MBB: Cavaliers bounce back with 73-57 road win against Panthers

By Scott Ratcliffe

Dai Dai Ames set a new career high in scoring to lead Virginia to an inspired, convincing, 73-57 road win at Pittsburgh on Big Monday.

Ames, who entered Monday’s contest averaging 6.2 points per game this season, matched his previous career high of 16 — in the first half. The Chicago native wound up with 27 to lead all scorers, as the Cavaliers (11-12, 4-8 ACC) earned their first quad-1 victory of the season (1-7).

The Panthers (14-8, 5-6) fell to 10-3 at the Petersen Events Center this season, as they went scoreless for over seven minutes in the first half while the Wahoos took advantage. UVA rattled off 17 unanswered points to quiet the crowd and build a comfortable lead that would not be cut back to single digits the rest of the night.

Trailing 4-1 in the opening minutes, Ron Sanchez’s troops caught fire, taking an 18-4 advantage midway through the half on an Ames drive to cap the decisive run.

The lead grew to 30-10 after consecutive buckets by Ames with 4:44 until halftime, and he scored the final bucket of the period with 27 seconds left, as the Hoos took a 34-19 lead into the break. Pitt had just as many turnovers in the first half (6) as made field goals, shooting just 30 percent overall and 14 percent (1 of 7 from 3-point range).

Ames sank a triple to extend the UVA lead to 42-22 and set his new career high before the first media timeout of the second half. Moments later, Andrew Rohde got into the act with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it a 50-33 ballgame.

With the contest under control, Ames wasn’t quite finished, scoring on a layup, elbow jumper and exclamation-point dunk with 2:36 remaining for the final UVA basket.

Aside from the huge night from the Kansas State transfer, Rohde flirted with a triple-double (9 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds) while Blake Buchanan notched a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in addition to 2 blocks, 2 steals and 2 assists. First-year big man Anthony Robinson added 9 points and 6 rebounds (both career highs) in 17 productive minutes off the bench, while Isaac McKneely (8 points, 4 assists) failed to reach double figures for the first time in five games.

Virginia shot 56 percent on the evening (28 for 50), including 46 percent from long range (10 of 22) and 64 percent from the charity stripe (7 for 11), dominating the glass by a 33-21 margin. UVA assisted on 20 of the 28 made field goals. The Cavaliers also outscored Pitt in the paint, 28-18, and scored 12 points off of 10 Panther giveaways.

Jeff Capel’s squad was held to 42-percent shooting (18 of 43) from the field, 30 percent from 3-point land (6 for 20) and 71 percent from the foul line (15 for 21). Senior guard Ishmael Leggett (17 points) was Pitt’s lone player in double-figures scoring.

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• The Cavaliers improved to 11-12 overall, 4-8 ACC
• UVA is 3-7 away from home, including a 2-5 mark in ACC road games
• UVA shot 56 percent from the field, including 45.5 percent from 3-point range (10 of 22)
• UVA’s first half 17-0 scoring run was its longest since another 17-point run at Georgia Tech on Jan. 20, 2024
• UVA led 34-19 at the half, shooting 56.5 percent from the field
• The 19 first-half points by Pitt marked a season low for UVA in ACC play
• UVA (10 3-pointers) has made six or more 3-pointers in 21 games
• Virginia is 174-12 all-time when scoring 70 or more points since 2009-10 (6-1 in 2024-25)
• UVA won the rebound battle 33-21

Series Notes

• UVA is 20-6 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates to 1957
• UVA is 9-4 against the Panthers in Pittsburgh
• The win ended Pitt’s two-game win streak in the series
• UVA has won nine of the last 11 contests in the series
• Virginia has won 16 of the last 19 games against Pitt
• UVA is 13-3 against Pitt since 2013-14 when the Panthers joined the ACC

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Dai Dai Ames (27), Blake Buchanan (10)
• Ames scored a career-high 27 points
• Ames shot 11 of 16 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range and 2 of 2 from the foul line
• Ames scored 16 of his points in the first half
• Ames reached double figures for the sixth time (14 career)
• Isaac McKneely (8 points) has made multiple 3-pointers in 16 games
• Blake Buchanan reached double figures for the fifth time (6 career)
• Buchanan added 11 rebounds for his second double-double
• Andrew Rohde (9 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds) returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench against Virginia Tech
• Rohde had a career-high nine assists
• Anthony Robinson scored a season-high nine points off the bench
• Elijah Saunders missed his third straight game due to injury

UP NEXT

Virginia will host Georgia Tech on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. (The CW Network), as the team will be honoring former head coach Tony Bennett during a halftime ceremony.