The last time Virginia played at John Paul Jones Arena, a deep heave with only seconds on the clock snatched a win from its hands, worsening a historically poor start to conference play. That left a bitter taste in the team’s mouth, and though the team lost its next game, it came back to JPJ hoping to get back in the win column.
Respite came in the form of turbocharged offensive performances from junior guards Isaac McKneely and Andrew Rohde, as well as stellar play from junior forward Elijah Saunders prior to his ejection early in the second half. The three combined for 47 points, as the Cavaliers (9-10, 2-6 ACC) earned a much-needed win against Boston College (9-10, 1-7 ACC), 74-56.
Although it entered the game with a better overall record than Virginia, Boston College has been one of the worst teams in the ACC, losing to every conference opponent it faced save for floundering Miami, as well as dropping games to Virginia Commonwealth and Dartmouth.
Facing one of the worst opponents left on the schedule, the Cavaliers were favored to win, and in many ways they needed a positive result in order to stay in contention for the conference tournament in March — the three worst teams in the ACC will not get the chance to play in Charlotte.
An electric first half certainly helped in that regard. The Cavaliers scored 41 points through the first 20 minutes, tying their best single-half scoring performance of the season, when it logged the same number in the second half against NC State. Heading into halftime, Virginia led 41-23.
“The game was over pretty quick — not over, but the game was really separated early,” Boston College Coach Earl Grant said. “I thought for 34 minutes, we played pretty good basketball — it was even the rest of the way. But [in] the first six minutes, they delivered a knockout punch.”
Saunders, Rohde and McKneely shot a combined 12-16 in the half, as well as a combined 8-9 from three. Virginia’s three leading scorers tallied all but nine of the team’s points in the first half, as well as eight combined assists.
McKneely and Rohde ultimately scored 21 and 16 points, respectively. McKneely made six of his nine three-point attempts — shots that Sanchez referred to as “iMac shots.”
“I tell him, ‘I don't care how many you've missed — if you're open, [Isaac], shoot the ball,’” Sanchez said. “And I think that that kind of dialogue, and that kind of confidence from your coaches, maybe helps [him] just not think about it too much. Because we need to shoot the ball, and we need him to make shots for us to have a chance.”
Early in the second half, the Eagles’ Donald Hand Jr. — son of Virginia legend Donald Hand Sr. — was called for a Flagrant 2 foul that led to two Cavaliers free throws and Hand Jr.’s ejection. Not long after, a whistle blew against Saunders, and the play was, like the one before, placed under review.
Saunders also received a Flagrant 2 and was ejected, with the officials’ decision receiving loud disapproval from the crowd. Saunders finished the game with 10 points and six rebounds, having nailed both his three-point attempts and gone 4-7 from the field.
The Cavaliers maintained their momentum throughout the second half, and while the Eagles tried to get back in the game, notching 34 points in the paint in total, the teams played evenly in the second half, scoring 33 points apiece.
Rebounding has been a recurring problem this season for Virginia, which had not out-rebounded a power conference team all season. That changed Tuesday, with the Cavaliers grabbing 30 rebounds — including seven offensive boards — to Boston College’s 23.
It was Virginia’s first game winning the rebounding battle since beating American Dec. 22, and it was a result made all the more impressive given the size disparity between the two teams.
Graduate forward Chad Venning, who is listed at 6 feet 9 inches and 270 pounds, scored 14 of the Eagles’ points and led the team in minutes — the Cavaliers have had issues multiple times this seasons with particularly large interior presences like Venning, something Sanchez attributed to the youth and inexperience of the team’s three bigs in freshman forwards Jacob Cofie and Anthony Robinson alongside sophomore forward Blake Buchanan.
“We make it hard for them,” Sanchez said. “But good players are going to score.”
Virginia returns to action Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in a home matchup against Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish (8-10, 2-5 ACC), like the Cavaliers, have had a rough start to the season. They bested Boston College last week but are coming off a 77-69 loss to Syracuse.
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