2025 Battle 4 Atlantis Recap: Hokies Take Fourth Place with Win Against Colorado State, Losses to Saint Mary’s, VCU

After playing three games in three days in the pivotal tournament, Virginia Tech enters December at 6-2 on the 2025-2026 season.

With the college football season’s energy nearing its end in Blacksburg on Saturday, the town’s focus has shifted to the hardwood, as the Hokies entered the Bahamas-based Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament Wednesday sitting at 5-0. 

After some too-close-for-comfort wins against Charlotte and Bryant in Tech’s last two games, fans have been wondering if the team will be able to show flashes of a team capable of making the big dance in March.

The Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament would be the Blacksburg bunch’s opportunity, as they would have the chance to face a lineup of recent March Madness tournament teams. Whether the Hokies could compete with those teams, however, was the question on every Hokie fan’s mind.

After falling to a quick five point deficit to begin the first half, Virginia Tech surged to a 33-26 lead heading into halftime. 

Neoklis Avdalas went out with a non-contact, lower-body injury just four minutes into the contest. However, the suspense was short-lived as Avdalas re-entered the game later in the first half. The Greek prodigy finished the half with eight points – tied for the most on the team in that 20-minute span.

Amani Hansberry continued his prowess in the paint, as he totaled eight points in the first half, with four points coming off of two field goals and the other four coming off of free throws.

Ben Hammond and Tyler Johnson played key roles in keeping the Hokies afloat in the first half. Hammond, who came in for Avdalas during his injury, picked up six points off the bench. Johnson, while he was unable to find the net in the half, was able to nab a team-high five rebounds before halftime.

Coming out of halftime, Colorado State turned on its afterburners as it had multiple surges to bring the game within one score. Though Tech was able to maintain its lead throughout the second half, the Rams were knocking on the door the entire 20 minutes.

The Rams were able to pull within two points with 2:42 left in the game. They would, for the most part, trade off scores with the Hokies, as the score settled at 66-61 with just under a minute to play.

The final 30 seconds of the game is where play started to get antsy for the Hokies. Colorado State’s Jevin Muniz knocked down a three-pointer to narrow Tech’s lead to two points.

As part of typical late-game college basketball strategy, Colorado State purposefully committed a foul to send Jailen Bedford to the line to shoot a one-and-one. 

Although two made free throws would put the game away for the maroon & orange, Bedford missed his initial free throw, thus giving the Rams a chance to score with 13 seconds left. 

As the Rams stampeded down the court, Josh Pascarelli put up a three-point shot with three seconds left in order to give Colorado State a one-point, walk-off win over the Hokies.

However, the shot bounced high up off the rim and found the hands of Hansberry as the Hokies secured the 66-64 win.

Bedford continued his impressive scoring on the season, as he posted a 17-point outing against the Rams. Hansberry and Avdalas also had double-digit totals on the evening, as they went for 13 points and 10 points, respectively.

With their win over Colorado State, the Hokies improved to an impressive 6-0 record. The squad would look to keep their early-season momentum rolling as they took on Saint Mary’s in a vital Thanksgiving Day matchup.

Heading into their Thanksgiving Day matchup against Saint Mary’s – a team that has consistently competed in March Madness in recent years – without standout player Tobi Lawal, the Hokies were already playing catch-up before tip-off.

The Hokies fell into a quick 10-point deficit early in the contest. The Gaels would then go on to maintain their lead throughout the first half, as the score was 31-20 in their favor heading into halftime. Though Tech did end up playing from behind the entire game, it did show sparks of contention despite being short-staffed.

While they did lose this game and fall to 6-1 on the season, the Hokies did have some bright spots that made many fans not too upset about the outcome. Though the final score was 77-66, the Hokies did match Saint Mary’s scoring total in the second half, as both teams posted 46 points each. Not to mention, a handful of those Gael points were late-game, garbage-time scores off free throws.

Some bright pieces on the Blacksburg squad also continued to show in this upper-echelon matchup. Hansberry posted 18 points and 10 rebounds en route to his third double-double on the season as well as his fifth double-digit scoring outing in just six games.

Jaden Schutt impressed from deep yet again, as he knocked down four three-pointers on his way to a personal season-high outing of 17 points.

With Vanderbilt’s win against VCU, the Hokies would look ahead to Friday’s matchup against the Rams to not only take third place in the tournament, but more importantly pick up a win to move to 2-1 on the week and 7-1 on the season heading into December.

Compared to Thursday, Friday’s contest was more of the same for the Hokies.

For starters, Lawal was sidelined yet again with the looming lower-body injury. With head coach Mike Young describing it as erring on the side of caution, the Hokies are likely remaining optimistic that the star rebounder will be available for their next game.

The half-by-half scoring was nothing special for the Tech squad against VCU. The Rams outscored the Hokies in each half – 45-35 in the first, and 41-33 in the second.

For the second day in a row, Hansberry and Schutt posted double-digit scoring totals. Hansberry tallied 16 points after going 6-10 on field goals, including one three-pointer, and tacking on three free throws. Schutt also kept up his role as an off-the-bench weapon, as he went 3-7 from three-point range en route to a 15-point outing.

Johnson joined Hansberry and Schutt as the sophomore dropped 16 points in the Hokies’ tournament finale. After posting an array of scoring – 5-8 on field goals, 2-3 on three-pointers, and 4-6 on free throws, Johnson proved to be an all-around threat who could be a valuable piece on Tech’s roster later in the season.

It is clear Lawal’s on-court presence can be a difference maker for the Hokies, especially when the team faces more elite teams like Saint Mary’s and VCU. As the Hokies approach ACC play around the new year, Hokie fans will only hope that he will be on the hardwood in order for the Tech to thrive in its second half of the season.

Virginia Tech’s next challenge will come in Columbia, South Carolina as the Hokies square off against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge. The Hokies will look to improve to 7-2 as they aim to bounce back to their early-season success.