De Ridder, Thomas, and Hall have big days in UVa's 104-78 win

UVa got 23 points from Thijs De Ridder and 18 each from Malik Thomas and Dallin Hall, scoring more than 100 points for the first time since 2018 in a 104-78 win over Marshall on Saturday.

In a classic tale of two halves, the Hoos set a new John Paul Jones record with 61 in the first 20 minutes but then hit a field-goal drought that lasted nearly eight minutes and included nine straight misses in the second.

“You have to have the combination of offense and defense to be at your best,” Ryan Odom said after the game, “and certainly, our guys did a nice job in that first half. When we got away from that in the second half, you can see how it can impact you overall.”

The offensive performance in the first half was highlighted by a long-awaited breakout game from Thomas. After averaging 10 points per game through the Cavalier’s first three contests, he exploded for 16 in the first alone, most of any player in the first, with a team-leading four rebounds.

All-in-all, the Hoos (4-0) went 20-for-32 (62.5%) from the field and 7-for-13 from 3 (53.8%) in the first half while committing just two turnovers.

But Virginia cooled off considerably in the second half, going just 13-for-31 (41.9%) from the floor and 5-from-15 (33.3%) from deep, including that lengthy drought in the middle, to bring its field-goal percentage on the game to 52.4%, 42.9% from beyond the arc.

Foul trouble in particular plagued the Cavaliers, as they committed 14 in the second after just six in the first. De Ridder fouled out with 1:35 remaining. Thomas and Chance Mallory both finished with four fouls as well.

Marshall (3-1) also finished the half with 14 personal fouls and 28 total. Jalen Speer and Wilson Dubinsky both finished with four.

The Herd nearly matched the Cavaliers in total rebounds 35 to 38, aided in large part by 7-foot-4 center Matt Van Komen, who finished with a double-double, 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. UVa’s Johann Gruloh finished second in rebounds with seven plus 16 points.

When the dust settled, De Ridder led all scorers, but Marshall’s Landen Joseph finished just behind him with 22 and was one of four Herd players to finish in double-figures. 

Joseph was the only Marshall player to finish with more than 15, while the four Cavaliers who finished in double-digits did so.

The Wahoos have not trailed a single second through four games this season.