This Virginia team can score. It has some work to do on the defensive end, but the Cavaliers can put the ball through the net.
Armaan Franklin had 21 points, Kadin Shedrick, Francisco Caffaro and Reece Beekman each had 10, in a 73-61 UVA win over North Carolina Central.
Tony Bennett will not be happy about the 61 part of that final score.
The Eagles were down 31-15 at the 7:08 mark of the first half, but actually rallied to take a 44-43 lead on an Eric Boone layup with 14:21 left.
A Kihei Clark three from the top of the key ignited a 15-2 Virginia run over the next 3:11, but the Cavaliers could not shake the Eagles, who were able to hang around because they shot the ball well from three – connecting on 8-of-19 from long-range, 4-of-6 in the second half.
For the game, NCCU scored 1.052 points per possession, which isn’t going to cut it season-long.
But this was opening night, and Bennett is still getting a feel for his rotation, giving eight guys double-digit minutes.
Still, he won’t be happy.
The rotation
For the moment, the rotation has Kihei Clark, Reece Beekman and freshman Isaac McKneely joining Franklin in the backcourt, and Shedrick and Caffaro with Jayden Gardner and Ben Vander Plas in the frontcourt.
Franklin was the hot hand, getting his 21 on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor, 4-of-7 from three, and 7-of-8 from the line.
The two-headed monster at center, Shedrick and Caffaro, had productive nights – Shedrick was 3-of-6 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the line for his 10 points, along with seven rebounds and two blocked shots in 27 minutes; Caffaro was 3-of-3 from the floor and 4-of-5 from the line to go with four rebounds in 10 minutes off the bench.
The point guards, Beekman and Clark, had 10 points and nine points, respectively, and each had five assists, but both had ball-control issues – Beekman had four turnovers, and Clark two.
Vander Plas, the plum of the transfer portal, had seven points – on 2-of-5 shooting from the floor, 2-of-4 from three – and four rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.
Gardner didn’t hit a shot from the field – his three points came at the free-throw line, where he was 3-of-5 on the night – though he did have a game-high nine rebounds.
McKneely, in his first game at UVA, was 1-of-4 from three for three points in 23 minutes off the bench.
Taine Murray got two first-half minutes.
Inside the Numbers
Virginia shot 20-of-47 from the floor (42.6 percent).
The breakdown by zones: 5-of-11 at the rim, 4-of-11 on two-point jumpers, 11-of-25 from three.
NCCU shot 22-of-53 from the floor (41.5 percent).
Zone breakdown: 8-of-14 at the rim, 6-of-20 on two-point jumpers, 8-of-19 from three.
Virginia was 22-of-30 at the line; NCCU was 9-of-14.
Virginia had a 37-27 advantage in rebounds and a 10-6 edge in second-chance points.
NCCU won the points in the paint battle: 20-18.
Both teams had eight turnovers.
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Chris Graham
