By Scott Ratcliffe

No. 6 Virginia shook off its largest deficit of the season, rallying for a hard-fought, 87-83 victory at Maryland on Friday night at the hostile, rowdy and red-clad Xfinity Center in College Park, Md.

The Cavaliers (5-0) remained unblemished, shooting an eye-popping 76 percent from the field in the second half after trailing by double digits at the break, in a physical contest that saw 50 combined foul calls and 66 free-throw attempts.

Sam Lewis was the catalyst offensively, pouring in a career-high 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting (8 of 9 after halftime), doing most of his damage in the paint in the second half. He misfired on both of his 3-point tries, but matched a game high with 7 rebounds.

In its second trip to the DMV in less than a week and its first true road test of the campaign, UVA turned up the intensity on both ends and kept the pedal to the floor across the entire second half, as the former-ACC-rival Terrapins are off to a 1-2 start in year two under Buzz Williams.

The Wahoos trailed by a 47-36 margin at halftime, but battled back behind Lewis, Thijs De Ridder (20 points on 8-for-13 shooting; 2 for 3 3PT and 7 rebounds), Chance Mallory (12 points, 4 for 6 FG; 2 of 3 from deep, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, 3 turnovers) and Johann Grünloh (15 points on 4-of-9 shooting, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks).

Virginia had whittled the Maryland lead down to four points, 57-53, on a De Ridder bucket before the Terrapins scored six unanswered to push it back to 10 as the game clock went under 13 minutes.

UVA responded with a 14-4 spurt to tie the ballgame at 67-apiece by the seven-minute mark (the first tie since it was 9-9). Mallory nailed a 3-pointer on the following possession to give Virginia its first lead since it was 5-4.

Lewis saved his best for last, scoring eight of his points from in close as part of a crunch-time stretch that saw the Cavaliers connect on seven consecutive shots from the field, transforming a 71-70 deficit to an 85-77 advantage on a dagger De Ridder triple with 1:33 to play.

The Hoos shot 62 percent on the evening (33 for 53), including 40 percent from downtown (4 for 10) and 63 percent (17 for 27) from the charity stripe, outrebounding the Terps, 35-26. Virginia racked up 58 points in the paint, compared to 36 for the home team.

Maryland, which led for 75 percent of the game and shot at a 42-percent clip overall (24 for 57) and 24 percent from beyond the arc (4 of 17), was led by Pharell Payne’s 20 points. Kaden House (17 points) and Mike McNair (15 points) led the charge off the Terps bench, which outscored Virginia’s, 42-12. The Terps made good on 31 of 39 attempts from the foul line (79 percent).

UP NEXT

The Hoos return to John Paul Jones Arena on Tuesday for a 9-p.m. tip against Old Dominion (ACC Network).

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• No. 6 Virginia improved to 5-0, 1-0 in true road games
• UVA is 5-0 for the second straight season under Ryan Odom
• The Cavaliers are 24-2 under Odom when scoring 80 or more points
• UVA has scored at least 87 points in each game
• UVA shot a season-high 62.3% (33 of 53)
• UVA shot 76.9% (20 of 26) in the second half
• UVA gained a 70-69 lead on a Chance Mallory 3-pointer
• UVA’s 9-0 run cut Maryland’s lead to 63-62
• UVA trailed at the half (47-36) for the first time
• The 11-point deficit marked the largest for UVA in 2026-27
• UVA’s 36 first half points marked a low for any half this season
• UVA committed 27 fouls and Maryland converted 31 of 39 free throws
• UVA’s four 3-pointers tied for its lowest under Odom (4 at Boston College last year)
• UVA’s 10 3-point attempts were a low under Odom (previous low was 18 vs. Ohio State last year)

Series Notes

• Virginia is 78-108 all-time vs. Maryland in a series that dates back to 1912-13
• UVA has won 10 of the last 11 meetings
• The Cavaliers are 27-62 vs. the Terrapins in College Park, including a three-game win streak at XFINITY Center
• UVA 87 points were its most vs. Maryland since 91 in 2008
• UVA has scored 76 points or more in each of the last four contests
• The last nine meetings between the teams have been decided by 11 or fewer points

Player Notes

• Double-Figure Scorers: Sam Lewis (28), Thijs De Ridder (20), Johann Grünloh (15), Chance Mallory (12)
• Lewis scored a career-high 28 points
• Lewis reached double figures for the fourth time (58 career)
• Lewis netted his third 20-point effort (16th career)
• De Ridder netted his second 20-point game (15th career)
• De Ridder has reached double figures in all five games (33 career)
• Grünloh has reached double figures in all five games (14 career)
• Grunloh had career highs in free throws made (7) and attempted (11)
• Grünloh had a team-high seven rebounds
• Grünloh (3 blocks) has 2+ blocks in 24 career games
• Mallory reached double figures for the fourth time (24 career)
• UVA had four players in double figures for the fifth consecutive game
• Mallory and Nolan Adekunle each fouled out of the game
• Adekunle, Mallory, De Ridder, Grünloh and Lewis and have started all five games

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