Monmouth, coming off a 21-13 season in 2021-2022, was able to hang around with #18 Virginia for 10 minutes Friday night.
UVA coach Tony Bennett got what he wanted otherwise – plenty of minutes for his bench, including freshmen Isaac McKneely and Ryan Dunn – in an 89-42 win.
Dunn didn’t get into the opener, a 73-61 win over North Carolina Central on Monday, but the 6’8” freshman got 27 minutes, and looked as he’d been advertised – athletic, plus defensively, with a nice stroke from the perimeter.
Dunn finished with 13 points and five boards.
McKneely, a 6’4” guard, built on his 23-minute effort in the opener with a team-high 15 points, connecting on 5-of-8 from the field, and 4-of-6 from three, in 28 minutes off the bench.
Ohio U. grad transfer Ben Vander Plas was the other ‘Hoo in double figures, with 10 points, on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor, and 2-of-3 from three, in 19 minutes off the bench.
Other notables
- Kadin Shedrick had nine points, seven rebounds, one block and three steals
- Jayden Gardner had nine points (3-of-7 FG), five rebounds, and played just 16 minutes because of foul trouble (four fouls).
- Armaan Franklin, who had a team-high 21 points in the opener, had a modest eight (3-of-6 FG, 2-of-4 3FG) in 18 minutes.
- Kihei Clark had eight points, seven assists and didn’t have a turnover. Reece Beekman had seven points, six assists, a turnover, two steals and two blocked shots.
- Taine Murray got 16 minutes off the bench, after cameoing for two minutes in the opener, and had seven points (3-of-6 FG, 1-of-3 3FG).
- Francisco Caffaro, who had 10 points in 10 bench minutes on Monday, did not play.
Inside the numbers
Virginia shot 32.3 percent from three-point range a year ago, one of the many limitations that team had contributing to the 21-14 finish. In this one, UVA was 13-of-25 from three. For the season, the Cavaliers are shooting 48 percent (24-of-50) from behind the arc.
In Monday’s win, the UVA D surrendered 1.052 points per possession. On Friday, Monmouth scored .700 points per possession.
Virginia shot 30-of-54 (55.6 percent) from the field: 14-of-19 at the rim, 3-of-10 on two-point jumpers, and the 13-of-25 from three.
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Chris Graham
