Cullowhee, N.C. – Western Carolina men's basketball continues a three-game road swing, traveling to Blacksburg, Va., to battle ACC counterpart Virginia Tech on Thursday (Dec. 11) night from Cassell Coliseum.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra (paid subscription required), with live stats available through a link online on CatamountSports.com. Live audio from the Catamount Sports Network is available on network affiliate 105.7 FM/540 AM WRGC in Sylva and streaming online audio at CatamountSports.com.

Men's Basketball Matchup: Western Carolina (4-5) at Virginia Tech (8-2)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 11
Time: 7 p.m.
Site: Cassell Coliseum (Blacksburg, Va.)
Live Stats: VT Hokies Stats & Info
Live Video: ACC Network Extra (paid subscription required)
Live Audio: Catamount Sports Network
Radio: 105.7 FM / 540 AM WRGC 
Twitter: @CatamountMBB
MEDIA CENTER 

About Western Carolina:
The Catamounts began their three-game road swing on the wrong end of a 78-67 decision to Big South foe USC Upstate last Saturday afternoon, closing out the three-game schedule against the Big South. WCU previously earned wins over UNC Asheville (80-73) and fell at the preseason favorite, High Point (93-73), before Saturday's setback.

Sophomore transfer Justin Johnson led the way with a season-high 13 points, including a perfect 4-of-4 at the free-throw line. Redshirt junior Cord Stansberry added 11 points, with seven coming from the charity stripe. Freshman Samuel Dada led the Catamounts on the glass with eight rebounds as Johnson and Stansberry both pulled down six misses.

The Catamounts have put together a strong four-game stretch, averaging 81.5 points per contest and advancing their seasonal per-game average from 71.7 to 77.1. Sophomore CJ Hyland is leading the Catamounts in the stretch at 14.5 points per game, while redshirt junior Marcus Kell is at 13.3 points per contest, and graduate transfer Julien Soumaoro sits at 12 per game.

WCU's offense is one of six teams in the league, along with Chattanooga, UNC Greensboro, Furman, VMI, and ETSU, that have at least four players averaging double-digit points per game. Soumaoro leads the way for WCU in scoring at 13.4 points per game, ranking 10th in the conference. The Bronx, N.Y. native is joined by Stansberry at 12.8, Kell at 12.6 per game, and Hyland at 10.2 per contest.

Soumaoro sits among the league leaders in 3-point shooting, making 24 threes at 2.7 per game, putting him fourth in the conference in both categories. Sophomore transfer Abdulai Fanta Kabba begins play tied for fourth in the league in blocks with 12 rejections.

The Catamounts have continued to crash the boards early in the 2025-26 season, averaging a league-best 41.0 rebounds per game through nine contests as the Purple & Gold lead the way in the SoCon in rebounds per game, and defensive rebounds per contest (27.56), while ranking second in offensive rebounds per game (13.44), and rebounding margin (7.2).

Kabba maintains his lead for the Catamounts on the glass at 7.8 boards per contest, ranking in a tie for fifth in the SoCon. Behind Kabba, post-mate Dada checks into Thursday night's action, averaging 5.9 rebounds per game, followed by Kell at 5.2 per contest. The trio has at least 15 offensive boards, with Kabba leading the way with 27, sitting second in the league at a 3.0 average per contest. WCU has won or tied the rebounding battle in six of nine games during the early season, with its largest rebounding output of the year coming last Tuesday with 64 boards against VUL.

Scouting the Opposition:
Virginia Tech (8-2) comes into play on Thursday on a two-game win streak, earning wins over South Carolina (86-83, OT) and George Mason (73-62), with the win over the Patriots running the Hokies' home record to 5-0. VT opened the season 6-0 before dropping back-to-back decisions against Saint Mary's and VCU in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in The Bahamas.

The Hokies finished 13-19 last season, including an 8-12 mark in the ACC, and fell to Cal in double overtime in the opening round of the conference tournament.

Amani Hansberry, a junior transfer from West Virginia, leads the Hokies with 16.1 points per game, including four double-doubles and has eclipsed double figures in all but one game this season. Hansberry hit his seasonal best against South Carolina with 22 points in the tight overtime win over the Gamecocks.

Freshman Neoklis Avdalas averages 12.9 points per contest over 10 games with seven double-figure scoring outputs, including 33 in his second career game against Providence. Senior Tobi Lawal paces the squad with 10.3 rebounds per game to go along with 12.8 points per contest, as Lawal has four double-doubles in just six games he's participated in. Redshirt junior Jaden Schutt rounds out the double-figure scoring for the Hokies at 11.2 per game. Avdalas leads the Hokies with 51 assists, as Lawal has a team-best 10 blocks, and sophomore Ben Hammond has recorded 21 steals.

Head coach Mike Young is in his seventh season at the helm in Blacksburg after a successful 17-year stint at Southern Conference foe, Wofford. He previously led the Terriers to six 20-win seasons and five NCAA tournament appearances. During his time in Spartanburg, Young earned four SoCon Coach of the Year awards from the league's coaches and three Anton Foy Awards from the media for coach of the year.

The Hokies were tabbed 12th by the conference's media members among the 18-team preseason poll.

Series History:
Western Carolina and Virginia Tech have met four times before Thursday's action, with the Hokies holding a 4-0 lead in the all-time series. Thursday's action in Blacksburg is the first matchup between the two schools since Nov. 15, 2013, when VT earned the 79-61 victory on its home floor.

The Catamounts have battled 13 teams that currently call the ACC home – Duke, Louisville, North Carolina, N.C. State, SMU, Clemson, Miami (Fla.), Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, Pitt, and Florida State. WCU has earned wins over Louisville (2009), Notre Dame (2023), Georgia Tech (1980), and Florida State (2001) in that stretch. Multiple head-to-head matchups between the 13 schools have occurred when teams were in different leagues, such as the Big East or the American.

Southern Conference / ACC Connection:
Founded in 1921, the Southern Conference – the fifth oldest in the nation and having celebrated its 100th anniversary back in 2021 – gave rise to two of the premier conferences – the Southeastern Conference (SEC, 1932) and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC, 1952). A combined nine of the current 18 ACC teams (minus Boston College, California, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Stanford, and Syracuse) played under the SoCon banner. Six of those nine ACC schools were founding members in 1921, including Clemson, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, NC State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, with Duke joining in 1928 and Wake Forest in 1936.

The SoCon continues to hold the distinction of conducting the oldest and longest-running postseason conference tournament, with the inaugural championship held in 1921.

Up Next:
Following Thursday's action in Blacksburg, the Catamounts close out their nonconference slate with a trip to Athens, Ga., on Thursday, Dec. 18, with a battle against SEC counterpart Georgia. The meeting with the Bulldogs is slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off and will be shown on SEC Network Plus (paid subscription required), with live audio from the Catamount Sports Network, and live stats available online at CatamountSports.com.

Keep track of everything related to Catamount men's basketball and WCU Athletics through our social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@catamountmbb @wcu_catamounts), and Twitter (@CatamountMBB @catamounts).