Stefanovic, Purdue Hand Cavaliers First Loss Since March, 69-40

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Posted on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019, 10:59 pm

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File photo by Jon Golden

In West Lafayette, Ind., No. 5 Virginia dropped its first game since March Wednesday night, as Purdue rolled to a 69-40 home victory over the Cavaliers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

The unranked Boilermakers (5-3) got a huge night from reserve guard Sasha Stefanovic, who came out firing in his first career start and sank the Wahoos (7-1) with the long ball. He and High Point University transfer Jahaad Proctor nearly outscored UVA themselves, combining for 36 points — 24 of which came from downtown — on the evening.

UVA started slow offensively and couldn’t hold onto the rock to begin the contest, and Matt Painter’s squad made the ‘Hoos pay for their miscues early and often. Purdue built a double-digit advantage midway through the opening half and Virginia just couldn’t get back into the ballgame, as the team’s poor perimeter shooting and overall inexperience showed from the jump in one of the most hostile environments the team is likely to face all season.

Stefanovic, who came into the contest averaging just 6.7 points on the season, nailed three long balls by the game’s first media timeout, and the raucous Mackey Arena crowd was electric from the start, with the taste of last season’s loss to the ‘Hoos in the Elite Eight still on their minds.

Their Boilermakers delivered a behind-the-woodshed beatdown Wednesday reminiscent of Tennessee’s 35-point blowout win over Bennett’s bunch back in the 2013-14 season.

When Purdue finally started missing some shots, Virginia was able to get within 14-9 by the under-12 timeout. That’s the closest it would get for the remainder of the contest, and about the same time Proctor caught fire.

Proctor connected on a jumper out of the timeout, then scored again following a UVA shot-clock violation before nailing a 3-ball that stretched the early lead to 21-9.

The Wahoos made just 1 of their first 11 from deep before yet another 3-point miss by Jay Huff out of the under-8 media break and Purdue 7-footer Matt Haarms made it a 14-point game, as UVA simply couldn’t buy a basket.

With 3:42 left in the first half, Mamadi Diakite finally stopped the Cavaliers’ bleeding with an inside take that ended a 9-minute, 8-second scoreless spurt.

Haarms sent the crowd into a frenzy when he buried another triple just before halftime to extend the lead to 15 at the break.

A Casey Morsell jumper gave the ‘Hoos a little spark to begin the second half, but another Stefanovic 3-ball,  combined with a Haarms putback in transition off of a Diakite turnover, made it 37-19.

Diakite missed a pair of free throws, then gave it away again, leading to an Eric Hunter Jr. 3-pointer that pushed the lead to 40-19 before a Huff 3 — his second of the night — temporarily quieted the crowd at the 16:00 mark.

Hunter Jr. hit another deep ball out of the break, however, pushing the Purdue lead back to 21, and it got loud again in a hurry.

Huff caught a nice lob from Kihei Clark and laid it home and then Morsell’s tough, contested 3-ball cut the Boilermakers’ advantage to 45-30 to cap an 8-2 Wahoo run, but Haarms nailed another big 3-ball of his own on the ensuing trip.

With just over nine minutes to play, Stefanovic came off of a solid screen to swish his longest triple of the night. Moments later, Nojel Eastern’s steal and score extended it to 55-36 with 6:49 to go, and the place was once again jumping. Stefanovic delivered the final dagger from beyond the arc with 1:07 to go for the biggest deficit Virginia has faced in a long time — 31 points.

Stefanovic’s game-high 20 points also bested his career high by six points, while Proctor (16 points) scored in double figures for the 24th consecutive game. Haarms added 11 points and Hunter Jr. had 10, as Purdue finished the game shooting 45 percent (24 for 53) from the field and 52 percent from long range (13 of 25). The Boilermakers, who ultimately ended Virginia’s 13-game win streak and snapped a run of five straight Wahoo wins in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, outscored the Cavaliers, 18-10, in the paint.

Huff’s 11 points led the ‘Hoos, while Diakite (10 points) was the only other Cavalier in double figures. The senior forward did not score after halftime (0 for 4 FG).

UVA shot 37 percent (16 for 43) on the evening, 17 percent from downtown (4 for 24), and was out-rebounded (31-26) for the second straight game while committing 16 turnovers — which Purdue converted into 15 points — in the team’s second consecutive contest without senior forward Braxton Key (wrist).

Courtesy UVA Media Relations:

Team Notes

  • Virginia is 13-7 all-time in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge
  • UVA’s five-game winning streak in the Challenge ended
  • Tony Bennett is 8-3 in the Challenge
  • Virginia’s 17 first-half points were its fewest in a half since 17 in the first half vs. Florida on March 18, 2017
  • UVA allowed a season-high 69 points

Series Notes

  • Virginia is 2-2 all-time vs. Purdue, including a 1-2 mark in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge

Player Notes

  • Double-figure scorers: Jay Huff (11), Mamadi Diakite (10)
  • Justin McKoy had a season-high six points (3-3 FG) off the bench
  • Kody Stattmann returned to action after missing four games with an illness
  • Braxton Key missed his second straight game with a wrist injury