Coming off victories against overmatched foes, Virginia Tech and visiting South Carolina Upstate enter their Friday matchup hoping to finish up their first week on a modest winning streak.
Virginia Tech (1-0) of the ACC and South Carolina Upstate (1-1) of the Big South have reconfigured rosters, each with new starting lineups.
The Hokies graduated one starter from last year, while the other four departed via the transfer portal. Meanwhile, the Spartans have only one player back from last year and a new coach in Marty Richter.
Both teams are seeking cohesion. Each committed 16 turnovers in their wins.
Virginia Tech is coming off an 83-60 home win over Delaware State on Monday, led by VCU transfer Toibu Lawal’s 23 points and eight rebounds.
A slimmed-down Mylyjael Poteat tallied 14 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Jaydon Young scored 13 points for the Hokies, who led all the way but had trouble shaking the Hornets.
Delaware State trailed by 18 in the first half but whittled the deficit to 49-43 with about 14 minutes left in the game before Virginia Tech scored eight straight to resume command.
“There are some constants around here. There are some non-negotiables around here. Transition defense is one of them,” Virginia Tech coach Mike Young said. “You cannot give up 3s. You cannot give up lay-ins.”
On Wednesday at home, South Carolina Upstate rolled to a 103-70 home victory over Division III Piedmont as Mister Dean paced the Spartans with 25 points and eight rebounds.
Dean made all 12 of his shots from the floor, including a rim-rocking slam dunk, which forced a temporary delay as the backboard was swaying.
The Spartans also got a perfect night from the floor from Nic Book, who made all seven of his shots from the floor, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds. Andrew McConnell added a 4-for-4 performance from beyond the arc, scoring 12 points.
“When you look at the box score, we had six guys in double figures,” Richter said. “We have something here.”
South Carolina Upstate lost its opener, 97-66, on Monday at NC State.
–Field Level Media
