UVA reserves answer bell, but McKneely rings it

By Jerry Ratcliffe

The last thing Ron Sanchez wanted to see on Virginia’s road trip to Miami on Monday was to look over at his bench where two of his top three scorers were wearing protective boots instead of sneakers.

Starting point guard Andrew Rohde (team assists leader and third-leading scorer at 8.7 ppg) and Elijah Saunders (second-leading scorer at 11.8 and the team’s leading rebounder), couldn’t answer the bell, meaning that if UVA wanted to end its losing streak on the road against a winless Miami team (in conference play), it would have to rely on its bench to pull off some magic.

Sanchez relied on that ancient axiom of next man up to rally his team, and it worked. Taine Murray, the Kiwi, delivered a career-high 20 points (8 for 12, 4 of 6 from beyond the arc) and a game-high 7 assists in 36 minutes, while 6-foot-11 sophomore Blake Buchanan continued his improved play with 16 points (6 for 8) and 9 rebounds on his birthday to help lift the Cavaliers to an 82-71 win (for a nuts-and-bolts description of the game, full box score and notebook, click here).

Murray had only been averaging 3.7 points per game, and Buchanan, making his first start since Dec. 22, averaged 5.4 and 5.1 boards per game.

“The message was simple,” Sanchez said afterward. “It was next man up. We try to invest a lot of time into guys that don’t get an opportunity to play a big role. In practice, we coach them like they’re starters for this precise reason, so that when your number is called, you don’t have to get ready. You are ready.”

Miami supporters viewed the game as an opportunity for the Hurricanes — who lost longtime coach Jim Larrañaga to similar circumstances as how Virginia lost Tony Bennett — to finally get in the ACC win column. It was not to be, and the ‘Canes dropped to 4-17 and 0-10 in the league.

It was a valuable win for the Cavaliers, who are now close to Even-Steven on the season at 10-11 and 3-7 in the conference. With the win, UVA is now in a tie with Georgia Tech for 15th-place in the ACC, only a half-game behind Syracuse and one game behind FSU, Cal and Virginia Tech in the standings, with the Hokies coming to town on Saturday.

It’s important because with the expansion to 18 teams in the league, only the top 15 make the ACC Tournament field this year.

While Murray’s and Buchanan’s contributions were key components in notching the win, the Wahoos wouldn’t have pulled things out without the deadeye shooting of junior Isaac McKneely, who netted 26 points. McKneely was lethal from long range, knocking down 6 of his 12 shots from 3-point range, playing almost 38 minutes.

McKneely started the game red-hot and only got hotter as it progressed. When Miami rallied midway through the second half, the Virginia sniper could hardly miss, drilling three triples over 5 minutes, but also scoring 13 of the Cavaliers’ 15 points during one stretch as UVA managed to thwart the Hurricanes’ response and keep a separation over the final minutes.

“McKneely flew off the screens and made very difficult shots,” said Miami interim coach Bill Courtney. “Were they open? Yeah, because we got caught behind. But he’s running full speed off the screen, turning and shooting within a half second. That’s tough to guard. We guarded him one time and he made a spinning pirouette jump shot.”

McKneely is back on a hot streak, having made 16 of his last 31 attempts from Bonusphere over the last three games after battling his way out of a two-game shooting slump vs. Louisville (1 for 5 from the arc) and SMU (0 for 6). Through it all, the Poca, W.Va., native never lost confidence, nor did Sanchez.

“I encouraged him to keep shooting,” said Sanchez. “Even the shots that he missed were good shots. He’s done a fantastic job of understanding that. He tried to put the ball on the ground a little more tonight.”

The coach said that in previous years, while a valuable component of the team, McKneely didn’t face the pressure that he’s battling now, with so many opponents focusing defensive efforts around his shooting talent.

“”He’s learning how to be the guy,” Sanchez said. “He’s never had to be the guy and that’s something that he’s definitely learning. I think he’s doing a really good job of coming along.”

Sanchez pointed out that when McKneely scored so many points in the first half, opponents came out of halftime thinking, ‘You’re not going to do that to us.’

“So he’s finding a way to find his groove,” Sanchez said, while praising other players for doing a superb job of setting screens for McKneely, like some of the plays Miami’s Courtney pointed out.

Virginia returns home for a weekend game against Virginia Tech, a game the Cavaliers desperately need to win in front of a sold-out crowd, a game that could have huge repercussions on the ACC Tournament field.