MBB: With Bennett looking on, Hoos defeat Holy Cross, 67-41

By Scott Ratcliffe

In a Black Friday matchup at John Paul Jones Arena, Virginia put together a complete performance, defeating Holy Cross, 67-41. Tony Bennett was back in the house at JPJ Friday to see his former team and interim coach Ron Sanchez in action, sitting with UVA Athletics Director Carla Williams, and he had to have been pleased with what he saw.

The Cavaliers, sporting “new” retro uniforms, moved to 5-2 on the season, sharing the basketball in the process to the tune of 20 assists on 24 made baskets.

Dai Dai Ames scored a game-high 16 points to lead the charge, with backcourt mates Andrew Rohde and Isaac McKneely adding 13 points apiece. That trio combined to shoot 50 percent from downtown (8 of 16).

Virginia sank five triples in the first half, using a 16-3 extended scoring run that spanned over six minutes and put the Cavaliers ahead comfortably by 15 on a Rohde 3-ball from the corner to beat the shot clock.

UVA buried three more 3-pointers during that stretch, and then after another 3 from Ames, McKneely got three the old-fashioned way to extend the lead to 30-11 with 4:53 on the clock.

Leading 34-21 at the halftime break, the Hoos kept their foot on the gas, with McKneely sinking a triple to start the second half. Ames followed that up with yet another long ball, as the lead grew to 44-26 by the under-16 media timeout.

First-year forward Jacob Cofie scored two of his six points on the other side of the break on a two-hand dunk, set up by a perfectly placed assist from Taine Murray.

Later in the half, Blake Buchanan got into the act with a jam of his own, assisted nicely by Rohde, then converted a bucket on a pick-and-roll with Ames and was fouled, but couldn’t finish the three-point play.

McKneely followed up with a deep 3-pointer to make it 56-37 with 8:28 to play, and Sanchez eventually pulled his starters and allowed the reserves to get some burn and finish the contest, which was never truly in doubt.

UVA shot at a 44-percent clip (24 of 55) on Friday, knocking down 36 percent (9 of 25) from 3-point range and 83 percent (10 for 12) from the free-throw line.

The Hoos prevailed on the boards by a 37-30 margin and scored 12 points off of 11 Holy Cross turnovers. Virginia committed just 6 turnovers on the evening.

Holy Cross was held to 33 percent from the field (17 for 51) and 23 percent from long distance (5 of 22). The Crusaders (4-4) got a big game from freshman guard Max Green (16 points; 4 for 7 from 3-point land) and not much else, aside from senior Caleb Kenney’s 10 points and team-high 5 rebounds. Their teammates combined to shoot 22 percent from the field (6 for 27) and 7 percent from beyond the arc (1 for 15).

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• UVA improved to 5-2
• UVA is 117-2, including a 2-0 mark in 2024-25, when limiting foes to fewer than 50 points since 2009-10.
• The Cavaliers are 5-0 vs. unranked opponents this season and 102-10 in non-conference action at John Paul Jones Arena since 2009-10
• UVA had a season-low six turnovers
• UVA made nine 3-pointers and has made six or more in each of its seven games
• UVA shot 46.4 percent en route to a 34-21 halftime lead
• UVA went on a 19-4 run to gain a 30-11 lead
• UVA forced one shot clock violation (3 in 2024-25)
• UVA out-rebounded Holy Cross 37-30 and registered assists on 20 made field goals
• UVA limited Holy Cross to 33.3 percent shooting (17 of 51), marking the fifth time the Cavaliers have limited their opponent to less than 40 percent shooting

Series Notes

• Virginia is 1-0 all-time vs. Holy Cross

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Dai Dai Ames (16), Andrew Rohde (13), Isaac McKneely (13)
• Ames matched a career high with 16 points
• Ames scored in double figures for the fourth time (12 career)
• Rohde scored in double figures for the fourth time (35 career)
• McKneely scored in double figures for the sixth time (32 career)
• Rohde (3 3-pointers) has made multiple 3-pointers in four games
• McKneely (3 3-pointers) has made multiple 3-pointers in five games
• Desmond Roberts (2 points) scored his first career points
• Elijah Saunders and Blake Buchanan led UVA with six rebounds each

UP NEXT

Virginia will travel south to face Florida (ESPN2) as part of the second annual ACC/SEC Challenge on Wednesday at 7:15 p.m.