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Men's basketball bounces Bulldogs

No. 9 Virginia dominates South Carolina State 75-55

With 11:29 to go in the first half Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena, South Carolina State University sophomore guard Greg Mortimer swooped into the lane for a layup off the inbound to bring his Bulldogs within three points of Virginia at 14-11.

Coming out of the under-8 timeout a few minutes later, the No. 9 Cavaliers led by just five points. Playing its third game in five nights, Virginia had started slowly scoring the basketball.

Then, the Cavaliers erupted, scoring 14 unanswered points to take control of the game. Virginia entered halftime up 41-20 after junior guard Justin Anderson’s tip-slam off his own missed layup four seconds before the horn.

Though South Carolina State pushed back behind sophomore guard Karon Wright’s four 3-pointers to start the second half, closing to 50-34 with 15:55 to play, Virginia weathered the storm to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2008-09 with a 75-55 win.

“In the first half, I thought we were solid, especially defensively,” coach Tony Bennett said. “We did a good job on the ball-screen defense. South Carolina kept battling and hit some tough threes that kept them in it. I think we showed some young mistakes, and even our experienced guys had some careless turnovers.”

The Cavaliers moved to 23-0 all-time against the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference after also defeating Norfolk State in the home opener Sunday night.

Anderson and junior guard Malcolm Brogdon paced the Cavaliers in scoring with 17 points apiece as five Cavaliers — including senior forward Darion Atkins, who started for the first time this year — scored eight or more. Junior forward Anthony Gill provided 11 points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes of play.

Brogdon scored just six points on seven shots against Norfolk State, when he launched three of his seven shots from beyond the 3-point line. Tuesday, he attacked the basket repeatedly, finishing 7-11 from the field.

“I was trying to be aggressive in terms of just touching the paint and making the defense collapse, whether that was a kick-out to the open shooter or finishing at the rim,” Brogdon said.

Anderson, meanwhile, sank three 3-pointers on six tries, continuing his hot start from beyond the arc. The athletic lefty hit seven treys in Virginia’s first two games and appears to be a more versatile scorer after a summer of hard work on his jump shot.

“The offseason is all about physical improvement and skill development,” Bennett said. “Justin really tried to develop a consistent shot, and it certainly looks better. I want him impacting the game in a bunch of ways. That’s important for us. If he can continue to be consistent it’ll stretch the floor for us.”

Atkins, junior center Mike Tobey, Gill and freshman forward Isaiah Wilkins crashed the boards hard for Virginia, combining for 28 rebounds against the overmatched Bulldogs. The Cavaliers held a 46-26 advantage on the glass overall. However, Bennett said, the team is not yet ripping boards with optimal force.

“I felt like we need to secure the ball better at times,” he said. “I like to see us be strong-handed rebounders.”

Anderson started the Cavalier run by knocking down his second 3-pointer of the night off a quick release from the left corner. Next, Gill executed a nifty Euro-step on the break, scoring the lay-in while drawing the foul for an and-one.

The Bulldogs then fouled Brogdon bringing the ball up court, putting the Cavaliers in the bonus. The junior sank both free throws, and less than half a minute later, Gill stripped Mortimer at the 3-point line before grabbing the loose ball and taking it all the way to the rim for a one-handed jam on the break. Brogdon capped the run with a bucket inside that placed the Cavaliers at 50-percent shooting for the night.

At the same time, Virginia clamped down on defense, holding South Carolina State without a point for more than five minutes. The Bulldogs missed 10 of 11 shots in that stretch and made only five field goals overall in the first half.

Though the Cavaliers have won every one of their games by 20 or more points, Anderson said the team has a long way to go in terms of improvement, especially with high quality opponents — like George Washington, which visits this Friday — scheduled for later in the season.

“We are not where we want to be yet,” Anderson said. “I say that with humility and also with thankfulness. I’m thankful that we are able to go 3-0 and for how we’ve been playing and the success that we’ve had, but we know that we have a hungry George Washington team who wants to come in here and beat us Friday. We have to remain humble, get back to the basics and try to continue chipping away at getting to be the best that we can be.”

Tipoff against the Colonials is scheduled for 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.

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