Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG - Despite a season-high 16 3-pointers, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team fell on the road to No. 23 Louisville 85-71 Saturday afternoon at the KFC Yum! Center. The loss snapped the Hokies' two-game winning streak and moves their record to 15-6 (4-4).
Both squads struggled to find a rhythm early in the game and Tech grabbed a 6-4 lead at the 15:26 mark, the only time they would lead Saturday. Tech was bouyed by Jailen Bedford who scored 11 of the Hokies' 22 points in the first half.
In the second half, both clubs were hot as the Hokies poured in 49 points behind the strength of their 3-point shooting. Tech connected on eight of their first 10 attempts from deep which helped them cut the Cardinals' lead to single digits at the 7:22 mark. Louisville would counter with a Sanandra Fru layup to push the advantage back to 10 and it would not dip below that mark for the rest of the contest.
The Cardinals were led by Mikel Brown Jr.'s 20 points as he made his return to the court after missing time with an injury. Three other Cards were in double figures as well.
Bedford led all scorers with 24 points, his third 20-point effort in January. In the process, he scored the 1,000th point of his D1 career. The grad student went 6-of-8 from beyond the arc tying his career-high in that category.
For the hot-shooting Hokies, Ben Hammond made four 3's, his career high and Amani Hansberry and Jaden Schutt each connected on three.
GAME NOTES
•The starters for Virginia Tech were Neoklis Avdalas, Ben Hammond, Jailen Bedford, Amani Hansberry, and Christian Gurdak for the fourth consecutive game. It is the eighth different starting combination that Mike Young has used this season.
•The 16 triples are the most since making 16 against FSU on March 4, 2023.
UP NEXT
The Hokies will return home to Carilion Clinic Court at Cassell Coliseum for an 8 p.m. tip against Georgia Tech on Tuesday, Jan. 27.