to Vanderbilt.
Redd Thompson Jr. scored 15 points and Wilguens Junior Exacte added 12 points to lead Mount St. Mary’s (1-2) of the Metro Conference. The Mountaineers now have a 2-28 record all-time against teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Virginia Tech forced 23 turnovers from Mount St. Mary’s while committing just 10 of its own. The Hokies outscored the Mountaineers off those mistakes 26-11.
Every time the Hokies appeared on their way to taking control, the Mountaineers responded with a surge to keep it close.
Virginia Tech led by as many as 16 points in the first half, but when the Hokies missed their first six shots of the second half, the Mountaineers closed the deficit to 43-36 as Exacte scored on a driving layup.
Virginia Tech answered with a 12-1 run highlighted by two 3-pointers 30 seconds apart by Elohim. The spree earned the Hokies a 55-37 lead before Mount St. Mary’s retaliated with an eight-point burst.
Four free throws by Thompson, which sandwiched a driving layup and foul shot by Abdou Khadre Kebe, pulled the Mountaineers to within 62-55 with 6:32 left.
But it would be the final surge by Mount St. Mary’s. Tyler Johnson (10 points, nine rebounds) steadied Virginia Tech with back-to-back fastbreak layups.
Hammond made a four-point play with 4:05 left and Hansberry added a 3-pointer with 1:48 to go as the Hokies stretched their lead to 80-59.
Late in the first half, Virginia Tech expanded its lead to 37-22 as Kuol Atak came off the bench and drilled a pair of 3-pointers. The Hokies went into the break ahead 42-30.
–Field Level Media
