Jailen Bedford scored 17 points, Neoklis Avdalas finished with 13 and Virginia Tech beat Colorado State 66-64 in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas on Wednesday.
Amani Hansberry contributed 10 points for the Hokies (6-0), will play the winner of Wichita State-St. Mary’s on Thursday. The Rams will play the loser.
Carey Booth had 15 points, Rashaan Mbemba scored 12 and Kyle Jorgensen contributed 11, but Brandon Rechsteiner, who came into the game averaging 13.2 points a game, was scoreless in 28 minutes for Colorado State (4-2).
Virginia Tech led by seven before a 6-0 Rams run cut the deficit to 49-48 with 7:08 left. After both squads traded free throws, Ben Hammond hit a 3-pointer, the Rams turned it over and Avdalas hit a corner jumper to extend the advantage to 56-50. Colorado State cut it to one point once again, 60-59, on Josh Pascarelli’s 3-pointer with 2:42 left.
Following a timeout, Bedford made two layups around a Rams’ missed 3-pointer to make it 64-59. Jevin Muniz drained a 3-pointer with 24.8 seconds left to make it a two-point game, Bedford missed the front end of a 1-and-1 to give Colorado State a chance but Pascarelli missed a 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Jorgensen’s layup gave Colorado State a 17-14 lead with 7:46 left in the first half, but the Hokies grabbed momentum. Avdalas and Hansberry sparked a 19-4 run over the next 5:38 to give Virginia Tech a 33-21 lead. The Rams scored the final five points of the half, cutting the Hokies’ lead to 33-26 at intermission.
Colorado State continued its push to open the second half. Booth and Jorgensen hit buckets to make it 33-30 with 18:51 left, but Tyler Johnson made two free throws followed by a 3-pointer and then forced a Rams turnover, leading to a pair of free throws from Jaden Schutt.
An 8-3 run cut the deficit to 43-40 midway through the second half, and the team traded baskets for the next three minutes to keep it a three-point game.
–Field Level Media
