Following a gritty home win against Boston College, the No. 8 Virginia basketball team prepared for its first big road test of the ACC slate, taking on Virginia Tech and its high-caliber offense. Having lost two consecutive games in Blacksburg, this matchup had upset potential, but a dominant effort on both ends from the Cavaliers (13-1, 2-0 ACC) lifted them over the Hokies (11-4, 0-2 ACC) in blowout fashion, 78-52.
The Cavaliers led from the beginning and never looked back, stymieing one of the best offenses in the ACC for the entire game. The Virginia defense held Virginia Tech to 2-of-12 from three-point range — the team’s main offensive strength — and 36.2 percent from the floor, fiercely contesting most of the Hokies’ field goal attempts.
After struggling from the field against Boston College, the Virginia offense found a rhythm and looked in sync the whole game, with many contributors stepping up. Leading the way was Virginia redshirt freshman guard De’Andre Hunter, who scored a game-high 14 points on five-of-eight shooting.
Hunter received help from three Cavalier guards who hit double figures — sophomore Ty Jerome had 13 points and five assists, sophomore Kyle Guy added 13 points and seven rebounds and senior Devon Hall chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds. The Cavaliers shot almost 50 percent from deep, making 12 threes to pull away from the Hokies.
After the game, Virginia Coach Tony Bennett announced that junior walk-on guard Justice Bartley had earned the team’s open scholarship left from the transfers of three scholarship players prior to this season. The Lilburn, Ga. native walked on at Virginia two seasons ago and has been praised for his leadership and service in the Charlottesville community in his time as a Cavalier. Bartley entered the game Wednesday in the closing minutes and drilled a three-pointer to punctuate the victory.
Virginia will look to translate solid all-around play in its first conference road win to a monumental home game Saturday against No. 12 North Carolina, the reigning NCAA champion. Tip-off between the Cavaliers and Tar Heels is set for 1 p.m. Saturday.
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