Seventh-ranked UVA led Grambling State by 40 at the half en route to a 90-34 win on Tuesday at the John Paul Jones Arena.
And no, it wasn’t that close.
Grambling State (1-3) had hung tough in an early loss to Providence, staying within double digits into the final seven minutes, but was nowhere near that competitive against the Cavs.
Virginia (4-0) shot 72 percent from the field in the first half, held the Tigers to 21.1 percent shooting and forced 13 turnovers in 29 first-half possessions for Grambling State.
It was 49-9 UVA at the break, and it was 71-17 before coach Tony Bennett went to the deeper recesses of his bench in the final 10 minutes.
Freshman Kyle Guy led the way for UVA, scoring 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 shooting from three-point range in 13 minutes off the bench.
Marial Shayok and Darius Thompson each had 12 points for UVA, which shot 55 percent from the floor for the game, and hit 14-of-34 (41.2 percent) from three-point range.
Grambling State was 12-of-52 from the floor (23.1 percent) for the night.
Virginia next plays on Friday, against Iowa in the Emerald Coast Classic.
UVA Team Notes
- This was Virginia’s second game with Grambling State, with UVA winning both
- Virginia extended its home win streak to 23 games (sixth longest in the nation), dating from Feb. 7, 2015, and has won 42 of its last 43 home contests
- UVA extended its program-record win streak at John Paul Jones Arena, dating from Feb. 7, 2015, and has won 44 of its last 45 home games.
- UVA is 141-36 in 11 seasons at JPJ, including 103-20 under Tony Bennett
- Grambling’s nine first-half points marked the fewest allowed in a half by UVA since since Harvard’s 8-point first half on Dec. 21, 2014
- UVA is now 57-2 under Tony Bennett when limiting to opponents to fewer than 50 points
- UVA has held three straight opponents under 40 points for the first time in shot-clock era and the first time since the 1945-46 season
- UVA shot 72 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from 3-point range in the first half: both totals were UVA’s best for a half this season
- Virginia held Grambling State scoreless for 9:46 spanning the final 8:22 of the first half and the first 1:24 of the second; this is the fifth-time UVA has held an opponent scoreless for six minutes or more in four games this season
- UVA held an opponent to fewer than 40 points for the 17th time in Tony Bennett’s eight seasons
- UVA’s 40-point halftime lead was its largest under Tony Bennett; the previous high was 31 against Seattle (11/17/12) and Harvard (12/21/14)
- It also was UVA’s largest halftime lead at JPJ (34 vs. Gonzaga, 1/3/07) and its biggest since a 43-point lead (68-25) against Grambling on Dec. 30, 2001
- The 56-point win was the third-largest in program history and the largest under Tony Bennett
- Virginia broke the 90-point plateau for the first time under Tony Bennett and for the first time since Dec. 17, 2008, against Longwood; the previous high under Bennett was 89 in a double-OT win over Miami on Jan. 3, 2015
UVA Player Notes
- Kyle Guy scored a career-high 20 points, including 14 in the first half
- Guy is the first Virginia freshman to score 20 points in a game since Justin Anderson scored 24 against Iowa on March 27, 2013 in the NIT
- All 13 Virginia players scored and saw at least 10 minutes of playing time
- Jarred Reuter had a career-high eight rebounds
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