The No. 4 Virginia men’s basketball team never trailed en route to a commanding 100-64 win against Marshall Monday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavaliers (12-0) took down the Thundering Herd (7-6) behind junior guard Kyle Guy’s career-high 30 points, handing Coach Tony Bennett his 300th career win, an impressive milestone. The win also marked the first time the Cavaliers eclipsed 100 points during Bennett’s tenure.
Virginia got off to a hot start. Junior forward Mamadi Diakite made his third three-pointer of the year, Guy added another, and the Cavaliers went on a 12-0 run to jump out to a 17-5 lead after the game was tied 5-5.
Marshall showed some life, clawing back into the game to make it 27-16, but a steal and pass from junior guard Ty Jerome to his backcourt mate Guy for a three countered their momentum, making it 30-16 Virginia.
The three-pointer got Guy going. He scored another jumper and another three, putting the Cavaliers up 39-16, their biggest lead of the game with 4:13 left to play in the half.
Virginia closed out the half by continuing their prolific scoring, going into the break up 50-25, doubling Marshall’s score.
Guy led the Cavaliers in scoring at the break with 13 points on 3-5 shooting from three-point range, redshirt sophomore forward De’Andre Hunter had 11 points and Jerome had 10 points to go along with three assists.
Hunter showed great confidence by getting to the basket and drawing fouls, and Diakite’s defensive display was impressive. The junior forward finished the half with two blocks.
Virginia continued right where it left off to start the second half, jumping out to a 10-0 run to make it 60-25 Cavaliers.
The half started in interesting fashion, with the referees giving the ball to Virginia to start the half, even though they should have given the ball to Marshall. Kyle Guy made a three before they realized their mistake, starting the 10-0 run.
Guy was on fire, making his first three three-pointers to start the second half. The score was 65-27 Virginia with 15:46 to play.
Marshall cut into the Cavaliers’ substantial lead by going on a 14-8 run to make it 73-41 with 10:42 left in the game, but Virginia’s lead was ultimately insurmountable.
Guy drained yet another three to make it 82-45 Virginia. It was his seventh three-pointer of the day, a career-high. When he came out with 6:08 left to play, he had career-highs of 30 points (30) and eight rebounds.
Sophomore forward Jay Huff got busy towards the end of the game. The big man was 6-for-6 from the free throw line en route to a career-high 14 points. Huff added eight rebounds.
Virginia ended the game in electric fashion, with team manager and fan favorite Grant Kersey draining a buzzer beater three-pointer to get the Cavaliers to 100 points.
It was the Cavaliers’ last non-conference game. They now face a difficult stretch of ACC play, with three of their next five games against opponents ranked in the top ten in the AP Top 25.
Virginia begins conference play against No. 9 Florida State (11-1) at John Paul Jones Arena Saturday afternoon.
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