(Photo credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images)

Virginia Tech rode a 53-point first half, fueled by leading scorers Neoklis Avdalas and Amani Hansberry, to a 96-74 nonconference win over Western Carolina on Thursday in Blacksburg, Va.

Avdalas led the Hokies (9-2) with 30 points, the first time the freshman scored more than 20 points since posting a season-high 33 on Nov. 8 against Providence. Hansberry chipped in 18 points, team-high totals of six assists and four steals, plus six rebounds.

The Catamounts (4-6) weren't able to weather an off night from leading scorer Julien Soumaoro, who finished with nine points on 3-for-11 shooting from the field while committing four turnovers. Marcus Kell picked up the slack with 22 points, and Justin Johnson scored 15.

Western Carolina had as solid a first half as it could have asked for, considering its offensive struggles against the two Power 5 teams it played earlier this season. In those games, the Catamounts wound up with 63 and 54 points against Cincinnati and Duke, respectively. Western Carolina also shot well below 40% from the field in both contests.

After the first half against Virginia Tech, Western Carolina was on pace to far surpass these marks. The Catamounts, who entered Thursday shooting 29% on 3-point attempts, hit four of their 10 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half.

Western Carolina also shot 46.4% from the field en route to a 34-point first half. Yet it still found itself in a 19-point hole.

Virginia Tech had a torrid first half, shooting 57.6% from the field and 7-for-14 from 3-point range. After Western Carolina's CJ Hyland hit a trey to narrow the Hokies' lead to 7-5, Virginia Tech rattled off a 9-0 run to push the margin to double digits.

Cord Stansberry soon sank a 3-pointer to pull the Catamounts within nine, but a tip-in from Christian Gurdak restored the Hokies' 11-point lead with 12:16 remaining in the first half.

Virginia Tech didn't relinquish its double-digit lead for the rest of the game.

Western Carolina nearly matched Virginia Tech in the second half -- when the Hokies outscored the Catamounts 43-40 -- but the Hokies' halftime advantage proved insurmountable.

--Field Level Media