Playing its third game in five nights, the Virginia men’s basketball team locked in for one half before cruising through an inconsistent second half. In the end, the strong first-half effort provided plenty of breathing room as the Hoos eased past winless South Carolina State, 75-55.
The Cavaliers (3-0) held the Bulldogs to just 22.7% shooting (five of 22) before intermission en route to a 41-20 lead. That was part of a fully dominant half where UVa made 53.1% (17 of 32) of its shots, posted six assists against just four turnovers, and controlled the glass 23 to nine.
“In the first half, I thought we were solid, especially defensively. We did a good job on the ball screen defense,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “South Carolina State kept battling and hit some tough threes that kept them in it. I think we showed some young mistakes, and even our experienced guys had some careless turnovers. I always tell our guys that those minutes are valuable when you’re in there. I wish we could have separated a little more in the second half, but we’ll learn from that.”
Indeed, the second half featured a lot of up-and-down moments for the Wahoos. Sloppy offense combined with some breakdowns with three-point defense in particular allowed the Bulldogs to eventually take the half 35-34. After intermission, Virginia committed eight turnovers and allowed State to sink seven of 15 triples (43.8%). Karon Wright did most of the damage with 15 points after intermission as he made five of eight three-pointers. SCS also grabbed five offensive boards and scored nine second-chance points in the second half.
Still, Virginia led by as many as 28 points and never let the lead dip below the 20-point barrier over the final 14:56. No one played more than London Perrantes’ 25 minutes as the Hoos spread the playing time around during another lopsided win. Four players logged double figures in the scoring column where Justin Anderson and Malcolm Brogdon poured in 17 each. Anthony Gill tallied 11 points and eight rebounds, while Mike Tobey chipped in 10 points and five rebounds. Darion Atkins started the game in Tobey’s place and contributed eight points and seven rebounds too.
The wing combo of Anderson and Brogdon dictated the flow against State’s zone offense, though. Anderson continued his hot shooting start by making three of six triples in the game. That pushed his three-game total to 10-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc, a sizzling 62.5%. He also recorded five rebounds, two assists, one steal, and zero turnovers.
“I think all of our guys have made subtle improvements. The offseason is all about physical improvement and skill development,” Bennett said. “Justin really tried to develop a consistent shot, and it certainly looks better. I want him impacting the game in a bunch of ways. That’s important for us. If he can continue to be consistent, it’ll stretch the floor out for us.”
Brogdon, meanwhile, asserted himself throughout the night after a six-point outing on two-of-seven shooting against Norfolk State on Sunday. Against South Carolina State, he made a lay-up to open the scoring and finished seven of 11 from the floor. He finished with four rebounds, three assists, one block, one steal, and one turnover too.
Much of Brogdon’s success came on the baseline against the State zone. He drove several times form the corner, sealed the defense, and scored on a leaning lay-up at the rim.
“I still want to get other people open, get other people involved, but I think I needed to be a little bit more aggressive in attacking the basket,” Brogdon said. “I think things opened up for me in terms of getting right to the rim, but I wanted to make sure that I touched the lane, whether that was passing or shooting.”
After winning the season’s first three games by an average of 25.3 points per game, the Wahoos take on a much tougher test Friday when George Washington comes to town. The Colonials are off to a 2-0 start, including a 70-53 romp at Rutgers on Sunday. GW earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament last season, falling to Memphis in the first round in Virginia’s pod in Raleigh.
The Cavaliers expect a battle in Charlottesville on Friday.
“Personally, I think it is a really big step up in competition,” Atkins said. “They made the tournament last year, they have a lot of experience, and they play physical basketball. It is going to be a great test on Friday.”
- Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
- Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate — we can not consecrate — we can not hallow — this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced.- It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion — that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain — that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom — and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.
