Going into their semifinal matchup with Saint Mary's on Thursday afternoon in the Battle 4 Atlantis, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team had a tall task in dealing with the Gaels' height. Before the game, it was announced that the Hokies' leading scorer, Tobi Lawal, was going to miss the game with a lower-body injury. His left foot was in a boot on the ESPN broadcast.
He was ruled out for the remainder of the Battle 4 Atlantis, and Virginia Tech missed him on both ends of the floor. He entered the game averaging a double-double, and even though he struggled in the first-round win over Colorado State, he was greatly missed.
Saint Mary's used their height to take advantage of the big advantage they had and played some tough defense to beat the Hokies, 77-66, to advance to Friday's Championship Game against No. 24 Vanderbilt. Virginia Tech will look to rebound from its first loss at 10:30 a.m. against VCU.
Saint Mary's started fast and never looked back
Yes, the Hokies closed the deficit to single digits several times, but the Hokies were never able to get over the hump and tie it or take a lead. They jumped out to a 12-2 lead and built a 31-20 halftime lead. The Hokies struggled to get anything going offensively and made just one of their 12 3-point attempts.
Saint Mary's took away Virginia Tech's ability to drive to the basket and altered shots around the basket. Too much height and tough shooting put the Hokies behind the eight-ball right away, and they couldn't recover.
Amani Hansberry recorded another double-double
Without Lawal, West Virginia transfer Amani Hansberry led the Hokies with 18 points and 10 rebounds, all while going up the Saint Mary's bigs. Jaden Schutt had 17 points off the bench and knocked down four 3-pointers. Freshman Neoklis Avdalas was frustrated by the Gaels' defense, but he still scored 13 points. Without Lawal, Ben Hammond, Avdalas, and Hansberry all played well over 30 minutes. We'll see how much they have left in the tank on a short turnaround on Friday morning.
Shooting percentage was the difference
When the game ended, Saint Mary's finished 52% from the field, while the Hokies were 31%. From behind the arc, the Gaels were 36%, while Virginia Tech was 23% (7-for-30). Saint Mary's had 16 turnovers and the Hokies just 10, but 39-34 advantage on the boards for the Gaels, along with 23 two-point field goals compared to just 14 for the Hokies, crossed out the turnovers.