A team known better for its sharp shooting and scoring potency than for its efforts protecting its own basket, Virginia was able to earn its third straight victory Sunday afternoon thanks largely to its stingy second half defensive performance.
The Cavaliers (3-0) held High Point (1-3) to 21.6 percent shooting in the second half and kept the Panthers from scoring a field goal for a nine minute span midway through the second stanza, allowing Virginia to pull away for a 79-64 victory.
"That speaks for itself," sophomore forward Derrick Byars said. "I think we played great defense tonight. In my opinion, it was our best defensive effort of the season."
The Panthers narrowed the Virginia lead to 48-42 with 14:36 remaining on a pull-up jumper from guard Zione White, but the Cavaliers answered with a 19-3 run to put the contest out of reach.
Five Cavaliers netted double figures in the victory. Junior center Elton Brown, freshman forward Gary Forbes and junior forward Devin Smith all had 10 points while Byars tallied 12 points of his own along with a team-high nine rebounds.
Virginia's strongest offensive performance came from an unlikely source, freshman reserve Donte Minter. The 6-foot-7 forward led the Cavaliers with 13 points on 4-5 shooting from the field. He was also a perfect 5-5 from the foul line.
"He's not the guy that's going to dazzle you, but he's effective," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "He doesn't run real fast or jump real high. He's a silent assassin. You don't know he's in the game, but his numbers are pretty decent."
Minter clocked a majority of his minutes in the first half, stepping in for starting center Brown who struggled early. Brown scored only two points in the first 20 minutes while turning the ball over twice and committing three fouls. The starter recognized the significance of his post protégé's contributions.
"He really helped me out," Brown said. "The first half I couldn't buy a bucket. He stepped up. It's good having a player like that off the bench who can help you when you're having a bad time."
Brown wasn't the only Cavalier who struggled in the first half. Virginia scored the first two buckets of the game but fell behind after High Point's Jorsua Chambers sunk a three from the wing to put the Panthers up 9-6 just under four minutes into the game.
Virginia was unable to get ahead of the Panthers until five and a half minutes later, when the Cavaliers took back the lead for good on a Derrick Byars three-pointer to go up 17-16. Virginia held a 42-34 advantage at the half.
The Cavaliers received a boost from the presence of Smith, who has been hampered by a herniated disc in his back. Smith shot only 1-6 from the field, including 0-4 from three point range but sunk 8-10 free throws and brought down six rebounds.
"Devin hasn't practiced in a long time," Gillen said. "He's not sharp, but just having him on the court is a presence for us. He helps you physically, he helps you defensively and he helps you with rebounding. Hopefully we'll get him fully healthy soon."
Smith did not play at all in Virginia's season-opening win over Mount St. Mary's but logged 16 minutes in Friday's 80-65 win over Virginia Tech. The victory avenged last season's 18-point loss in Blacksburg.
Brown netted 15 second-half points Friday for a Cavalier offense that outscored the Hokies 45-35 in the second stanza. Brown, Forbes and senior guard Todd Billet led the Cavaliers with 16 points apiece. Billet shot 4-6 from three-point range in the victory.
Read More
You cannot say money is the problem for Virginia football
By Peter Kriebel | 5 hours agoMoney, after all, is just one aspect of a winning program.
West Coast woes strike again as men’s basketball gets hammered by Stanford
By Emory Huffman | 17 hours agoVirginia, once again in a lost season, looked aimless on the floor.
ISTVAN: Tony Bennett left Virginia in a hole
By Ben Istvan | YesterdayHis decision to retire doomed this men's basketball season.
