Another Second-Half Meltdown for Cavs

J.R. Reynolds scored 21 points but didn’t get much help.

Two ACC games, two lopsided losses for the Virginia men’s basketball team.

The Cavaliers were crushed by No. 9 Georgia Tech, 92-69, tonight at Alexander Memorial Coliseum in a game that unfolded much like last Sunday’s 89-70 whipping by No. 5 Wake Forest. UVa stayed close for a half, then unraveled after the break and absorbed its worst defeat in four years.

“We lost to a terrific team,” said Virginia coach Pete Gillen. “They’re not going to lose many games.”

Virginia (9-3, 0-2 ACC) played for the third straight game without leading scorer Devin Smith (ankle). The Yellow Jackets (11-2, 2-0 ACC) also played without a key starter, B.J. Elder, but they had plenty of other weapons. Jarrett Jack scored 22 points and four of his teammates finished with 13. Luke Schenscher had 15 rebounds and five of Tech’s 14 blocks.

J.R. Reynolds led the Cavs with a career-high 21 points, but Elton Brown and Sean Singletary again turned in subpar performances. Those two missed 16 of 22 shots.

Once again, Virginia stayed close for a half. Reynolds scored 14 in the first half and Adrian Joseph hit two 3-pointers as the lead changed hands seven times. Georgia Tech led 44-38 at the break, then erupted in the second half.

Jack drained two 3-pointers – giving him a career-high five for the game – and the Jackets opened the half with a 10-2 run. They didn’t let up. Tech went up by 20 after eight minutes and stretched that lead to as many as 32.

The Cavaliers missed 16 of their first 19 shots in the second half and seemed to fall apart on both ends of the court. It was sadly similar to the Wake Forest game six days ago when Virginia trailed 42-37 at the half before the Demon Deacons went on a 15-2 run after the break.

The ‘Hoos shot 29 percent from the field and were outrebounded 54-44. The 23-point margin was UVa’s most lopsided loss since a 102-67 rout at Maryland on March 3, 2001.

“First half I thought we played pretty well. Second half we just couldn’t score,” Gillen said. “They beat us on the break and they beat us on the offensive glass. … Our kids played hard but we couldn’t make a basket.”