The Virginia men’s basketball team defeated dangerous Belmont 79-67 in NCAA Tournament action Friday afternoon at Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. With the win, the No. 2 seed Cavaliers earned a Sunday date with nemesis Michigan State, the team that upset Virginia in last year’s Round of 16.
Facing one of the more explosive offenses in college basketball, the Cavaliers (30-3, 16-2 ACC) found themselves in a dogfight early on. Six minutes after opening tip, Belmont (22-11, 11-5 OVC) had a trio of 3-pointers and an 18-12 lead to its name. The Ohio Valley Conference champion Bruins also quickly established an inside presence, as national field-goal percentage leader Evan Bradds scored twice in the paint to open things up.
But the Cavaliers fought back. Junior guard Justin Anderson swished a 3-pointer from the left corner for his first points since Feb. 7, junior forward-center Mike Tobey made a dunk and juniors guard Malcolm Brogdon and forward Anthony Gill made back-to-back layups, putting Virginia ahead, 21-20. These scores started an 18-2 Virginia run.
15th-seeded Belmont did not fold, outscoring the Cavaliers 12-10 the remainder of the half to go into the break down 40-32.
Brogdon scored 16 points in the first half while sinking four 3-pointers.
Coach Rick Byrd’s team trailed 51-37 with 15:22 to play but got back into the game with an 11-0 surge capped by two Bradds free throws. Belmont again drew within three points with 5:15 to go when impassioned junior guard Craig Bradshaw found nylon from distance. Another Bradshaw 3-pointer cut Virginia’s lead to two.
The Cavaliers held Belmont there, scoring nine unanswered points to lead 71-60 with 1:32 left. Sophomore guard London Perrantes got the run started with a deft pull-up jump shot.
Virginia ultimately put the game away at the free throw line.
Bradshaw posted game highs of 25 points and nine rebounds to lead the Bruins, while Brogdon finished with 22 points for Virginia. Gill and Anderson scored 16 and 15 points, respectively.
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