McKneely, Dunn lead the way as Hoos dismantle Monmouth, 89-42

By Scott Ratcliffe

Virginia put together an all-around dominant performance Friday night at John Paul Jones Arena, cruising past Monmouth, 89-42.

The 18th-ranked Cavaliers (2-0) spread out the production, with nine players scoring at least 7 points. A pair of freshmen led the way, with Isaac McKneely putting up a game-high 15 points and Ryan Dunn adding 13 in his collegiate debut.

The Hawks (0-2) ran into a buzz saw, as the Cavalier defense forced 21 Monmouth turnovers and turned them into 35 points on the other end.

After building a 21-point halftime advantage, the Wahoos turned up the defense early in the second half, as Kadin Shedrick came away with a steal that led to a Reece Beekman-to-Armaan Franklin alley-oop in transition to push the lead to 27.

Franklin nailed a 3-pointer before another Shedrick steal, and then Ohio grad transfer Ben Vander Plas drilled a corner 3 to push the lead to 30. Dunn made it 11-unanswered Cavalier points with a drive to the hole with 14:58 to play.

McKneely pushed the lead to 60-25 with his third triple of the night, then Dunn scored on a give-and-go with Taine Murray on the fast break, as UVA led by 40, 67-27, with 10:25 remaining, capping an impressive 21-2 Wahoo run.

After Monmouth finally temporarily stopped the bleeding, Beekman buried another 3-pointer, marking the Hoos’ second-straight game with at least 11 made triples, a feat they didn’t accomplish once all of last season.

McKneely added another long ball — his fourth of the game — off of a nice assist from Chase Coleman, and then Murray put one home to make it 79-35 just before the five-minute mark.

Walk-on forward Tristan How scored his first point as a Cavalier, splitting a pair of free throws with 3:08 to go, and then made his first field goal on a putback with 1:26 left. Dunn put the icing on the cake with a steal and a fast-break slam with time winding down.

Virginia shot a whopping 56 percent (30 for 54) on the evening and 52 percent (13 of 25) from beyond the arc. The Hoos dished out 23 assists on the night.

Vander Plas had 10 points, Jayden Gardner and Shedrick each had 9, Kihei Clark and Franklin added 8 apiece, while Beekman and Murray each finished with 7 in the comfortable victory.

FIRST HALF

Franklin picked up right where he left off in the season opener, knocking down his first 3-point attempt of the game after Monmouth scored the game’s first 4 points.

Gardner, who only scored 3 points on 0-for-4 shooting against NC Central in the opener, converted his first field-goal attempt of the game Friday against the Hawks, but the Cavaliers still trailed, 8-5, going into the first media timeout. Monmouth sank 4 of its first 5 shots from the field.

A Clark 3-pointer at the 13:44 mark tied the score at 10-10, made possible by a tap-out offensive rebound by Gardner. After a Monmouth 3 on the other end, Vander Plas located McKneely alone in the corner for another triple the next trip down.

Vander Plas again found the freshman sharpshooter in the same spot for another 3-ball, giving UVA a 17-13 edge with 11:38 left in the half.

Dunn scored his first points as a Wahoo, sinking a 3-pointer on the right wing off of a nice assist by Clark, and then Clark got his defender in the air with a pump-fake before knocking down 3 more to cap an 8-0 spurt and stretch the lead to 27-17 with 8:42 until halftime. The Cavaliers made six-straight baskets at one point.

Dunn, who didn’t play Monday, was helping fill in for Francisco Caffaro, who is away from the Hoos for a few days while competing with the Argentinian National Team.

”I was really glad to see Ryan get out there, and you saw his length and athleticism, which was good, and defensively he made some plays,” said UVA coach Tony Bennett.

Shedrick swatted a Myles Ruth layup attempt on one end and then added a pair of free throws on the other, giving the Hoos a 29-17 lead just before the UVA defense forced a shot-clock violation ahead of the under-8 timeout.

Clark served up Shedrick for an alley-oop jam off of a pick-and-roll to extend the lead to 14 out of the break.

Beekman got into the scoring column with a runner in the lane, and then Vander Plas scored on a pretty reverse lay-in on the ensuing possession, and Virginia led 37-21 at the final media timeout with 3:44 on the clock.

Vander Plas put on the finishing touches with a long ball with 1:10 to go, as the Cavaliers doubled up the Hawks, 42-21, at the half. Virginia forced 9 first-half turnovers and shot 46 percent (12 for 26) in the half, including a 47-percent clip (7 of 13) from downtown.

Box Score

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia (2-0) scored its most points since an 89-54 win vs. Towson in the 2020-21 opener
• The 47-point win was UVA’s largest since a 57-point win (97-40) win over Coppin State in 2018-19
• UVA is 89-10 at JPJ in non-conference action under Tony Bennett
• Bennett registered his 387th career win and 318th at UVA
• UVA is 37-1 when scoring 80 or more under Bennett
• UVA is 107-2, when limiting foes to fewer then 50 points during the Tony Bennett era.
• Bennett-coached teams are 132-3 when holding opponents to fewer than 50 points (25-1 in three years at Washington State).
• UVA went 13 of 25 from 3-point range, including 7 of 15 in the first half
• UVA’s 13 3-pointers were its most since making 14 vs. Syracuse on Jan. 25, 2021
• UVA went on a 12-0 run to take a 31-17 lead and led 42-21 at the half
• UVA forced two shot clock violations
• UVA held Monmouth scoreless for the last 4:33 of the first half
• UVA started the second half with a 19-4 run

Series Notes

• Virginia is 2-0 all-time vs. Monmouth

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Isaac McKneely (15), Ryan Dunn (13), Ben Vander Plas (10)
• Ryan Dunn had 13 points, six rebounds, three blocks and two steals in his collegiate debut
• McKneely reached double figures for the first time
• Vander Plas reached double figures for the 86th time (1st at UVA)
• Reece Beekman (6 assists) has handed out five more assists in eight consecutive games dating back to last season
• Beekman matched a career high with two blocks
• Kadin Shedrick matched a career high with three steals
• Tristan How (3 points) made his collegiate debut

UP NEXT

The Hoos are back at JPJ on Monday night against Northern Iowa (ACC Network). Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m.