Virginia Tech opened its stay at Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas with a 66-64 win over Colorado State on Wednesday night.
The Hokies (6-0) fended off an explosive Rams (4-2) offense that entered the tournament ranked sixth in the nation in 3-point percentage, third in free throw rate and first in free throw percentage. CSU was just 4-for-19 from behind the arc (21.1%) and only attempted eight foul shots, making six (75%).
"That was the two biggest keys to the game coming in," Tech head coach Mike Young said after the win. "We could not allow them to come in here and bang 10 threes, and they're very capable. ... We limit them to four makes today, and they were only 6-of-8 from the foul line, so what a remarkable job from our team and checking those boxes and keeping them off the 3-point arc and not sending them to the line 23 times, which really puts you in a bind."
Young was disappointed the Hokies yielded a 45 percent clip overall (27-for-59), but they were better in other areas.
"They had to feel us, and the Rams felt our defense today," Young said.
It didn't start that way, though. Colorado State jumped in front quickly and controlled things for the first 13 minutes, catching Tech off balance with different screening actions and backdoor cuts. It took some time to find its footing on the other end, too, and made just four of its first 12 shots.
The Hokies also got into some early foul trouble when their frontcourt duo of Amani Hansberry and Tobi Lawal each picked up their first personal in the game's first 2:07. Lawal's second came at the 14:40 mark, too.
To top it off, they had a scare when star freshman Neoklis Avdalas appeared to roll his ankle at the 17:48 mark and left the game. After a trip to the locker room and being looked at by athletic trainer Hisham Ziyout, Avdalas checked back in at the 10:29 mark. At the same time, Lawal returned to the game with two fouls.
The Hokies found a groove after that, and a string of possessions — a Jailen Bedford 3-pointer, an Avdalas transition layup and a Ben Hammond layup — gave them a 21-19 lead with 5:48 remaining in the first half. They led the rest of the game.
Their defense improved, which led to an offensive boost. They got out and ran three times in a 90-second span off of blocked shots and turnovers, resulting in an Avdalas layup, two made free throws from Hansberry and an alley-oop from Hammond to Lawal. Tack on two triples from the Greek phenom as the half wound down and they had a 33-26 cushion at intermission.
"They hit us with a couple [actions] early. I think they went up 4-0. [Carey] Booth had a backscreen layup at the rim, I think we got back cut in there," Young said. "I told them at halftime, I said, 'If the offensive end's my biggest concern, we're fine.' We turned it around."
However, Colorado State built up a head of steam in the second half. It quickly cut the margin to 33-30 in the first 70 seconds before Tyler Johnson knocked down two foul shots and buried a 3-pointer to push back.
The Rams were persistent in their response, though. With Lawal in some foul trouble — he picked up his third just 31 seconds into the second half — they attacked inside through Rashaan Mbemba, who had 10 second-half points. His layup with 12:53 remaining cut it to three, and after Virginia Tech answered, his back-to-back baskets made it a one-point game (49-48) at the under-eight timeout.
It was neck-and-neck the rest of the way, but the Hokies relied on their defense and the duo of Bedford and Johnson. They combined for 21 of the team's 33 second-half points on 9-for-14 shooting.
Bedford seamlessly carved his way to the rack over and over — "[My teammates'] spacing allowed me to penetrate and get those easy looks, especially [Hansberry] coming off those handoffs, going downhill," he said — while Johnson started wearing CSU down inside and had some crucial rebounds late. He finished with seven second-half boards.
JB put on a show ? @jailen_bedford pic.twitter.com/DRm53Jrerr
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 27, 2025
For the game, Bedford led all scorers with 17 points while Johnson was one point away from a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds.
"They were both really good," Young said of Bedford and Johnson. "I'm just as encouraged and pleased and proud of all of them, but Tyler and JB's work on the defensive end, their grit and toughness, they contested everything. JB went a man removed late in the game, he gave one, I think his only made three of the night, but other than that, man, he was sharp. He was blowing up handoffs and making it really difficult.
"I thought we did a good job in the first half. They're a rhythm team, I thought we did a really good job, they were playing offense from 35, 38 feet from the goal. Consequently, their cutting is not as effective."
Every time CSU threw a punch, Tech threw one back, like Bedford's back-to-back buckets after a made 3-pointer from Josh Pascarelli with 1:41 to play.
The Hokies had to rely on their defense in the final 30 seconds, too, because a trey from Jevin Muniz cut it to 66-64 and Bedford missed the front end of a one-and-one, but they did well contesting Pascarelli's potential game-winning three in the waning seconds and improved to 6-0.
Avdalas (13 points) and Hansberry (10) joined Bedford in double figures while Hammond posted nine and Jaden Schutt had five. Outside of the electric dunk, it was a quiet outing for Lawal, who had just three points and two rebounds in 15 minutes.
Booth (15 points), Mbemba (12) and Kyle Jorgensen (11) paced Colorado State, who outrebounded Virginia Tech 35-28. Former Hokies point guard Brandon Rechsteiner, who spent two years in Blacksburg before moving to Fort Collins in the offseason, was 0-for-5 with two assists, two fouls and three turnovers.
Tech advances to the semifinals of Battle 4 Atlantis and will face Saint Mary's at approximately 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPN on Thursday. The Gaels beat Wichita State 70-65 on Wednesday behind 20 points and nine boards from Paulius Murauskas and a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double from 7-foot-2 center Andrew McKeever.
It's the first-ever meeting between the programs and features two coaches with a combined 979 wins in Young and Randy Bennett, who has been in Moraga since 2001. Saint Mary's has made four consecutive NCAA Tournaments and has been top 20 in adjusted defensive efficiency each of the last five seasons. This year's group ranks 16th.
"He's a terrific basketball coach," Young said of Bennett. "I don't know Coach Bennett very well. We visited here in the hotel. I've seen him on the road for many years. He's elite, he's terrific."
Vanderbilt (beat Western Kentucky 83-78) and VCU (beat USF 78-66) will play in the other semifinal at noon on ESPN.
The Hokies' victory over the Rams means they'll get two excellent opponents over the next two days — and likely two Quadrant 1 opportunities.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 66, Colorado State 64