Juniors Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome combined for 43 points as No. 5 Virginia cruised past host South Carolina 69-52 Wednesday night in Columbia, S.C.
Jerome tallied 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds for the Cavaliers (10-0). Virginia led by as many as 19 points in the second half and never trailed in the game.
Guy knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 12 of his 18 points in the game's final 20 minutes.
Down two of its starters, South Carolina (4-6) showed promise at points against one of the nation's best teams but could never get over the hump due to 36.4 percent field-goal shooting.
Chris Silva led the way with 11 points for the Gamecocks while Hassani Gravett scored 10.
Virginia shot 50 percent in the second half and 44.1 percent for the game while connecting on 8 of 24 3-point attempts. The Cavaliers turned the ball over just five times, including once in the second half, while South Carolina coughed up 12 times. Virginia got 14 points off of those 12 Gamecock turnovers.
South Carolina hit only 3 of 18 attempts from beyond the 3-point arc.
Virginia junior Mamadi Diakite started in place of freshman Kihei Clark, who played despite having wrist surgery just nine days ago. Diakite scored 10 points and grabbed five rebounds in 22 minutes. Clark played 24 minutes and scored two points.
Neither team broke the 40-percent mark shooting in the first half as Virginia carried a 33-26 lead into the locker room. Jerome scored 16 points to lead the Cavaliers as they shot 38.7 percent as a team and led by as many 10 points.
South Carolina was held to 35-percent shooting before the break, including 2 of 13 from 3-point range. The teams combined to start the game 0 of 11 from beyond the arc.
Virginia will be back in action on Saturday when it plays host to William & Mary. Clemson will visit South Carolina on Saturday.
--Field Level Media
Virginia | South Carolina | |
Ty Jerome 25 | Scoring | Chris Silva 11 |
Ty Jerome 7 | Assists | A.J. Lawson 3 |
Jack Salt 9 | Rebounds | Alanzo Frink 8 |
Ty Jerome 4 | Free Throws Made | A.J. Lawson 4 |
Mamadi Diakite 2 | Steals | A.J. Lawson 2 |
Mamadi Diakite 1 | Blocks | Keyshawn Bryant 2 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Virginia | 69 | 44.1 | 8-24 | 9-13 | 15 | 31 | 2 | 6 | 5 |
South Carolina | 52 | 36.4 | 3-18 | 9-13 | 9 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 12 |