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No. 5 men’s basketball picks up 76-57 win over George Washington

Guy, Jerome lead Cavaliers to second win of season

<p>Junior guard Kyle Guy had 17 points in the first half against George Washington Sunday afternoon.</p>

Junior guard Kyle Guy had 17 points in the first half against George Washington Sunday afternoon.

In its second game of the season, the No. 5 Virginia men’s basketball team defeated George Washington, 76-57.

The Cavaliers (2-0) never trailed in the Sunday afternoon contest, and led by as much as much as 30.  

In the first half, the Cavaliers held George Washington (0-3) to a mere 17 points. The Colonials shot 22.7 on all field goal attempts and were only 11.1 percent from behind the three-point arc on one-for-nine shooting. George Washington also had eight turnovers in the half. 

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers shot 55.2 overall and 41.7 from three in the first half. Junior guard Kyle Guy led the offense in the first 20 minutes of play with 17 points, which included three three-pointers. Junior guard Ty Jerome picked up right where he left off Tuesday night by continuing to prove himself as an offensive threat. Jerome shot four-for-five and two-for-two from the free-throw line in the half to add 12 points to the scoreboard. Jerome also had five assists, five rebounds and four steals in the half. Virginia went into the locker room with a very comfortable 42-17 lead over the Colonials. 

“I thought [in] our first half we were sharp, made it hard for them to get good looks in the first half for the most part,” Coach Tony Bennett said. “We ran our offense, touched the paint. Obviously when guys make those shots, when [Kyle Guy] gets rolling and [Ty Jerome] some good things happen. [We] had to withstand some foul trouble and still played at a solid level. So, I liked what I saw in the first half, I did. I thought we competed in the right way and had a mindset about us.”

George Washington’s offense picked up in the second half, as they shot 55.6 from three and 56.5 overall in the half. 

I think they just penetrated a little bit more, kicked it out for rhythm threes, even if we had a hand up it was still rhythm, so I think that will definitely be a point of emphasis this week,” Guy said. 

Guy and Jerome continued to lead the Cavaliers, with both guards finishing with 20 points and six assists each. Jerome was seven-for-nine overall, and four-from-five from three. 

“I think he was always pretty assertive, but I think we need that from him,” Bennett said of Jerome. “He’s worked so hard on his game and his outside shooting and his body, all those things, to get in the lane. So, he’s played two really good games and I think offensively he seems to be assertive with the ability to find guys and when we got in foul trouble I thought he looked a little more assertive on that.”

Junior forward Mamadi Diakite and sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter also came up big for the Cavaliers with 10 points each. As a team, the Cavaliers finished the day shooting 54.5 overall and 42.1 from three. They recorded seven steals and had 15 points off of turnovers. 

Late in the second half, John Paul Jones Arena erupted in excitement when junior guard Grant Kersey scored his first points of his career.

“I grew up in Charlottesville,” Kersey said. “I grew up coming to the games. It was actually a big reason why I chose to go to school here along with the academics. Just to still be able to go to the games and try to be a manager. And for this to happen, I can’t ask for anything more.”

The Cavaliers are back in action Friday night when they host Coppin State. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m, and will be the last home game for the Cavaliers until Dec. 3. 

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