Hoos put six in double-figures, roll past Queens 94-69
Coming off of its first loss of the season, UVa returned to John Paul Jones Arena on Friday afternoon and delivered a decisive, if not far from perfect, 94-69 win against Queens.
The Hoos started hot, leading by as much as 21-8 with 11:29 left in the first. Thijs De Ridder once again led the way with 12 points in the first, while UVa (6-1) finished with 11 assists and just three turnovers. He finished with 21 points, one of six in double-figures. Sam Lewis went for 15 points, followed by 13 from both Johann Grunloh (who also added a game-high 10 boards) and Devin Tillis, as well as 11 each from Jacari White and Chance Mallory.
It wasn’t all smooth sailing, as the Cavaliers hit a bit of a snag in the middle of the half when Queens cut the lead to 24-16 with 9:37 to go during a stretch in which UVa made just one of eight field-goal attempts. The Royals (3-5) committed seven first-half turnovers and finished with a first half field goal percentage of just 29% (9-for-31), but gathered 20 rebounds, including nine offensive, to UVa’s 25.
Nasir Mann led the Royals with 12 points, but was the only Queens player to score more than six, as the Cavaliers would get back into rhythm down the stretch and, despite not scoring a field goal in the final 2:59 of the half, enter the locker room up 46-29 after making five of their six field free throws in the final three minutes.
The Wahoos shook off more rust in the second half, never leading by fewer than 25 after the 13-minute mark in the second. They shot 65.4% (17-for-26) from the field in the second, bringing their total field goal percentage to 53.3% for the game.
Mann finished with a total of 18 points for the Royals.
The Hoos also finished with 24 assists, which led Ryan Odom to note later that passing the ball was a focus heading into the game after the Hoos finished their loss to Butler with just six assists. Against Queens, he was pleased with the improvement.
Still, Odom said he hopes to see the team improve its rebounding. The Cavaliers finished with 41 total, 14 offensive and 27 defensive, while the Royals finished right behind with 35, 18 offensive and 17 defensive.
“We’d love to rebound the ball better defensively,” Odom said. “[That is] certainly something that we want to be a staple for us. You go into a game, you know, ‘Hey, we’re gonna rebound the ball.’ We weren’t very good at it today. But overall, offensively, I thought our guys did a nice job.”
