The No. 4 Virginia men’s basketball team beat Boston College 83-56 on the road Wednesday night in an impressive offensive display. Sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter and junior forward Mamadi Diakite led the way with 18 points apiece. Diakite’s 18 points tied his career high.
The Cavaliers (14-0, 2-0 ACC) shot a whopping 60 percent against the Golden Eagles (9-5, 0-2 ACC), getting good shots from great ball movement.
Diakite led the way in the first half with 14 first half points, shooting 70 percent from the field.
The game started out back-and-forth, with the score tied at 13 apiece early. Diakite’s eight points to start out the contest ignited Virginia’s offense.
The Cavaliers jumped out to a 18-13 lead behind buckets from junior guards Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome, and gradually extended it. Jerome finished with 11 points in the first half, and Guy had 8 points.
Diakite, however, was the star. He did it all in the first half, driving hard to the rim, making thunderous dunks and showing his range by hitting outside shots.
Despite Virginia’s highly-touted defense, Boston College found a way to score in the first half. The Golden Eagles were led by junior guard Ky Bowman’s 11 points, and went into the break down 12 points, 43-31.
Boston College came out of the break with some momentum.
The Golden Eagles went to a zone, and were able to stymie the Cavaliers on offense for their first few possessions. Two buckets from junior forward Nik Popovic brought Boston College within seven points, 48-41.
The Cavaliers responded by calmly going on a 16-0 run, punishing the Golden Eagles’ zone with incisive passing.
Bowman finally ended the run with a difficult, contested three to make it 64-44, but Virginia didn’t take the foot off the gas.
A three by sophomore forward Jay Huff extended the Cavaliers’ lead to 30, 78-48, with 3:26 to play.
Virginia closed things out with ease, remaining undefeated.
In addition to great nights from Hunter and Diakite, Guy and Jerome played well, and junior transfer guard Braxton Key provided a great spark off the bench.
Guy had 10 points, to go along with eight rebounds and five assists, Jerome had 13 points, four assists, and four rebounds, and Key had nine points and nine boards in a very efficient display, shooting 4-for-5 from the field.
The Cavaliers remain on the road for their next contest, at Clemson on Saturday at noon. Virginia is currently riding a 12-game road winning streak, the nation’s longest, and they will look to extend that streak in another crucial conference matchup.
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