Red-hot ‘Hoos score a season high, take care of BC, 78-65

jerryratcliffe.com

Posted on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020, 10:55 pm

Follow Jerry Ratcliffe on Twitter

Advertising inquiries: Connect with us

Email Jerry Ratcliffe: jratcliffe7000@gmail.com

 

File photo by Jon Golden

The nets were scorching at John Paul Jones Arena Wednesday night, as Virginia put up a season-high 78 points behind a superb collective shooting effort to down visiting Boston College, 78-65. All five Cavalier starters posted double figures in scoring to help the team improve its NCAA Tournament chances with just five games left in the regular season.

UVA (18-7, 10-5) also moved a step closer to a potential top-four seed and double-bye in the upcoming ACC Tournament, and has now won three straight games and six of its last seven. Not a bad time to get hot.

Virginia shot a scorching 57.8 percent (26 of 45) for the game, including 58.8 percent (10 for 17) from downtown, both season highs. It was just the third time all season that the Wahoos have shot better than 50 percent from the field, and the second time making at least half of their shots from downtown.

Tomas Woldetensae sank four long balls, Jay Huff nailed three of them, Kody Stattmann connected on two of his three attempts, and Kihei Clark made one too, by accident, kinda. Huff knocked down two in the opening three minutes of the contest to set the tone, and then Clark lobbed one up for the 7-footer moments later, only to see it go through the hoop.

It was that kind of night for the ‘Hoos, for the most part.

UVA led much of the first half and created a little extra cushion with a 15-4 run over the final nine minutes to take a 35-23 lead into the locker room, capped off by back-to-back Woldetensae and Huff deep balls in the final 50 seconds. UVA was 7 for 12 from beyond the arc in the first half.

Clark was whistled for his third personal foul at the 17:32 mark, but the Cavaliers picked up the slack without their floor general. When the 5-foot-9 point guard returned to action, he made sure he made his presence felt.

Clark re-entered with 15:03 showing and immediately went to work with consecutive sweet dishes to Braxton Key down low for easy buckets, then faked a give and took it in himself to the delight of his teammates watching from the bench, giving the ‘Hoos a 13-point lead midway through the second half.

A few moments later, Clark served up a beautiful, one-handed alley-oop dime for Huff, who went up high to gather it and drop it home. Stattmann sank a 3 from the corner to give the Cavaliers their largest lead of the night, 70-50, with 5:20 left. His teammates saluted him with yoga poses from the sideline. The ‘Hoos made 13 of their 19 field-goal attempts in the second half alone.

BC (13-14, 7-9) fought back with eight quick points to get within a dozen with 2:22 to play, causing Tony Bennett to call for a timeout to regroup and send a message to his troops to finish strong after so many late-game collapses.

Clark put the team on his back with seven points over the duration to help seal the deal.

Key (6 of 7 FG) and Clark each finished with 17 points to lead the ‘Hoos, who also made 16 of their 22 free throws on the evening (BC was just 1 for 2 from the line). Key added six rebounds, four blocks and three assists, while Clark had 8 assists to just two turnovers (UVA committed only 9 all night).

Huff, who also had 3 blocks and a game-high 8 rebounds, and Woldetensae each finished with 14 points, while Mamadi Diakite had a relatively quiet game on just 2-of-4 shooting, but still registered 10 points (he was 6 for 8 from the charity stripe), 7 boards, 2 blocks and 2 steals.

BC was without leading scorer Derryck Thornton for the second time this season against the ‘Hoos, as he experienced back spasms in Wednesday’s pregame shootaround. Nik Popovic, who also missed the first meeting with an injury, led all scorers Wednesday with 22 points, including three 3-pointers. Freshman guard Jay Heath added 18 and Jairus Hamilton had 11 for the Eagles, who actually shot the ball pretty well (28 for 61 FG for 45.9 percent; 8 of 22 from long range) and edged the ‘Hoos on the boards, 27-26.

The Cavaliers will try to extend their win streak to four games at noon Saturday with a trip to face Pitt (ESPN2).

Courtesy UVA Media Relations:

­

Team Notes

  • The Cavaliers improved to 18-7, 10-5 ACC
  • UVA has won 10 or more ACC contests in a school-best eight straight seasons
  • UVA scored a season-high 78 points
  • UVA has a three-game winning streak and has won six of its last seven games
  • UVA led 35-23 at halftime, marking its third 12+ halftime margin in ACC play
  • UVA’s 35 first-half points were its most in ACC play (2nd overall – 37 vs. Navy)
  • UVA shot a season-best 58.8 percent from 3-point range (10 of 17)
  • UVA matched a season high with nine blocked shots

Series Notes

  • Virginia is 16-8 all-time vs. Boston College, including a 12-8 ACC mark, in the series that dates back to 1971-72.
  • The Eagles ended the Cavaliers’ six-game winning streak in the series with its 60-53 win on Jan. 7, but UVA has won nine of the last 11 games in the series.
  • UVA is 9-2 against Boston College in Charlottesville, including a six-game winning streak at John Paul Jones Arena.
  • Head coach Tony Bennett is 10-5 all-time against Boston College.

Player Notes

  • Double Figure Scorers: Braxton Key (17), Kihei Clark (17), Tomas Woldetensae (14), Jay Huff (14), Mamadi Diakite (10)
  • UVA had five players in double figures for the first time this season
  • Key had a career-high four blocks
  • Clark (8 assists) moved into ninth on UVA’s single-season list with 154
  • Huff matched his career high with three 3-pointers
  • Huff scored eight of UVA’s first 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers
  • Woldetensae (4 3-pointers) has made four or more 3-pointers in four contests
  • Diakite (1 block) moved into sole possession of second place on UVA’s career blocks list (149)
  • Kody Stattmann made a career-best two 3-pointers