Sixth-ranked UVA opened the game on a 16-4 run and ground Cleveland State from there in posting a 70-54 win on Thursday at the John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.
Virginia (10-0) led 31-18 at the half, and the margin was never closer than 13 in the second half, but the Vikings (5-6) tried to make it interesting, hitting 10 of their first 16 from the field.
The Cavaliers kept Cleveland State at bay with a solid second-half effort from Justin Anderson, who scored 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field in the second 20 minutes after scoring just two points on 1-of-5 shooting in the first half.
Virginia shot 50 percent (22-of-44) from the field for the game, including 5-of-11 from three-point range, after a cold 6-for-17 start in that opening 16-4 run that was more about defense – with Cleveland State coming out of the gate making just two of its first 17 from the field.
Malcolm Brogdon also scored 16 points for Virginia. Anthony Gill added 13.
Cleveland State, which had lost to #4 Louisville, 45-33, on Nov. 26, fnished 37.7 percent shooting from the floor (20-of-53) and 7-of-23 from three-point range (30.4 percent).
Trey Lewis had 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 shooting from long range to lead Cleveland State.
Virginia won the rebounding battle, 32-26, and outscored the Vikings in the paint, 26-20.
With the win, UVA has now won 28 of its last 30 games since a loss in Durham at Duke in January.
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Chris Graham
