Hokies Take Care of Business in 72-63 Win vs Boston College

Virginia Tech ended its home slate on a high note with a win over Boston College to move to 8-9 ACC play. The penultimate contest for the Hokies comes days before a massively consequential battle in Charlottesville against the Hoos, one that might determine the postseason fate of this Hokies team.

“I’m thinking about spring break,” joked Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young postgame. “I’ve been thinking about going to Islamorada with my beautiful wife this spring. It occupies a lot of thoughts.”

Well, Coach Young might want to hold off on buying those flight tickets for a few weeks.

After its close loss Saturday night to North Carolina, Tech sat at 7-9 against ACC opponents heading into a must-win Tuesday night matchup against the Boston College Eagles, a team that the Hokies were a shocking 1-6 against in the Mike Young era. 

Even versus a last place foe, tensions were palpable at tipoff. This is March, as we all know. You have to expect the unexpected.

But the Hokies got off to a hot start as they jumped out to a 28-11 lead via an Amani Hansberry three-pointer less than 13 minutes into the contest. Tech would hold strong until halftime, going into the break with a 35-24 lead.

Neoklis Avdalas led the way for the Hokies in the first half of Tuesday night’s contest as he tallied 14 points in part from four three-pointers. Avdalas continued where he left off from Saturday’s matchup when he totaled 19 points against the Tar Heels.

Tyler Johnson also got his first points after returning from injury when he knocked down a three-point dagger midway through the first half.

Coming out of the half, the Hokies looked sloppier than their dominant version seen in the first half of the contest. Boston College was able to narrow its deficit to only six points less than halfway through the second half.

Though the Eagles kept within striking distance for the rest of the second half, the Hokies held on to take care of business and get the 72-63 victory.

Tobi Lawal finished Tuesday night’s contest as Tech’s leading scorer with 20 points, all of which either came in the paint or from the line. His tally marks his third-consecutive double-digit-scoring outing, as well as his sixth game with 10 or more points in Tech’s past seven contests.

Despite being injured and not playing against Virginia in the first Commonwealth Clash of the 2025-2026 season, Lawal very well can be a significant factor Saturday against the Cavaliers.

Though he was limited to just one point in the second half against the Eagles, Avdalas was Tech’s second-leading scorer on the night. His 15-point outing marked his third-consecutive game with double-digit points, a promising late-season sight for Hokie fans despite his midseason struggles.

Hansberry and Ben Hammond rounded out Tech’s double-digit scoring against Boston College as they each posted 11 points Tuesday night. The duo’s individual outings proved good enough for each player’s sixth double-digit-scoring game in the Hokies’ past seven matchups.

The Hokies will close out the 2025-2026 regular season as they head up to Charlottesville to take on archrival Virginia. Though Tech came out victorious in its first showdown against the Cavaliers – a triple-overtime thriller in Cassell Coliseum on 2025’s New Year’s Eve – Saturday’s road matchup could very well prove more challenging for the Hokies, especially late in the season.

“What do we need to do? We need to go [up] to Charlottesville and play a really good ballgame,” Young said. “That would help; they’re really good. We gotta keep going.”

With the realization starting to set in that the Hokies’ March Madness fate likely lies in the outcome of Saturday’s matchup, the upcoming Commonwealth Clash has become, in a way, the ultimate must-win game of the season for the Blacksburg squad.

The Hokies will have one final chance to prove to the college basketball world that their ACC slump was more of a fluke than anything and that they can compete with NCAA Tournament-caliber teams. 

However, there’s always still a chance for one last Hail Mary. We’ve seen that movie before.