MBB: Cavaliers lethal from long distance in 70-60 win over Villanova

By Scott Ratcliffe

Virginia lit up the nets at CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore Friday, defeating Villanova 70-60 in the Hall Of Fame Series matchup, with a little marksmanship from beyond the arc along the way.

The Cavaliers (3-0) shot 56 percent (14 for 25) from 3-point range, with third-year sharpshooter Isaac McKneely leading the way with a convincing performance from the perimeter.

The Poca, W.Va., native poured in a game-high 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting, including a perfect 6 for 6 from downtown.

After sitting out against Coppin State Monday, Andrew Rohde produced arguably his best game in a Cavalier uniform, adding 13 points and a game-high 4 assists off the bench (5 for 8 FG; 3 for 5 from deep).

Defensively, UVA held the Wildcats (2-3) to 35-percent shooting from the field (19 for 54 FG), and just 28 percent from 3-point land (9 for 32).

The Wahoos used a pair of scoring runs — one in each half — to create separation and build a comfortable advantage after Villanova jumped out to an early lead.

The Wildcats watched a 9-2 lead transform into a 20-11 deficit, as Virginia began to catch fire. The Hoos connected on 7 triples in a row during the first-half stretch, with five different players (McKneely, Rohde, Dai Dai Ames, Elijah Saunders and Jacob Cofie) knocking one down.

McKneely and Rohde each sank another 3 to stretch the UVA lead to 28-16, but Villanova had a 10-3 spurt of its own just before halftime, trimming it to five, 31-26, at the break.

After an Eric Dixon basket made it 39-33 early in the second half, the Hoos responded with a 13-2 run — highlighted by an around-the-horn Cofie 3-ball that exemplified excellent ball movement — to push the advantage back to double digits, 52-35, with 11:40 to play.

The Wildcats cut it to 10 with 6:45 remaining, but McKneely answered with his fifth triple of the evening off a nice Blake Buchanan screen for a 58-45 lead.

Villanova got within a dozen in the closing minutes before McKneely put the finishing touches on the victory with a 4-point play with 2:10 to go. Cofie added a couple of exclamation points with a pair of powerful dunks and a couple free throws in the final two minutes, and Ron Sanchez remained unbeaten as UVA’s head coach.

Virginia, which led by as many as 18 points, shot 51 percent for the game (25 of 49) and 67 percent from the charity stripe (6 for 9), dishing out 14 assists.

The Hoos came up short in the rebounding column, 34-27, as Villanova collected 12 offensive boards on the night. The Wildcats scored 12 points off of 12 Cavalier turnovers, while giving it away 13 times themselves (UVA scored 5 off of those).

Cofie continued his impressive start to the season, finishing with 12 points and 6 rebounds. It was the first-year forward’s third consecutive game scoring in double figures — not a bad way to start his collegiate career.

Saunders had a season-low 5 points (2 for 7 FG) to go with his team-high 6 rebounds. Ames added 8 points, but turned the ball over four times with only one assist across 36 minutes. TJ Power started the contest, but played just 15 minutes, chipping in with 5 points on a perfect shooting night, albeit a small sample size (2 for 2, 1 for 1 from long range), all of which came in the second half.

Dixon led Villanova with 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Jordan Longino was the only other Wildcat in double figures with 10.

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia improved to 3-0 with the non-conference win
• UVA made 14 3-pointers (25 attempts) in the win, most since 15 at Wake Forest on Jan. 21, 2023
• UVA drilled 8 of 14 3-pointers in the first half en route to a 31-26 lead
• UVA went on a 14-2 run to gain a 50-33 lead at 12:12 of the second half
• The eight 3-pointers were most in a half for UVA since making nine in the first half against Notre Dame on Jan. 31, 2024
• UVA is 169-11 when scoring 70 or more points since 2009-10
• UVA is 30-37 all-time against current BIG EAST Conference

Series Notes

• The Cavaliers own a 6-3 advantage over the Wildcats in the all-time series that dates back to 1981.
• UVA is 3-0 against Villanova on neutral courts

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Isaac McKneely (23), Andrew Rohde (13), Jacob Cofie (12)
• McKneely scored in double figures for the third time (29 career) with a season-high 23 points
• McKneely started 6 of 6, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range, and finished 8 of 9 and 6 of 6 from 3
• McKneely set a school record with his 6-of-6 perfect performance from 3-point range, surpassing several other 5-of-5 efforts
• McKneely tied a career high with six 3-pointers
• McKneely tallied his sixth career 20-point game
• Rohde returned to the lineup after missing one game with a back injury
• Rohde matched his UVA highs in points (13) and 3-pointers (3)
• Rohde scored in double figures for the first time (32 career)
• Rohde’s three 3-pointers tied his UVA high set last season against Texas A&M on Nov. 29, 2023
• Cofie has reached double figures in all three games to start his UVA career

UP NEXT

Virginia will head to the Bahamas for a pair of matchups against ranked opponents at the Baha Mar Championship in Nassau. The Hoos will take on No. 11 Tennessee on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network) and either No. 12 Baylor or No. 22 St. John’s on Friday.