Brogdon Scores 1,000th Point As UVa Tops Pitt

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Malcolm Brogdon’s 18 points helped UVa take care of Pittsburgh on Monday. ~ Mike Ingalls

With snow steadily falling outside the John Paul Jones Arena, Virginia steadily went about its business inside the building Monday night. The No. 2 Cavaliers led for 37:21 and pulled away for good in the final eight minutes to dispatch Pittsburgh, 61-49.

UVa is now 11-0 this season and 46-2 under Tony Bennett when holding the opponent to less than 50 points.

“I thought our defense was really good,” Bennett said. “Our guys were charged up. We were bothering shots, and we just made them earn everything. We certainly respected their ability and how hot they have been, so our guys responded to the challenge. They knew they would have to scramble, fight, and bring a little more. We got torched a little bit against Wake forest’s ability to shoot that three and I thought we were better on our rotations, and being there on the catch tonight.”

Junior Malcolm Brogdon, perhaps the steadiest Cavalier of all, set the tone once again for the Hoos. He tallied 18 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. He made 5 of 10 shots overall and didn’t miss a 3-pointer (2-2) or a free throw (6-6). Brogdon was good from start to finish Monday. He gave UVa the lead for the first time and for good with a 3-pointer that made it 5-4 and helped ice the game late at the free throw line.

Along the way, Brogdon drove baseline and jammed home a dunk for the second year in a row against Pitt. He also surpassed the 1,000-point scoring plateau for his career, the 45th player in program history to accomplish that milestone. Brogdon has scored in double figures in 31 of his last 34 ACC games and he has averaged 15.5 over the last six outings.

“It means a lot. I remember Joe [Harris] and Mike Scott getting their 1000th point and it’s a moment I have to say thank you to all of the people along the way,” Brogdon said. “It is not just me. It’s my family, my mom, my brothers, my coaches and my teammates who have all helped me along the way. This is a moment of gratitude for me.”

As usual with UVa’s winning formula, Brogdon was far from a one-man show, though. Anthony Gill and London Perrantes joined him in double figures for scoring. Gill posted 12 points, 6 rebounds, and 1 assist while making 6 of 8 free throws. Perrantes added 10 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals.

When Pitt climbed to within three points at 36-33 near the 8:00 mark, those two delivered some huge plays. Gill caught a pass from Brogdon and converted two free throws after getting fouled. Perrantes, meanwhile, drove three times to produce a trip to the line (1-2 free throws), a layup, and an assist to Marial Shayok (6 points, 4 rebounds) on a 3-point bomb. That 8-0 surge quickly pushed the lead back to 44-33 and Virginia never looked back.

“London was very clever. He took the right shots and had a good feel for the game in terms of what shots to take, when to attack, and when to make the passes,” Bennett said. “He got us some easy buckets. That is what this is about. We get some easy shots off of his playmaking ability.”

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Darion Atkins recorded 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots for the Hoos. ~ Mike Ingalls

Pitt, on the other hand, didn’t get too many easy shots against Virginia’s defense. The Cavaliers held the Panthers to 38.6% shooting (17 of 44). That included a staunch effort in the first half where UVa allowed only 6 field goals on 17 attempts (35.3%). The Panthers found a little success behind the 3-point line (6 of 16/37.5%), but that was a much better defensive showing than Saturday when Wake Forest nailed 10 shots from downtown at a 41.7% clip.
Virginia senior Darion Atkins provided a big lift on that end of the floor. Atkins was active throughout, grabbed 5 defensive rebounds (6 boards total), and blocked 4 shots. That included a massive block during the aforementioned 8-0 run that helped UVa put the game out of reach for good. Atkins leads the team in blocks this season with 27.

“The last two games we did not perform defensively, and I think we came out right away and put our foot down on the defensive end tonight,” Atkins said.

Final Stats