Thursday, November 5
Blacksburg, Va.
7 p.m.
Mercer University
1-1,0-0SoCon
67
at
96
Virginia Tech
2-0,0-0ACC
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercer | 24 | 43 | 67 |
| Virginia Tech | 47 | 49 | 96 |
11/5/2026 10:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Kj LaMonte led the Bears with 21 points
BLACKSBURG, Va. – KJ LaMonte scored 21 points to lead Mercer offensively, but the Bears lost their first game of the season on the road to Virginia Tech, 96-67 Thursday night from Cassell Coliseum.
LaMonte went 6-for-10 from the field and added five assists and four rebounds. Karon Boyd was the one other Mercer player to score in double figures with 12 points with six rebounds. Virginia Tech's Amani Hansberri, a Preseason Second Team All-ACC selection led all players with 23 points.
Mercer shot 22-for-54 (40.7%) from the field and made 6-of-20 (30.0%) of its three-point attempts. On the other side, Virginia Tech made 34-of-70 (48.7%) of its field goal attempts and went just 8-for-222 (36.4%) from deep. One of the biggest advantages for the Hokies in the game was turnovers. The Bears had 18 turnovers to just four for the Hokies. The Mercer turnovers led to 26 Virginia Tech points.Â
The Bears hung tough on the glass as the Hokies only had a slight edge in rebounds, 39-34. Virginia Tech also scored on the fastbreak more than Mercer as fastbreak points were 15-2, Hokies.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Virginia Tech 96, Mercer 67
RECORDS: Mercer (1-1, 0-0 SoCon), Virginia Tech (2-0, 0-0 ACC)
LOCATION: Blacksburg, Va. (Cassell Coliseum)
HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
LaMonte got off to a quick start offensively, scoring 10 of Mercer's first 12 points as the Bears were down just four, with the score 16-12 Hokies nearly nine minutes into the game.
However, the Hokies would then go on a 27-4 run to take control of the game and jump out to a 43-16 lead with under four minutes to play in the first half. LaMonte made a three-pointer and Derek Goodman connected on a jump shot in the final two minutes of the half, but the Bears trailed 47-24 at halftime.
2ND HALF
Mercer came out ready to go to start the second half. The Bears used a quick 7-0 run to make it a 47-31 game. Boyd scored 10 of his 12 points in a short span in the second half, His 10 points were part of an 11-3 Mercer run as the Bears then trailed 62-47 with just over 12 minutes to play.
However, the Hokies responded by going on a run of their own and took a 79-54 lead at the under-eight media timeout. The Hokies finished the game with a 96-67 win over the Bears.
NOTABLES
+ KJ LaMonte scored 10 of Mercer's first 12 points of the game.
+ Mercer battled on the glass as rebounds were 39-34, Virginia Tech.
+ Five different Mercer players finished with five or more rebounds led by Karon Boyd with six.
+Â LaMonte, Perkins and Boyd combined to go 6-for-11 from three. The trio made all six of Mercer's three-pointers in the game.
NEXT UP
Mercer will continue its road trip on Saturday by visiting Davidson on Saturday, Nov. 7. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. inside Belk Arena.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow Mercer Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook.
LaMonte went 6-for-10 from the field and added five assists and four rebounds. Karon Boyd was the one other Mercer player to score in double figures with 12 points with six rebounds. Virginia Tech's Amani Hansberri, a Preseason Second Team All-ACC selection led all players with 23 points.
Mercer shot 22-for-54 (40.7%) from the field and made 6-of-20 (30.0%) of its three-point attempts. On the other side, Virginia Tech made 34-of-70 (48.7%) of its field goal attempts and went just 8-for-222 (36.4%) from deep. One of the biggest advantages for the Hokies in the game was turnovers. The Bears had 18 turnovers to just four for the Hokies. The Mercer turnovers led to 26 Virginia Tech points.Â
The Bears hung tough on the glass as the Hokies only had a slight edge in rebounds, 39-34. Virginia Tech also scored on the fastbreak more than Mercer as fastbreak points were 15-2, Hokies.
THE BASICS
SCORE: Virginia Tech 96, Mercer 67
RECORDS: Mercer (1-1, 0-0 SoCon), Virginia Tech (2-0, 0-0 ACC)
LOCATION: Blacksburg, Va. (Cassell Coliseum)
HOW IT HAPPENED
1ST HALF
LaMonte got off to a quick start offensively, scoring 10 of Mercer's first 12 points as the Bears were down just four, with the score 16-12 Hokies nearly nine minutes into the game.
However, the Hokies would then go on a 27-4 run to take control of the game and jump out to a 43-16 lead with under four minutes to play in the first half. LaMonte made a three-pointer and Derek Goodman connected on a jump shot in the final two minutes of the half, but the Bears trailed 47-24 at halftime.
2ND HALF
Mercer came out ready to go to start the second half. The Bears used a quick 7-0 run to make it a 47-31 game. Boyd scored 10 of his 12 points in a short span in the second half, His 10 points were part of an 11-3 Mercer run as the Bears then trailed 62-47 with just over 12 minutes to play.
However, the Hokies responded by going on a run of their own and took a 79-54 lead at the under-eight media timeout. The Hokies finished the game with a 96-67 win over the Bears.
NOTABLES
+ KJ LaMonte scored 10 of Mercer's first 12 points of the game.
+ Mercer battled on the glass as rebounds were 39-34, Virginia Tech.
+ Five different Mercer players finished with five or more rebounds led by Karon Boyd with six.
+Â LaMonte, Perkins and Boyd combined to go 6-for-11 from three. The trio made all six of Mercer's three-pointers in the game.
NEXT UP
Mercer will continue its road trip on Saturday by visiting Davidson on Saturday, Nov. 7. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. inside Belk Arena.
STAY CONNECTED
Follow Mercer Men's Basketball on Twitter and Instagram and on Facebook.
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Mercer
VT
FG%
.407
.486
3FG%
.300
.364
FT%
.630
.769
RB
34
39
TO
18
4
STL
1
8
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
7
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Friday, November 06
Tuesday, November 03
Monday, November 02
Monday, November 02
