#2 Virginia handles Georgia Tech, 64-48, to improve to 6-0 in the ACC

Despite some struggles from deep, the No. 2 Virginia Cavaliers traveled to Atlanta and picked up a coveted ACC road win with a 64-48 victory over Georgia Tech in front of a sold out crowd. DeAndre Hunter led the way for Virginia with 17 points and got double digit points from Ty Jerome (12 points), Kyle Guy (11 points), and Devon Hall (11 points). The Hoos shot 45.6% from the field in the game and held Georgia Tech to just 39% from the field. Tadric Jackson led the Jackets with 14 points.

Virginia led the battle in the paint, 44-20, and scored 16 points off of 18 Georgia Tech turnovers. Conversely, the Hoos only turned the ball over nine times. Ben Lammers, who came in averaging over 12 points per game, finished with just four points (to go with six blocks and eight rebounds). The Jackets finished with more turnovers (16) than field goals (15) as Virginia’s defense was stifling.

Georgia Tech got on the board first after the Hoos came up empty on two straight possessions. Jerome tied the game at two, Isaiah Wilkins tipped in a Jerome miss, and Jerome hit a floater to give Virginia a 6-2 lead early. Neither team was red-hot to start the game, but Virginia was able to build a lead thanks to stifling defense that held the Jackets to 1-for-8 shooting through the first 8:31.

Guy hit Virginia’s first three of the game to give the Hoos an 11-4 lead with 10:16 left in the first half, but a GT dunk and a made free throw brought the score to 11-7. A DeAndre Hunter lay-in and a Wilkins made it 14-7, but the Jackets responded with two straight buckets to close the gap to three.

Two straight fast break buckets pushed the lead to 18-11 with 5:06 to play. Tadric Jackson made a jumper and Curtis Haywood II hit the Jackets’ first three pointer of the game (sandwiched around a Hunter layup) put the pressure on the Hoos. Virginia responded with an 8-3 run over the final 3:50 of the game, capped off with a four point play from Hunter.

Virginia led 28-19 at the half, making it the fifth time the Hoos held an opponent under 20 points in a half.

Hunter led the Hoos with 10 points in the first half, and Jerome added six. Virginia shot 40% from the field for the first half and held Georgia Tech to 38%. Both teams went 2-for-6 (33%) from three in the first 20 minutes.

Tech’s Lammers finished the first half with just two points, but had six blocks and seven rebounds. Haywood and Jackson tied with six points each in the first 20 minutes for the Jackets.

The Hoos came out hot to start the second half, building a 36-24 lead at the under 16 timeout thanks to buckets from Wilkins, Hunter, Jerome, and Guy. Virginia built their lead to 46-30 at the 10:04 mark before Georgia Tech rattled off an 8-3 run. From there, it was all Virginia as the Hoos coasted to the double digit win.

Next up, Virginia heads to Wake Forest for a Sunday matchup.