Wednesday afternoon, new Cavalier football coach Bronco Mendenhall let Virginia fans know just how serious he was. Whether it was wearing the trademarked V-sabre or playing a spring game, the Virginia players would have to earn it.
Chances are, Mendenhall was pleased watching the University’s basketball team later Wednesday night. They certainly earned this win.
No. 9 Virginia extended its win streak to five games with a dominating 61-47 win against Boston College in John Paul Jones Arena. Senior guard Malcolm Brogdon led the Cavaliers (18-4, 7-3 ACC) with 17 first half points en route to 27 on the night — just one shy of his career high of 28, set in last season’s ACC tournament loss against North Carolina.
Boston College (7-15, 0-9 ACC) shot just 26.5 percent from the field. Senior guard Eli Carter, the Eagles’ leading scorer at 17.3 points per game, was limited to just seven points.
Brogdon eclipsed 1,500 points for his career in the victory. He hit all five of his attempts from the three.
“He’s playing really good basketball — really efficient,” Coach Tony Bennett said. “He’s being very assertive, but he’s letting it come too. He did a nice job guarding Carter, too — just showing his completeness.”
Brogdon’s completeness was necessary to keep Virginia ahead in the first half. Although the Cavaliers never trailed Wednesday and led for 39:34, the Cavaliers didn’t explode out of the gate like they did against Louisville.
A step-back three by Brogdon on Virginia’s first possession followed by two free-throws by sophomore guard Devon Hall gave the Cavaliers a quick 5-0 lead, which they would eventually stretch to a 14-7 advantage.
The Eagles clawed back, cutting the lead to 16-15. But despite hitting five treys in the opening stanza, including four by freshman guard Sammy Barnes-Thompkins, Brogdon willed Virginia ahead.
Following two free-throws by senior forward Anthony Gill, who had 10 points and a double-double on the night, Brogdon scored the next eight for the Cavaliers. Gill extended the halftime lead to 29-20 — the Cavaliers’ largest of the game, at that point — on a dunk with 1:19 to play.
“I felt good about our first half defense,” Bennett said. “We just didn’t make some outside shots — missed some bunnies. We had a couple opportunities in transition that didn’t go our way.”
After the break, however, the Cavalanche many had been predicting arrived. Virginia, a 23.5 point favorite, proved the folks in Las Vegas knew a thing or two about picking the Cavaliers as heavy favorites against the ACC’s last-ranked team.
Despite Boston College netting the final 11 points of the game, Virginia still outscored the Eagles, 32-27, in the second half. It marked the second straight game Virginia held its opponent to under 50 points.
The Cavaliers used a 9-0 run to take 46-29 lead with 11:34 remaining and stretched the lead to as large as 25 after a layup by Brogdon with 5:29 to play.
“I think it’s just a matter of us getting back to what we were doing,” Hall said. “We hit maybe a little bit of a wall, and we weren’t playing the way we were capable of playing — getting stops and running the offense with urgency. Against Louisville, we put together a complete game. We are just trying to continue to put together those complete games.”
A three by senior forward Evan Nolte, who hadn’t hit a trey since the second game of the season against George Washington, kept the crowd in the game late. The Cavaliers cleared the bench in the final minutes, with the walk-ons receiving playing time against an ACC opponent for the second time in as many games.
Boston College, still winless both in the conference and on the road, shot just 4-of-23 from inside the arc. Likewise, Boston College lacked the players and discipline to match-up defensively against Brogdon, who only played 30 minutes Wednesday.
“[Freshman Forward] A.J. Turner, the guy guarding him, gave [Brogdon] too much space,” Boston College coach Jim Christian said. “I think he was a little scared to go because he’s such a good driver — he’s stronger than A.J.”
The Cavaliers will take to the road again Saturday to face Pittsburgh, which sits just a half-game behind Virginia in the ACC standings. Virginia hopes its recent momentum will carry it through an expected tough outing on the road.
“I feel we’re playing better basketball — our kind of ball — as we’re heading into the second half of ACC play,” Bennett said.
Virginia will next face the Panthers Saturday at the Petersen Events Center. Tipoff is scheduled for noon.
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