Just a minute and a half into the Virginia men’s basketball team’s game against Navy, Midshipmen sophomore center Will Kelly hit a jumper to tie the game at 2-2. A minute later, Virginia sophomore center Mike Tobey hit a baseline jumper off a slick pass from senior guard Joe Harris to break the tie, and the Cavaliers would never look back.
After a heartbreaking loss to No. 12 Virginia Commonwealth University and a close first half against Davidson, Virginia (3-1) looked as dominant as it has all season against Navy (2-3). Harris and Tobey helped lead the way, scoring 16 and 13 points respectively en route to a 67-42 home win.
“I thought Joe was back on track tonight,” coach Tony Bennett said. “He is attacking and making some good passes. He shot the ball really well yesterday in practice. He really got his stroke going from the 3-point line. It was nice to see a little more rhythm. We need Joe to do that.”
Harris had just one point in Virginia’s 70-57 win against Davidson Saturday and had scored in double digits just once in the Cavaliers’ first three games — 18 points in the team’s 59-56 loss to VCU. Against the Midshipmen, Harris looked at ease, shooting 7-for-8 from the field, including 2-for-3 from 3-point range.
“He had the right mindset,” Bennett said. “He let it rotate, we looked inside, we had the advantages. He had more assertiveness in his shot… I thought he really committed to his shots, and we want him to certainly have a green light mentally, within reason. Joe doesn’t usually force … he’s got pretty good shot discernment.”
Harris had seven points in the first 10 minutes of the game, but he said his own scoring was not the first thing on his mind.
“The most important thing I was thinking about tonight was that we came out flat against Davidson on the offensive and defensive end,” Harris said. “So [tonight was about] trying to match their effort on the defensive end — and they cut really hard and run their offense really hard — or offensively being aggressive and assertive, and creating shots for myself and my teammates.”
His teammates said they enjoy seeing Joe score, even if it is not always needed — Virginia won both games where he was in single digits.
“Joe works so hard, and being a senior this year we want to send him out with a bang,” sophomore forward Anthony Gill said. “So whenever that happens, and [Davidson] did take him out of the game a bit, we want to get out there and get him going.”
Harris finished with 11 points in the first half, but Tobey, who had eight points on four-for-six shooting, followed him closely behind. The sophomore got his first start of the season Tuesday and looked ready, scoring the team’s first four points. After a breakout 18-point performance against Davidson, Tobey followed it up with 13 against Navy.
“[Tobey] can score,” Bennett said. “He had a very nice game against Davidson… Tonight they weren’t double teaming him and when they don’t do that he has a pretty good opportunity to score most of those times.”
Tobey has emerged as a consistent scoring threat down low to complement his rebounding prowess — he picked up eight boards Tuesday night. He has even incorporated a devastating hook shot into his arsenal, and unleashed one in the second half against Navy.
“It wasn’t super nice the first time I shot it, but I’ve been working on it a lot,” Tobey said. “Once you get into the move, it’s pretty much unguardable. That’s what [NBA Hall of Famer] Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] used, and he did pretty well.”
Tobey took Gill’s spot in the starting lineup, but Gill still made his presence felt, scoring a team-high 18 points off the bench on eight-for-nine shooting. Bennett has been tinkering with his lineup all year — tonight’s starting five was the third different one this season — but Gill was not disappointed being a reserve.
“I think its good,” Gill said. “[Coach Bennett is] trying different things right now to see what fits best. I’m not mad at him for it. He’s a great coach and I trust him, we all trust him.”
Sophomore guard Malcolm Brogdon made his second straight start at shooting guard Tuesday and performed well again, scoring 13 points. He fashioned himself more as a point guard before the season, but he has flourished in two games at shooting guard.
“Playing the off guard is what I’ve always done,” Brogdon said. “I feel making plays overall and getting people involved in the scoring, all of that is my strong suit. I’m going to try to play my best, and if scoring is what my team needs I’m going to try to do that and also try to get my team involved.”
The team was up 32-17 at halftime and was able to cruise for the entire second half, putting all of their walk-on players in with two minutes left in the game. Navy came closest to tying the game at 9-7 with 13 minutes left in the first half, but Virginia pulled away and never trailed.
“I think [the early lead] was valuable,” Bennett said. “I think we defended really well in the first half. Navy runs its offense really hard. If you’re not in a good position early on, they will get a lot of uncontested shots. Our guys adjusted and guarded well. I liked our defensive commitment early on, which allowed us to get that lead and then look at different combinations.”
Virginia now has three days to prepare for a Saturday matchup against Liberty.
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