Home #8 Virginia wins heavyweight battle with #12 Villanova, 86-75
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#8 Virginia wins heavyweight battle with #12 Villanova, 86-75

Chris Graham

A 14-0 second-half Virginia run gave the Cavs the lead for good in an 86-75 win over #12 Villanova on Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at the John Paul Jones Arena.

UVA (9-1) led 33-29 at the half, but the Wildcats (8-2) opened the second half with a 7-0 run, and led 40-37 with 15:15 to go.

A stickback by Mike Tobey ignited an 18-3 stretch over the next six minutes that pushed the ‘Hoos to a double-digit lead.

‘Nova closed to within three at 65-62 with 4:32 left on a three by Kris Jenkins, but London Perrantes responded with a three on Virginia’s next possession to start a run that would get the game back to double-digits.

A Jalen Brunson three-pointer with 47 seconds left cut the Virginia lead to 79-75, but two free throws by Malcolm Brogdon made it 81-75, and Brunson missed on the Cats’ next possession to start the march to the foul line.

Virginia Notes

  • Anthony Gill had 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field to lead Virginia. Malcolm Brogdon had 20 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 from the line.
  • London Perrantes had 19 points for UVA, which shot 56.5 percent from the field (26-of-46) and a blistering 66.7 percent (8-of-12) from three-point range.
  • Villanova shot 49.1 percent for the game (26-of-53), but was just 43.8 percent (14-of-32) in the second half.
  • Kris Jenkins led the Wildcats with 23 points.
  • UVA had a 31-19 rebound advantage.
  • The Cavs shot 26-of-30 from the free-throw line. Villanova was 13-for-17 at the stripe.

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].