Wake Forest Shuts Door on Virginia Tech's NCAA Tournament Chances 95-89 In OT

The Hokies dropped yet another heartbreaker.

Mar 10, 2026; Charlotte, NC, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies guard Ben Hammond (3) is fouled as Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Sebastian Akins (10) and guard Mekhi Mason (8) defend in the second half at Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Virginia Tech's season-long stretch of suffering lapses in close games once again came back to haunt it in a 95-89 loss to Wake Forest in the ACC Tournament.

"Doing it a long time. 24 years as a head coach, you have never heard me make an excuse," Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said. "Was it hurtful? Yeah."

It was the hands of the No. 13-seeded Wake Forest Demon Deacons (17-15, 7-11 ACC) who pulled that plug on Tech (19-13, 8-10 ACC) in the first round of the tourney.

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— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) March 11, 2026

The Hokies, known for their close contests all season, lost four games by a single possession and took home five in such a way. Tech brought its final contest to overtime on the back of four second-half surges that saw the Hokies either tie or take the advantage.

Tech fared well in overtime games this season, going 4-0 with victories over Providence, South Carolina, Elon and Virginia (3OT). However, the Hokies were ill-prepared for Wake Forest's offensive onslaught in the extra period.

The Demon Deacons notched 20 points in the five-minute overtime session on an extremely efficient 5-for-7 clip from the floor, while sinking all nine of their free throws. On just 10 possessions for Wake, it found the net on nine of those, with each trapping the Hokies inside of a larger and larger glass bottle.

Tech was without its leader in both points per game (14.3) and rebounds per game (7.4) in forward Amani Hansberry, leaving the door open for Wake to attack inside for 40 points in the paint.

The freshman big duo of Christian Gurdak and Antonio Dorn filled in for Hansberry, helping lift the Hokies to 45 total rebounds in the contest, alongside senior Tobi Lawal. Tech nearly had more offensive rebounds (21), than Wake Forest did total rebounds (28).

Dorn had a career night in rebounds (7), assists (3), and blocks (2) against Wake, in a limited 14 minutes of work.

Standout sophomore point guard Ben Hammond led Tech with 23 points, his sixth time doing so this year, with four points in overtime.

"I feel like I was just attacking the rim, getting past their defenders and getting to the line," Hammond said.

Hammond put it all out there in the first round, with his 7-for-17 split, but he also dished two assists while adding a pair of rebounds and steals each.

Hammond also recorded the final two points of regulation for the Hokies, on a 2-for-2 trip to the stripe after he was fouled working downhill inside the perimeter. Hammond also had the final non-tip-in look of regulation, sending his floater just off the front of the rim, a tad short into the hands of UNLV transfer guard, Jailen Bedford, who was unable to convert the putback.

"Yeah, for sure I got a decent look, a shot that I work on all the time. And then J.B. with the put-back, it just didn't -- it wasn't able to fall down."

His success in the paint all game elevated his ability to get open from deep as the game progressed, as he hunted for his defensive matchup.

More importantly, his surges inside forced the Demon Deacons' defense to crash majorly, as each defender eyed down a block on the 5-foot-11 guard; in turn, this opened up his three-point hunting guard, Jaden Schutt.

Schutt, in the final two games of the season, only fired off shots from behind the arc, doing so 14 times. Against Wake Forest, Schutt nailed three of his seven looks.

"You learn how they're guarding you," Schutt said. "You're constantly getting feedback... As the game goes on, you find a nice flow of what works, and you got to play that game."

The Demon Deacons are one of the best free-throw shooting teams in the country, entering the contest as a team 77.1% from the stripe, so for the Hokies, as the contest reached the ever-so-desperate steal or foul moments, all they could do was watch as nine free throws were made in the overtime period.

In arguably the most important trip to the line for Wake, it was junior guard Myles Colvin, an 87.8% free-throw shooter, who stood at the line with just 14 seconds left and a two-point, 91-89, advantage. His makes were the long-awaited dagger in Tech's season.

Virginia Tech now waits for Sunday, March 15 to figure out its postseason hopes, which will presumably be in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) should it accept an invite.