RICHMOND -- It may not have been pretty, but the scoreboard does not keep track of style points. After holding a narrow 26-25 lead at halftime, Virginia pulled away in the final 20 minutes to emerge with a 59-43 victory over the University of Richmond last Tuesday evening (Nov. 22) at the Robins Center.
Junior guard J.R. Reynolds led the Cavaliers with 23 points on seven of 12 shooting from the field. Sixteen of his points came during the second half in which Virginia outscored the Spiders 33-18.
"J.R. really gave us a lift in the second half," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "He got really aggressive and started to impose his will on the game."
Richmond's first-year head coach Chris Mooney played under Pete Carril at Princeton and has installed Carril's famed Princeton-style motion offense at Richmond. This type of offense emphasizes back cuts and perimeter passing. Two of Virginia's future opponents this season, Northwestern and N.C. State, utilize the same Princeton-style approach.
"That offense is a pain in the neck to play against," Leitao said. "You have to have a high level of discipline and concentration to guard against movement like that."
While the Spiders did not score many points off of back cuts in the first half, they stayed in the game by draining seven three-pointers.
"We started to give them a little bit of confidence and just left too many people open," Leitao said. "We didn't have any aggression in the last eight minutes of the half."
Richmond went into halftime on a high note when forward Jarhon Giddings cut Virginia's lead to one with a fast break lay up at the buzzer.
"We definitely got chewed out a little bit at halftime," Reynolds said. "We were playing relaxed. We weren't jumping to the ball and we didn't show any energy, so the coaches told us to come out in the second half with energy and guard the ball and everything else would take care of itself."
The Cavaliers must have taken those words to heart as they held Richmond to 0 of 9 from behind the arc in the second half and six of 24 overall.
"We just buckled down on defense," sophomore point guard Sean Singletary said. "In the first half, we went to the zone and they started dropping threes. On defense, I think man-to-man is the best defense we play. When we play man to man, we pressure the ball, get down in our stance and force some turnovers."
Virginia went on a 7-0 run to start the second half. The Cavaliers knocked down 14 of 17 free throws while Richmond got to the line only nine times and converted on six of those attempts.
Singletary was Virginia's second leading scorer with 14 points. Laurynas Mikalauskas and Adrian Joseph scored seven points each. Jason Cain notched five points and three offensive rebounds, while freshman forward Mamadi Diane was limited to only three points on one of seven shooting.
[Sunday night, Virginia fell to the No. 9 Arizona Wildcats by the score of 81-51 in Tucson, Ariz. The Cavaliers' record now stands at 2-1.]
Read More
Virginia baseball has an ace up its sleeve and in its bullpen — Dean Kampschror
By Xander Tilock | 5 hours agoThe senior pitcher is exactly what the Cavaliers need to succeed in 2025.
Wrestling gets blown out 34-9 on long road trip to Stanford
By Ryan Weiner | YesterdaySolid performances from its most reliable trio were not enough for Virginia.
Freshman excellence powers No. 5 men’s tennis past Boise State, No. 19 Alabama
By Thomas Baxter | 2 days agoVirginia, unlike many other regional hosts, held serve as its quartet's top seed.
