Although the Virginia men’s basketball team still ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense entering Saturday’s contest against William & Mary, the No. 10 Cavaliers had won differently. Hindered by new rule changes, Virginia (7-1) had garnered more attention for its offensive rather than defensive efficiency.
Until Saturday, that is. Virginia never trailed in its 67-52 against the Tribe (5-3). The Cavaliers certainly weren’t bad offensively, but the half court offense left something to be desired.
“We wanted to go inside – we wanted to make a point of it,” coach Tony Bennett said. “We thought we had an advantage, but we were out of sync with our timing.”
But what Virginia lacked in the half court, it more than made up for in transition. The Cavaliers snagged 15 steals, converting those into 20 points off turnovers, including 12 fast break points. Sophomore guard Darius Thompson and sophomore forward Isaiah Wilkins led the charge with 4 steals apiece.
And none was more electric than Thompson’s down the stretch. The Tennessee transfer plucked the ball from the opponent, and after a pass from senior guard Malcolm Brogdon, slammed down a one-handed finish with a foul, erupting the 14,015-strong John Paul Jones Arena crowd with 3:54 to play.
“That’s the craziest dunk in person I’ve seen in a long time,” senior forward Anthony Gill said.
The dunk extended the Virginia lead to 59-44, giving the Cavaliers a comfortable lead and the momentum, which Virginia struggled at times to maintain throughout the contest.
Brogdon started out of the gate right where he left off against Ohio State Tuesday. The Georgia-native, who hit six triples against the Buckeyes, hit two threes on his first two attempts en route to scoring Virginia’s first eight points.
But Brogdon, who had 10 points after the 13:18 mark in the first half, was less of a factor as the game went on. Still, his silence meant more opportunities for his teammates, Gill said.
“They really started keying in on Malcolm, which made it a lot easier for everybody else,” Gill said. “He’s such a great player and he draws so much attention, it makes it a lot easier for everybody else to get their shots.”
Behind two consecutive fast break layups from sophomore guard Darius Thompson, who again started in place of injured point guard London Perrantes after the junior underwent an appendectomy last Sunday, Virginia doubled up the Tribe, 16-8, at the under-12 media timeout.
The Cavaliers pushed out to a 22-8 lead with an 8-0 run before William & Mary responded with an 8-0 run of its own to cut the Virginia lead to 22-16. However, even as the Tribe began to hit their jumpers, the Cavaliers stayed strong.
Wilkins and Gill added five first-half points apiece. Thompson and sophomore guard Devon Hall energized JPJ with 1:44 to play when Thompson broke the Tribe zone with lob dunk to Hall, stretching the Cavalier lead to 32-22 at the half.
“Coach Bennett has really pushed us to get out in transition and get the easy buckets and not try to play as far into the shot clock and make it easier for ourselves on offense,” Brogdon said. “Darius has been a huge key.”
Despite adding three more steals in the first three minutes – two from Thompson – the Tribe continued to claw their way back into the game. Junior guard Daniel Dixon converted a three and a layup while sophomore guard Greg Malinowski added three free throws to bring William & Mary to within 42-36 before Bennett called timeout with 12:09 to play.
The Tribe kept fighting, but the Cavaliers slowly began to pull away. Senior forward Evan Nolte added five second half points, Wilkins and Hall hit jumpers, but no Virginia player had a highlight more electric than Thompsons’s one handed jam with contact.
“We work on that everyday in practice – getting out in transition and making smart plays,” Thompson said. “We’re doing a good job of it in the game.”
Virginia’s lead grew to 18 points before it cleared the bench with under a minute remaining.
Brogdon and Gill led Virginia with 16 points each in 37 and 30 minutes, respectively. Thompson added 12 points, two assists and four steals.
Senior center Mike Tobey started for the first time in three games for freshman center Jack Salt, who did not play due to William & Mary’s quickness and small size.
Bennett was pleased with the win, especially considering Virginia's 15 steals were its most since it had 16 against NC State in 2008, but he still sees room to improve going forward.
“I’m just interested in us becoming sounder defensively and better in the half court offensively from this game,” he said. “We will find some things to work on from the tape."
Virginia will next face No. 20 West Virginia Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Madison Square Garden. Perrantes’ status is still to be determined.
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