Virginia tames Oakland 71-58 after dominant second half

The Virginia Cavaliers started slow, trailed at halftime, but pulled away late to earn another win. That's been the story of the past four games, including tonight's 71-58 victory over a dangerous Oakland squad. The Hoos won their 10th straight game to finish their non-conference schedule with an 11-1 record.

The Grizzlies of Oakland hung with the Hoos during a back-and-forth first half in which the Hoos shot 33% from the field (including a 2-10 mark from Malcom Brogdon), while Kahlil Felder scored 17 of his 30 points. UVA trailed 29-28 at halftime after Oakland finished the half on a 7-0 run.

Perhaps Coach Bronco Mendenhall's halftime speech (see a clip below) inspired the Hoos, as they came out for the second half looking like a different (and far better) team. UVA immediately scored the half's first 8 points, then put together another 8-0 run before the ten-minute mark to put the game away.

VIDEO: Welcome Coach Mendenhall! #GoHoos #wahoowa pic.twitter.com/5k2irKfazQ

— Wahoo Central (@WahooCentral) December 30, 2015

After slipping out of the rotation during the past few games, Tobey was highly-efficient, finishing the game with 16 points on 7-8 shooting, 7 rebounds, and just 1 foul in 19 minutes of action. At one point, he scored 8 consecutive points for the Hoos in a two-minute period.  Tobey played smartly and energetically - doing so is what allowed him to easily impact the game. Anthony Gill led the team with 17 points on 6-8 shooting against an Oakland team that was overmatched on the interior.

The perimeter shooters, on the other hand, who shined against Villanova and Cal, were ineffective. Malcolm Brogdon was 3-14 from the field, including some uncharacteristic misses close to the basket, and Darius Thompson was 1-7 (though the one was the monster slam below).  London Perrantes scored 9 points on 3-6 shooting, but missed most of the first half after picking up two quick fouls.

While Felder was dominant for Oakland, he outscored the rest of his team, as the Grizzlies put up by far their lowest point output of the season, finishing with 58 points (.92 PPP). Before tonight, Oakland hadn't scored under 1 PPP this season, and had scored over 80 points in all but one game.

Virginia starts conference play Saturday at 5 PM when Notre Dame visits Charlottesville to cap a 4-game Virginia homestand. The game will air on ESPN2.