MBB: Hoos overcome slow start for 59-41 bounceback win over Bethune-Cookman

By Scott Ratcliffe

It took a while to get things going, but Virginia made up for it in the second half of its 59-41 win Thursday over Bethune-Cookman at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers (6-4) put a forgettable first half behind them and closed strong, ending the contest on a 25-4 scoring run that spanned the final nine minutes and change.

The Wildcats (2-7) took a 37-34 lead on a Trey Thomas 3-pointer that bounced sky-high and in, as it felt like an upset was brewing at the midway point of the second half.

In fact, UVA didn’t claim its first lead of the ballgame until an Elijah Saunders triple made it 30-29 at the 14:50 mark of the second half. Virginia, playing without floor general Dai Dai Ames (ankle), once again had a hard time holding onto the rock, coughing it up eight times in the opening half alone, but settled down after halftime and walked away with a comfortable victory.

Saunders came alive in the second half, scoring 13 of his game-high 15 points, as the Cavaliers gave the ball away only three times over the final 20 minutes.

Interim head coach Ron Sanchez also got huge contributions from his first-year pieces, as Ishan Sharma carried the load offensively to keep the Hoos around early and wound up with a career-high 12 points, all from downtown (4 for 7). Jacob Cofie added his second double-double of his young college career, finishing with a dozen points and a game-high 10 boards.

“I felt like a lot of us were asleep and weren’t ready to start off the game,” the Seattle native said of the second-half response, “and we came out and showed out.”

After a Blake Buchanan dunk tied it at 2-2 in the opening minutes, the Hoos wouldn’t score again for nearly eight minutes, as Bethune-Cookman built an early 10-2 advantage before Buchanan split a pair of free throws with 10:03 on the first-half clock.

Virginia didn’t knock down a field goal until Sharma finally sank a 3-ball with 7:48 left in the half, misfiring on 14 of the first 15 attempts. The eight giveaways led to nine Wildcat points, and the Cavaliers trailed 14-6 after a Reggie Ward Jr. bucket before an 8-0 flurry of their own — highlighted by back-to-back Sharma 3s — tied it up with four minutes left until halftime.

“Just try to go in and impact doing whatever I can, give them a spark, give them some energy, make some plays, be sound with the ball, play good defense,” Sharma said of his performance. “Just try to come in and give life.”

The visitors took a 21-18 lead into the locker room after Brayon Freeman came up with a steal and score to end the half. UVA shot 28 percent (7 for 25) from the field in the opening half, with everyone not named Sharma going 0 for 11 from long range.

“I think our defense kept us in there … and then we just had to battle in the [second half],” said Sanchez. “That was the message at halftime, was just keep guarding, we’re going to find ways to score, we’re going to find a rhythm, and I think they did a really good job of handling the adversity that they faced in the first half, because they could’ve kind of faltered there.”

The Wildcats scored the first four points of the second half before a 9-2 UVA spurt — capped by an Isaac McKneely’s first 3-pointer of the night — knotted the score at 27-apiece.

After the aforementioned 3 from Thomas fell through with just over 10 minutes to play, the Hoos responded with 12 unanswered points over the next three minutes to take a 46-37 lead with 7:24 left.

Freeman connected on a pair of baskets to get his team back within five with 5:48 to go, but the Cavaliers closed the game on a 13-0 run and escaped with the win.

UVA shot 60 percent (15 of 25) from the field after halftime, including 50 percent from long distance (4 for 8) after the nightmarish start, off the heels of consecutive double-digit losses.

“The truth is, losing kind of teaches you some things, and through adversity is where you grow,” Sanchez said.

For the game, Sanchez’s squad went 22 for 50 (44 percent) and 7 of 23 (30 percent) from beyond the arc, knocking down 8 of 12 (67 percent) from the charity stripe. The Hoos dominated on the glass, 33-29, turning 10 offensive boards into 14 points, and outscored the Wildcats 30-22 in the paint.

Freeman was the only Bethune-Cookman player in double figures, finishing with 14 points (6 for 19 FG) in the losing effort.

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Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia improved to 6-4 overall
• UVA is 5-0 at home and owns a 103-10 record in non-conference action at John Paul Jones Arena since 2009-10
• UVA is 118-2, including a 3-0 mark in 2024-25, when limiting foes to fewer than 50 points since 2009-10
• The win ended the Cavaliers’ second two-game losing streak
• UVA went on a 12-0 run to gain a 46-37 lead
• UVA gained its first lead at 30-29
• Bethune-Cookman led 21-18 at the half
• UVA started 1 of 15 from the field and finished the half 7 of 25
• UVA made seven 3-pointers and has made six or more in each of its 10 games

Series Notes

• The Cavaliers are 2-0 all-time against Bethune-Cookman
• Virginia defeated Bethune-Cookman 109-49 at University Hall in the other meeting on Dec. 8, 1994.

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Elijah Saunders (15), Ishan Sharma (12), Jacob Cofie (12)
• Cofie added 10 rebounds for his second career double-double
• Cofie reached double figures for the fifth time
• Saunders reached double figures for the fifth time (12 career)
• Saunders matched a career high with eight rebounds
• Sharma had a season-high 12 points
• Sharma made a season-high four 3-pointers
• Sharma reached double figures for the first time
• Blake Buchanan had a career-high nine rebounds
• Taine Murray made his third career start and first of 2024-25
• Dai Dai Ames missed the game with an ankle injury
• Eli Bennett made his collegiate debut and contributed one steal

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will look to keep the momentum rolling when they host Memphis on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.