In the backdrop of last night's 68-44 thrashing of Wake Forest beamed Mike Scott's face - plastered on a fan's hand-crafted dollar bill with the slogan, "In Scott We Trust."
After shooting a perfect 9-of-9 from the field while scoring 19 points, the senior forward demonstrated why he's earned John Paul Jones' faith.
Scott kick-started a Cavaliers team, which had suffered a last-second 58-55 loss against Florida State Saturday, by immediately nailing two jumpers. Sophomore guard Joe Harris followed with back-to-back threes, and Virginia's most potent playmakers traded baskets while scoring the Cavaliers' first 15 points on 6-of-6 combined shooting.
The quick start "was huge confidence-wise for our team," Harris said. "To be knocking down the open looks that we had, I felt like the team was feeding off of that on both ends."
Scott rode his hot hand to a 9-of-9 night, and although most players must rely on relatively safe inside baskets to post such an efficient percentage, Scott earned all of his 19 points from mid-to-long-range jumpers.
"[It's] pretty impressive, especially because he wasn't just around the basket and making lay-ups and jump hooks," Harris said. "He was spreading it out, hitting shots all over the court. I think that's a testament to Mike and the work that he's put in with his jumper. His confidence level is really high right now."
When the 6-foot-8 forward was on the bench most of last season with an ankle injury, the Cavaliers' repeatedly missed Scott's presence in the paint. This season, as 7-foot center Assane Sene sits sidelined with his own ankle injury, Scott could theoretically shoulder even more of an interior burden. His teammates, however, said he's honed in on his outside shooting instead. The ACC's fourth-leading scorer now boasts one of the conference's best multi-dimensional games and an uncanny ability to create mismatches on the perimeter.
"Today wasn't a game where he needed to lock up and get down there because there were some nice openings and creations off of penetrations," coach Tony Bennett said. "He caught it in rhythm and shots certainly were dropping, but that versatility he has added to his game makes him a hard matchup."
Scott's performance high
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