#18 Virginia cruises to 75-54 win over Lehigh to remain undefeated

The #18 Virginia Cavaliers put on a clinic on Saturday afternoon, dominating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks in a 75-54 win. Kyle Guy led the Hoos once again with 21 points as Isaiah Wilkins chipped in eight rebounds and 14 points. Virginia was hot from the field, finishing with 51.7% (9-for-25 from three) and only turned the ball over six times.

The Hoos are now 8-0 on the season and have won seven of their eight games by double digits (the VCU win was by nine).

Virginia shot a blistering 54.8% from the field in the first half, led by Kyle Guy with 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Lehigh never led in the game, but kept it close early, tying the Hoos at 6-6 and 9-9. From there, it was all UVA. The Hoos had just one turnover in the first half - a called travel by De’Andre Hunter - in the first half and forced the Mountain Hawks into nine giveaways.

After the first 20 minutes, Virginia led 39-23 with Wilkins and Devon Hall adding seven points apiece to compliment Guy’s production. Defensively, Lehigh shot just 35% from the field and five of their seven made baskets coming on three pointers.

The second half saw the Mountain Hawks close to within 13 points, but they never got closer as the Virginia defense clamped down and made life miserable for the visiting squad. Lehigh shot 40.4% from the field for the game and 41.7% (10-for-24) from three. Lance Tejada was the hot hand for Lehigh, scoring 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting (5-for-9 from three).

Lehigh turned the ball over 17 times in the game, leading to 24 points for the Hoos. Virginia took advantage of their size over Lehigh, scoring 36 points in the paint and blocked three shots. UVA also recorded 11 steals in the game.

Devon Hall also hit double digits with 11 points and chipped in five rebounds in the win. Mamadi Diakite had five rebounds for the Hoos as well. Nigel Johnson had a career-high eight rebounds, with just one turnover to go with five points.

MVP

Kyle Guy is just outstanding. He’s not only improved his offensive game immensely, but he’s stepped up defensively as well. With the ball, he’s still (or even more-so) a killer shooter, but he’s also able to slash into the lane and go to the hoop. His versatility on offense forces opponents to respect the three, but you have to understand he can take you to the rack. This is now his second game scoring at least 20 points (29 vs VCU), and he’s hit at least 13 points in all but one game this season.

Shoutouts

-Frisbee dogs. That’s really all you have to say.

-Both redshirt first years played well as De’Andre Hunter had six points and four assists in 22 minutes and Jay Huff contributed five points and three rebounds in 12 minutes.

-Ty Jerome hit a three, but is still struggling a bit shooting. He did, however, dish out four assists with no turnovers.

-Lob city has moved to Charlottesville? The Hoos hit three straight alley-oops (Diakite, Huff, then Diakite again) down the stretch to the delight of the home crowd.

-Jack Salt had four points on 2-for-2 shooting and no fouls. This pretty much says it:

Next up, the Hoos head to #19 West Virginia for a tough road matchup on Tuesday, December 5. The game is set to tip at 7pm and will be broadcast on ESPNU.