VIRGINIA TECH TOPPLES WESTERN CAROLINA, 96-74, TO NAB THIRD STRAIGHT VICTORY

On Thursday, Virginia Tech men's basketball defeated the Western Carolina Catamounts, 96-74, in the two programs' first matchup since 2013. 

Western Carolina (4-6) remained uncomfortable throughout the first half as Tech (9-2) denied offense with consistent defensive pressure.

“I'm not sure so much [that it was] our defense as their poor ball handling in the first half,” Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said. “We're still not rebounding to the level that we need to. And it's going to cost us.”

Whatever the cause for Western Carolina’s ball-handling mishaps, an opening-possession steal from Tech graduate transfer Jailen Bedford started a lengthy half for the Catamounts.

While Western Carolina looked for a solid footing offensively, the Hokies were finishing on all three levels early in the contest. Bedford and Avdalas each connected on their first attempts from behind the arc; Avdalas, alongside West Virginia transfer Amani Hansberry, solidified Tech's interior attack, giving it an early 18-6 advantage.

Catamounts guard Cord Stansberry nailed his only shot of the contest shortly after, bringing the contest back within single digits. The next time down the court, a second-chance effort from freshman Christian Gurdak elevated Tech’s lead back over 10 points; the Hokies kept the margin over double-digits for the remainder of the contest.

Even with the large advantage, the Hokies could not pull away for a lengthy offensive run; in the final 10 minutes of the first half, the largest run for both was a mere four points. 

Hansberry heated up as the game was trending towards halftime, splashing two three pointers in the final 90 seconds to elevate his first-half total to 14. Consequently, his pair of triples gave Tech a 53-34 advantage going into the break.

“Keep it simple,” Hansberry said. “If I got an opportunity to score, go score. If I got an opportunity to make the right play or the next play, make the right play. The next play, play the game one possession at a time, and have a short-term memory. If I airball, I take a bad shot, play don't go my way, just forget about it and move on. New opportunity.”

The defense was a key cog of the 19-point deficit that Western Carolina was staring at. The Hokies accumulated four blocks, six steals and 11 forced turnovers in the first half. As a result, the Catamounts, who committed five unforced turnovers, looked to slow down their pace in the second half to combat this problem.

For Western Carolina, however, there was no combating Avdalas and his second-half scoring surge. After a six-point first half, Avdalas tallied the first bucket after halftime from three-point range. Hansberry, after leading the squad in scoring in the first half, opened up and facilitated the ball more in the second half, allowing Avdalas to take off. Hansberry capped off his night with a team-leading six assists, his second straight contest leading the team in the statistic.

“The shots were falling, obviously, today, I think the difference was trying to get me to score more,” Avdalas said. “[I think that in] the other games, the defense wanted me to get rid of the ball so my teammates will find better looks. But that's the game. Now the game is different. I find some ways to score. Next game is going to be different, so I just take it game to game."

In 20 minutes, Avdalas poured in 24 points in the closing frame. Yet, the Hokies’ advantage only increased by three due to 40 Western Carolina points, resulting in a 96-74 final tally.

“Got to guard better,” Young said. “All right. He scored well, but has to defend better. They all do."

The offense will need to be highly efficient to compete in the ACC without a dependable defense to complement it. The slower pace from Western Carolina brought more sophisticated looks at scoring, while only turning the ball over three times. 

“We've got to play better,” Young said. “We've got to put a bigger emphasis on the defensive end and on the glass. That will win games in our league. And that league is coming. It's coming quick."

While scoring can be harder to come by than solid defense, as the old adage goes, defense wins championships. The Hokies have two more home contests to hone those skills before conference action. The first of that pair is on Sunday, December 14, against Maryland Eastern Shore at 12 p.m. ET. Coverage will be available on ACC Network Extra.