During rivalry week, in-state foes No. 3 Virginia and No. 20 Virginia Tech squared off for round two of the Commonwealth Clash. During the Monday night game, the Cavaliers (23-2, 11-2 ACC) picked up their second win over the Hokies (20-6, 9-5 ACC) this season as they won 64-58 on the road.
When the Hokies traveled to Charlottesville earlier in the season — with both teams ranked in the top 10 at the time — Virginia picked up a dominant 81-59 win over the visitors.The Cavaliers were able to secure the 22-point victory back in January with 58.5 percent shooting on field goals and 54.5 percent shooting beyond the arc. Three players scored in double figures for Virginia that night, with sophomore guard De’Andre Hunter recording 21 points, junior guard Kyle Guy scoring 15 points and junior guard Ty Jerome adding 14 points along with 12 assists to the scoreboard. For the Hokies, sophomore Nickeil Alexander-Walker and junior Ahmed Hill led the way with 19 and 14 points, respectively. As a team, they shot 43.2 overall and 33.3 from three.
During Monday’s matchup, the story unfolded differently. Neither team dominated in the opening half, with seven points being Virginia’s largest lead and three points being Virginia Tech’s largest lead.
With 46.2 percent shooting overall and 35.7 percent shooting from three, the Cavaliers put up 32 points in the first 20 minutes of the game. Over half of those points came from Guy, who recorded 17 points on six-for-ten shooting, which included four three pointers.
Turnovers, however, continued to be an issue for Virginia, as they committed eight turnovers and conceded six points on turnovers in the first half.
Most of the early offense for the Hokies funneled through junior Kerry Blackshear Jr. The 6-foot-10 forward had 15 points on seven-for-eight shooting in the first half. Without senior Justin Robinson, though, the Hokies struggled on three-point shooting, converting on just 15.4 percent of their attempts.
The three-point struggles persisted for Virginia Tech in the second half, allowing the Cavaliers to slowly build up to 48-38. Just as the Hokies started to chip away at the double-digit lead to make it a five-point game, Jerome knocked down a huge three-pointer to keep Virginia Tech at a distance. From there, the Cavaliers grew their lead to as large as 13 points before finishing with a six-point victory.
While Guy’s shooting cooled off in the second half, he still finished as the leading scorer for the team after putting up 23 points. Jerome and Hunter also put up double figures, with Jerome recording 16 points on six-for-ten shooting and Hunter putting up 10 points.
Overall, the Cavaliers shot 46 percent on field goals, 40.7 percent from three and 58.3 percent from the free-throw line. They also committed a total of 13 turnovers, allowing the Hokies to get 13 points off of turnovers.
Virginia Tech finished the night scoring just three three-pointers and going 39.7 percent on field goals. Blackshear ended up with 23 points, while Hill had 16 points.
Next on deck for the Cavaliers is a matchup against No. 18 Louisville Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 12 p.m. tip-off from Louisville, K.Y.
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