In their first electric meeting of the season, Virginia defeated Virginia Tech 65-57 in the season’s first Commonwealth Clash at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers (12-5, 3-3 ACC) rode a breakout performance from graduate student forward Jordan Minor, who had a season high in minutes, points and rebounds, all while limiting the Hokies (10-7, 2-4 ACC) to 10 points in the paint. Senior guard Reece Beekman continued his run as Virginia’s go-to option, matching Minor’s 16 points while dishing 4 assists and forcing 4 turnovers.
The Cavaliers continued their habit of starting games slowly, losing the opening tip-off and giving up a pair of Virginia Tech three-pointers in the first 90 seconds to go down 6-2 — but Beekman and Minor would each convert to even the score at the first TV timeout. However, sophomore guard Andrew Rohde airballed a three-pointer and Virginia Tech’s junior guard Sean Pedulla sank a three-pointer of his own to regain a Hokie lead. A few possessions later, Minor fed Beekman for a relocation three-pointer and the score was once again tied.
Minor and Pedulla traded free throws before both teams combined to miss their five shots. Senior forward Jake Groves sank a three-pointer to reinstate the Cavalier advantage, then made another three-pointer after a second TV timeout. Virginia Tech would not score again for nearly six minutes, as Virginia went on a 7-0 run fueled by baskets from Beekman and sophomore guards Ryan Dunn and Isaac McKneely, as well as two Pedulla turnovers. Graduate student forward Robbie Beran finally converted an easy layup to end the Hokie drought with four minutes left in the half.
Both teams would shoot poorly in the latter stages of the half, missing their next nine combined shots. Finally, three minutes later, a Beekman layup put Virginia up 25-15. Beekman missed a great layup opportunity with seconds left before intermission, and Pedulla dished to senior guard Hunter Cattoor for a three-pointer at the buzzer to send the game into halftime with Virginia up 25-18.
Virginia Tech would finish the half having committed more turnovers than they had made field goals, 10 to 6, and their star duo of Pedulla and senior center Lynn Kidd were held to seven total points.
“They kept a body on a body,” Virginia Tech Coach Mike Young said about Virginia’s defense. “It's nothing tricky, and you know they're good at it.”
The Hokies opened the second half with a Beran three-pointer to chop the deficit to 4 points, but Beekman responded with a jump shot of his own. McKneely quickly added a pair of free throws, then a layup assisted by Beekman. Minor then sank another free throw and Beekman fed Dunn for a thunderous dunk that brought JPJ to a roar into the first TV timeout of the half.
Virginia Tech made a jump shot out of the timeout to bring the score back to 34-23, but a Minor layup brought the Cavalier lead back up to 13 points — their largest lead of the game. Minor then stole the ball off Pedulla, but Virginia failed to capitalize. The Hokies made them pay with back-to-back three-pointers, shaving the lead to seven. A Pedulla layup shrank the lead further, but freshman forward Blake Buchanan cushioned the Cavaliers’ lead with a short jump shot. Then, in his return from a serious ankle sprain sustained in November, junior guard Dante Harris drained a three-pointer, and McKneely registered a steal on the next defensive possession.
The Hokies responded with a three-pointer, but Harris assisted McKneely and Minor on consecutive trips. Kidd finally got on the board with a jump shot over Minor, then Minor avenged this with one of his own to make it 46-36, Virginia on top. As the players left the floor for a timeout, the crowd once again lifted the roof off the building.
Virginia Tech downed a three-pointer out of the timeout, then Beekman tripped over his feet and a Catoor dunk brought the lead down to five points. Minor, the Cavaliers’ engine all night, grabbed a McKneely miss and went up strong to draw a foul and made both free throws to stop the slide. Catoor made a jump shot to bring the Hokies back within five points, but they would not get closer than that for the game’s remaining seven minutes. Minor drew another foul and sank two more free throws, then fed Harris for an uncontested layup.
Minor committed two fouls on the next defensive possession, but Virginia Tech was unable to turn either inbounds play into points. Buchanan scored on three consecutive layups, all three on the same play run from the ‘sides’ set on the left side, and only a pair of Pedulla jump shots during that run kept the Hokies in the game.
A Beran dunk kept the Hokies within eight but a Beekman jump shot forced the Hokies to turn on the full-court press. Virginia Tech fought to make a final comeback, but the Cavaliers put an exclamation mark on the victory with a Rhode alley-oop to Dunn over the press that brought the crowd to its feet for the final time of the night.
A Catoor jump shot and a missed Harris free throw ended garbage time, and Virginia ended this year’s initial Commonwealth Clash with a 65-57 triumph. While the score appeared close, Virginia dominated by committing less than half as many turnovers as the Hokies and nearly doubling their points in the paint. While Pedulla stuffed the boxscore with 18 points, six rebounds and five assists, he also committed seven turnovers and missed 10 shots.
“Yeah, I thought we moved hard, harder than we've been moving,” Coach Tony Bennett said after the game. “When you're struggling you're always looking for some adjustments, and we just tried to really move and screen well. We didn't do it great at times, but the player movement, the ball movement and the cutting was there in a way that it hasn't been.”
The Cavaliers will try to win their first road game of the season Saturday in Atlanta against Georgia Tech. The contest tips off at 6 p.m., and will be broadcast on ACC Network.
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