UVA extends home-win streak to 20 with 65-57 triumph over Hokies

By Scott Ratcliffe

All the talk around Wahoo Nation has understandably centered around the road struggles recently, but UVA provided a little home cooking on Wednesday against its biggest foe to temporarily right the ship.

With its bitter rival making the trip from Blacksburg in frigid temperatures, the Virginia men’s basketball team extended the longest home winning streak in the country in front of a packed John Paul Jones Arena. When the dust settled, the Cavaliers got back in the win column, handing Virginia Tech a 65-57 loss in the first installment of this season’s Commonwealth Clash.

With the victory, the impressive JPJ string of consecutive wins stands at 20 (a perfect 10-0 in 2023-24). The Wahoos got key contributions from not only Dante Harris, who returned from a 10-game absence due to an ankle sprain, but also grad-transfer forward Jordan Minor, who matched a team-high with 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting.

It was Minor’s second-consecutive start, and he turned in his best performance yet in a Cavalier uniform, doing the majority of his damage in the second half.

Reece Beekman led the charge on both ends of the floor, posting 16 points of his own while recording a game-high 4 steals.

The Hoos (12-5, 3-3 ACC) forced 15 Hokie turnovers — 10 of ‘em in the first half alone to help build a double-digit advantage by the halftime break.

“We’ve been getting beat pretty handily in our games, and so, obviously, at home we’ve won all of our games…,” said UVA coach Tony Bennett afterwards. “When you’re struggling, you’re just chasing. You’re trying to be competitive first and chasing quality, and there was more quality tonight than we’ve had in a while, so that’s the important thing — and then to have it validated with a win is important.”

Tech (10-7, 2-4) got a couple of quick 3-pointers to take a 6-2 lead, then added another triple from red-hot Sean Pedulla in the opening minutes, but the Cavaliers finally caught fire (albeit briefly) from downtown themselves.

Beekman got it started with his first long ball, then Oklahoma transfer Jake Groves got into the act with two in a row from beyond the arc. Just over a minute later, Beekman nailed another 3 to push the Virginia lead to 19-13 as the Hokies went scoreless for over two minutes and missed 10 of their 11 field-goal attempts during one stretch.

Beekman banked one home late in the half to end a UVA scoring drought of more than three minutes to make it a 25-15 ballgame, but Tech’s Hunter Cattoor beat the first-half buzzer with a 3-ball to pull the visitors within seven at the break.

After Tech cut it to four on a Robbie Beran triple out of the locker room, Virginia answered with an 11-2 run over the next four minutes to extend the lead to 36-23. The spurt was highlighted by a Beekman steal on one end and alley-oop assist to high-flying Ryan Dunn on the other for a monster slam.

From there, VT was able to pull within five points on a few occasions, but the Hoos were able to withstand every punch the Hokies threw at them.

Minor had a lot to do with it on both ends, scoring 11 of his points in the second half, including drawing several whistles and knocking down 6 of 8 from the charity stripe. He flushed home a dunk in transition that energized the JPJ crowd midway through the half, pushing the lead back to double digits, 44-34.

“I think we’ve still got some things to figure out as a team,” said Minor, who had his greatest scoring output since concluding his Merrimack career with 20-straight double-figure performances. “I think we were much more disciplined today than we have been in the past, but we’ve still got some steps to go, so I think it’s definitely a step in the right direction, for sure.”

Prior to his big night Wednesday, Minor’s previous season high came last Saturday against Wake Forest, when he scored 9.

Minor also did a great job defensively on Tech big man Lynn Kidd, who finished the contest with just 2 points (1 for 3 FG, all after halftime) and 2 rebounds, both well under his season averages.

“They were real physical with him,” Tech coach Mike Young said of the Hoos’ defensive gameplan on Kidd, who came in averaging 14.8 points and 7.1 boards a night.

Harris, meanwhile, entered the game to a well-deserved ovation at the 13:46 mark of the opening half, his first action since playing 8 minutes against West Virginia on Nov. 22 in the Fort Myers Tip Off.

The Georgetown transfer immediately made his presence felt, forcing a Pedulla turnover before finding Groves open for one of his two trifectas. Harris later scored on a fallaway baseline jumper, then smoked his defender on the way to the hoop for an easy two. He finished the night with 5 points, a game-high 5 assists, a steal and zero giveaways in 17 minutes off the bench.

“When I’m playing basketball, I don’t really feel it,” Harris said of playing through the pain. “It’s just my adrenaline running. I’m just determined to just go out there and just hoop. … It feels good just to be back on the floor, it’s just a moment I couldn’t wait for.”

First-year forward Blake Buchanan also provided some late sparks, scoring buckets on three-straight possessions down the stretch to keep his team on top. “The Big Potato” had 8 points on 4-of-5 shooting, while Isaac McKneely also added 8 points on the night, and Dunn chipped in 6 points and a game-high 7 boards to go with a block and a steal.

UVA shot 63 percent (15 for 24) from the field in the second half and 46 percent (25 for 54) for the contest. The Hoos made just 4 of 14 (29 percent) from the 3-point line, sinking 11 of 16 free throws (69 percent), and won the battle on the glass, pulling down 33 rebounds to Tech’s 32. Virginia dominated in the paint, outscoring the Hokies, 36-20.

Tech, which shot 39 percent (21 of 54) from the floor and 37 percent from long distance (11 for 30) was led by Pedulla, who nailed 4 triples on the night and scored 13 of his game-high 18 points after halftime, but also committed 7 turnovers. Cattoor added 12 points and Beran had 10, as the two teams will square off again in about a month (Feb. 19) at Cassell Coliseum.

“They’re really good defensively, it’s nothing new,” Young said of the Cavaliers. “It’s nothing tricky, [it’s] right at you and they’re good at it, and I applaud them.”

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia (12-5, 3-3 ACC) owns the nation’s longest home win streak at 20 games
• UVA gained a half point in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash and leads Virginia Tech 5.5-1 overall
• UVA has held 45 straight ACC opponents to fewer than 70 points at John Paul Jones Arena.
• UVA is 10-0 at home and has won 10+ home games for 14 straight seasons
• UVA’s 9-0 run staked them to a 34-21 lead at 16:25
• Virginia led 25-18 at the half
• The 15 points allowed marked a first-half low in ACC action
• UVA had a 13-2 run in the first half
• UVA shot 62.5 percent in the second half
• The Cavaliers had a 36-20 advantage in points in the paint
• The Hoos out-rebounded the Hokies 33-32

Series Notes

• Virginia is 98-59 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 43-13 mark in Charlottesville, in the series that dates to 1914-15
• UVA has a five-game home win streak vs. the Hokies at JPJ
• Head coach Tony Bennett is 19-9 all-time vs. Virginia Tech

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Jordan Minor (16), Reece Beekman (16)
• Minor reached double figures for the 71st time (1st at UVA)
• Minor had a season-high 16 points in his second straight start
• Beekman reached double figures for the 44th time
• Beekman has an eight-game double figure streak
• Beekman tied a season high with four steals
• Dante Harris (5 points) returned to action after missing 10 games with an ankle injury
• Harris had a season-high five assists

UP NEXT

The Hoos will travel to Atlanta for a 6 p.m. tipoff against Georgia Tech on Saturday (ACC Network).