By Scott Ratcliffe

Photo by Anthony Esposito

No. 9 Virginia eventually cruised in its season opener against underdog Drexel on Tuesday at John Paul Jones Arena, 89-60, but it wasn’t necessarily all puppies and rainbows for head coach Ryan Odom.

After building a comfortable 51-27 halftime advantage, the Cavaliers opened the second half allowing the Dragons (0-1) to knock down three triples and get within 16 points by the 11:37 mark, when Odom had seen enough and called for a timeout.

To read the rest of this article and even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

   Navigating: Basketball

De Ridder’s Early Point Storm Left Drexel Stunned

Only 140 seconds had ticked off the game clock when Drexel coach Zach Spiker looked up and wondered what had poleaxed his basketball team.

Aaron Roussell

Virginia’s Roussell Gets First Wahoo Win As Women Rout UMES

Kymora Johnson scored 21 points, Breona Hurd and Adeang Ring each had a double-double, and the Virginia Cavaliers (1-0, 0-0) started the Aaron Roussell era with a convincing 87-45 win over UMES at John Paul Jones Arena on Monday night.