The Shadow
BLACKSBURG, Va. (VR) – The Virgnia Tech men’s basketball team began the 2026-27 campaign with energy from the opening tip, defeating Coppin State 88-54. Ben Hammond led the way with eight of the first 15 points, immediately followed by an emphatic putback dunk from Amani Hansberry. Turnovers were the fuel to the fire for Tech, forcing five in the first nine Coppin State posessions and inspiring an early 8-0 run.
Points continued to pile in off turnovers for the Hokies, tallying 14 of the first half’s 45 from takeaways as the defense made the Eagles uncomfortable all night. When the scoring wasn’t coming from the defense for Tech, it was coming from deep. Jaylen Curry found a groove from three-point range, making three of his first five attempts. Curry led the first half individual scoring with 15.
Hammond came out with a three-pointer to start the second half hot for Tech. The defensive energy followed suit, forcing three straight Eagles turnovers. Constant switching and trapping from the Hokies led to long Coppin State possessions with no points to show from them.
The Hokies expanded the lead, finding points in the paint from Hansberry and Tyler Johnson and efficient shot selection, as they finished with a 46.9% mark. Tech moved the ball around, totaling 20 assists and producing open looks both inside and out. Scoring opportunities were created off turnovers to grow the lead to 25 by the second media timeout. The Hokies continued to pour it on as Curry was active under the basket as well, with back-to-back layups at the 6:46 mark.
Hansberry and Hammond found success from beyond the arc late in the game, recording back-to-back triples at the 3:36 mark. Solomon Davis recorded his first career collegiate points late in the game with a two-handed dunk. Tech continued to turn their defense into offense, finishing the game with 26 points off turnovers. The Eagles had no answer for the Hokies as they expanded the final lead to 34.
Tech shot 13-28 from three-point range and created 24 turnovers to rout Coppin State for the first win of the season.
Game Notes
•The starters for Virginia Tech were Jaylen Curry, Ben Hammond, Isaiah Elohim, Miles Heide and Amani Hansberry
•Hammond recorded a career-high seven steals, one shy of a program record
•The Hokies buried 13 three-pointers, shooting 46.4% from deep
Tech is back on Carilion Clinic Court on Thursday, Nov. 5 against Mercer. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on ACCNX.
