RICHMOND – In front of a raucous, sold-out Siegel Center crowd, the No. 7 Virginia men’s basketball team responded with poise and clutch play down the stretch to claim a 74-57 win against VCU, which entered Saturday having won 22 straight contests at home.
“Great game by Virginia thought their guys showed a great deal of poise and really followed the plan well. They shot the ball well today, obviously which was a big difference in the game,” Rams coach Shaka Smart said. “I thought our guys showed good fight for most of the second half. Obviously they went on a run after we cut it to four, and that was really what allowed them to break the game open and basically put the game to bed.”
The Cavaliers, 9-0 to start a season for the first time since 2001-02, were led by Justin Anderson. The junior fought through a sprained ankle for 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field (3 of 4 from 3-point range) and 6-of-6 shooting from the free throw line. The 6’6” wing also pulled down 8 boards in 32 minutes of play, which helped Virginia achieve a 35-21 edge in rebounds over the Rams. The Hoos have out-rebounded every opponent on their schedule to date.
Anderson’s status for Saturday’s game was in question after missing the final nine minutes of Wednesday night’s win over Maryland with a sprained ankle. Despite nursing an injury that required four or five treatment sessions each of the past few days from head athletic trainer Ethan Saliba, Anderson had what likely was his best game as a college player. He has led the team in scoring seven times this season.
“Justin was terrific,” said Virginia head coach Tony Bennett, who admitted that Anderson missed practice on Thursday but went through the majority of practice Friday. “He battled through it. He really let the game come to him. We had contributions from everyone, but that was a heck of a game from Justin.”
Juniors Anthony Gill and Malcolm Brogdon combined for 33 points, a marked improvement from the 10 points they combined for in last year’s game against the Rams. Gill finished with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting to go along with 8 rebounds. Brogdon, meanwhile, scored in double figures for the 40th time in his career when he poured in 15 points in the win. He added four assists.
UVa starting point guard London Perrantes, meanwhile, overcame a shaky start – he had two turnovers in the first eight minutes of the game – to put in a steady 6 points, 9 assists (tied his career-high), and 3 turnovers. Perrantes also came through with some clutch moments when his team needed it most.
Virginia held a 57-46 advantage in the second half when things really got interesting. Treveon Graham, who drained the game-winner last year against the Hoos, hit three straight corner 3-pointers to spearhead a 9-2 run that cut Virginia’s lead to four. Perrantes, a sophomore, then stepped up with two huge plays.
With the shot clock winding down and the crowd in a frenzy, a running jumper from Perrantes put Virginia up 61-55 with 5:35 remaining. VCU then squandered two chances to cut the lead again and the California native made them pay, this time with a pass. He drove the baseline and found a wide open Evan Nolte at the top of the key. Nolte, who has struggled from 3-point range throughout the season but has come up big in big spots before (see Coastal Carolina in the NCAA Tournament last year), drained the long ball to give his team a 64-55 lead. Those two plays opened the flood gates to end the game as UVa closed on a 15-2 run to reach the final 74-57 margin.
“I thought he had good feel today,” Bennett said of Perrantes.
Nolte and redshirt freshman Devon Hall turned in quality performances off the bench. Nolte hit the big second-half triple and played well defensively throughout as well. Hall added 2 points, 1 assist, and 1 turnover in 15 minutes of action, but his ability to be an extra ball-handler helped the Hoos against “Havoc” defense. Hall gave the Cavaliers a lift in the first half with a two-handed dunk and an assist in a quick sequence that helped Virginia start to create some distance.
Mike Tobey, starting in place of an injured Darion Atkins, struggled at times on defense with VCU’s smaller line-up, but finished with 8 points and 8 rebounds (4 defensive, 4 offensive).
VCU’s “Havoc” defense was handled well by Virginia for the most part, though the Rams did force 16 turnovers. Still, the hosts were only able to score 16 points off those turnovers. Virginia capitalized with 10 points against VCU’s press defense. Overall, UVa shot 68.3% from the field while limiting the Rams to 38.3% field goal shooting and 29.2% from 3-point range.
“I thought we were more assertive at the back end of the press this year,” Bennett said. “If we get some of those, that’s everything for us. We had to use their press against them.”
After an extended break for exams, the Cavaliers next hit the court against Cleveland State in Charlottesville on Dec. 18.
