After moving up to No. 3 in both the AP Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches Poll, the Virginia men’s basketball team won a Tuesday night tussle with high-scoring Davidson, prevailing 83-72 at John Paul Jones Arena for its first 12-0 start since 1981-82.
The Cavaliers—led by junior forward Anthony Gill, who tallied career highs of 25 points and 13 rebounds—closed out their regular-season nonconference schedule without a loss for the fourth time in school history.
While Davidson (9-2) came in scoring a nation-leading 87.7 points per game, Virginia took the court surrendering a nation-best 46.2, making for an intriguing offense-defense matchup.
The Wildcats got the better of the Cavaliers early, grabbing a 10-9 lead at the 15:57 mark of the first half and pushing it to 12 points for the second time on senior guard Tyler Kalinoski’s layup 5:18 before the break.
Virginia closed the period on a 10-2 run to enter halftime down 36-32, and junior guard Malcolm Brogdon—who finished 12-12 from the charity stripe—put in two free throws to tie the score at 38 with 18:01 to play.
The Cavaliers maintained a narrow lead until sophomore guard Jack Gibbs’ 3-pointer knotted things at 49 with 12:06 remaining. Davidson briefly took the lead 45 seconds later, when junior guard Brian Sullivan knocked down a trey of his own.
With the score tied at 55, Virginia threatened to pull away, scoring eight unanswered points for a 63-55 edge with 8:21 on the clock. Sullivan cut into the deficit with a long-range jump shot, but Gill and senior forward Darion Atkins scored inside, and the Wildcats got no closer than six the rest of the way.
Atkins sparked Virginia off the bench, corralling 10 rebounds and scoring 13 points for his first career double-double. Sophomore point guard London Perrantes handed out seven assists against two turnovers while playing 39 minutes, and junior guard Justin Anderson hit four 3-pointers on six tries.
Davidson’s starting guards—Kalinoski, Gibbs and Sullivan—knocked down 11-19 from beyond the arc, but Virginia dominated on the glass, holding a 42-25 rebounding edge.
The Cavaliers open ACC play at Miami (10-3) this Saturday. Tipoff at BankUnited Center is set for 5:30 p.m.
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