UVA Begins Battle 4 Atlantis With 74-52 Win Over Middle Tennessee

Posted on Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018, 12:48 am

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The No. 4 Virginia basketball team nearly got its first triple-double since Ralph Sampson in 1979 as the Cavaliers knocked off Middle Tennessee, 74-52, in the opening round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Nassau, Bahamas.

Second-year forward De’Andre Hunter put up 15 points, 8 rebounds and a career-high 9 assists against the Blue Raiders in his 35 minutes. He left to a well-deserved ovation with 2:30 remaining after coming oh, so close to registering only the 4th triple-double in UVA history, with the last two coming from Sampson in 1979 (the other from Bill Miller in 1955).

With the win, the Wahoos (4-0) will face Dayton in Thursday’s second semifinal at 4 p.m. on ESPN. Oklahoma will tangle with 25th-ranked Wisconsin in the first semifinal.

Hunter picked up where he left off Friday night against Coppin State, scoring 11 points in the first half as the ‘Hoos jumped out to a quick 9-0 start and never trailed. Kyle Guy matched Hunter’s game high of 15, including scoring the game’s first five points in the opening two minutes, and added a team-high three steals.

Senior center Jack Salt returned to action after sitting out Friday with back stiffness. Salt relieved starter Mamadi Diakite, who again picked up a quick pair of fouls by the first media timeout and was forced to sit out much of the first half.

Virginia used a 9-0 spurt to grab its largest lead of the first half, 30-9, with 8:36 left before going cold. UVA got a Kihei Clark 3-pointer with 9:05 to go in the half and didn’t make another shot from the field until Hunter buried his second corner triple with 3:55 left.

The Blue Raiders (3-2) took advantage with a 14-3 run of their own to get back within 10 and trailed by 13 at the break.

The Wahoos shot 56 percent from the floor in the opening half, despite the scoring drought.

Middle Tennessee’s leading scorer Antonio Green, who came in averaging 22.3 points a game, was held to just 3 points on 1-for-3 shooting over the first 20 minutes. Green started the second half with a desperation 3 with the shot clock winding down, and then Reggie Scurry followed with a bucket down low to cut Virginia’s lead to single digits, 38-30, in the opening two minutes.

UVA reeled off nine unanswered to regain a comfortable advantage and the Raiders never got any closer than 11 the rest of the night.

Junior Braxton Key had his highest scoring output as a Cavalier, scoring 13 points to go with his seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. He showed his tenacity and determination on a third-chance three-point play with just over eight minutes to go that put the ‘Hoos up 60-40. He scored 10 of his 13 in the final 10:06, and also had a sweet dish to Diakite for an easy slam.

Green led Middle Tennessee with 11 points — eight of which came in the second half — on 4-for-12 shooting. Scurry was the only other player in double figures with 10.

Virginia shot 46 percent (26 for 56) for the game, including 35 percent (8 for 23) from downtown, out-rebounding the Blue Raiders 38-26 in the process. The ‘Hoos scored 25 points off of 15 Middle Tennessee turnovers.

Diakite finished with 8 points in just 17 minutes. Ty Jerome scored a season-low 7 points on 2-of-5 shooting, dishing out three assists. Clark added 7 points, and Salt grabbed four points and four boards in 14 minutes off the bench.

UVA has now won 12 straight in-season tournament games dating back to 2013, and has won a nation-best 22 straight games in the month of November.