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Rapid Recap: EMERALD COAST CHAMPS!

Perrantes, Thompson lead Virginia with 11 points apiece as Virginia wins fourth straight early season tournament.

By Caroline Darney
NCAA Basketball: Yale at Virginia
Perrantes named MVP of the Emerald Coast Classic.
Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports

THE VIRGINIA CAVALIERS ARE YOUR 2016 EMERALD COAST CLASSIC CHAMPIONS!!

Virginia defeated the Providence Friars 63-52 to win their fourth straight early season tournament. London Perrantes set the tone with 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists, earning him the title of MVP. Darius Thompson added 11 points of his own, and Mamadi Diakite had 10 - including going 2-for-3 from three point.

The first half started similarly to the semifinals against Iowa the night before as Virginia used tough defense and precision passing to build a 34-20 double digit lead before the break. Jack Salt had a solid first half, going 4-for-5 from the floor with eight points, while Perrantes had eight of his own. Virginia shot 68% in the first half, while holding Providence to just 38%.

Virginia got off to a terrible start to the second half as the Friars scored the first nine points of the half before a Perrantes triple stopped the bleeding (seriously, is this what we do to people? It’s no fun). Providence shot 8-for-17 (47%) from three, which kept them in the game the second half. The Friars got within five points in the second half, but the Hoos held strong defensively and pulled away down the stretch. Perrantes and Thompson put on a bit of a show in the second half, connecting for several alley-oops, like this one:

Isaiah Wilkins was named to the All-Tournament team with Perrantes, going 4-for-5 from the field for nine points in the finale. Marial Shayok only had one point in the game, but the Hoos got scoring from other contributors against a tough Friar defense.

For Providence, Lindsey Jalen led all scorers with 18 points, and Rodney Bullock added 16 of his own. Only four players scored for Providence, with Emmitt Holt scoring 11 and Kyron Cartwright chipping in seven. The Hoos had eight steals and six blocks in the game. All in all, Virginia withstood a strong blow from a talented team and will be able to learn from this game going forward.

Next up, Virginia hosts Ohio State on Wednesday at 9pm for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

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