DeAndre Hunter scored 20 points as No. 4 Virginia made enough plays on both ends and claimed the Battle 4 Atlantis championship with a 53-46 victory over No. 25 Wisconsin on Friday at Paradise Island, Bahamas.
Ty Jerome added 11 points and was the only other double-figure scorer for Virginia (6-0), which won despite shooting 25.9 percent in the second half and 37 percent overall.
Ethan Happ scored 22 for Wisconsin (5-1), which was unable to start 6-0 for the first time since 2014-15 and unable to get its seventh win over a Top-10 team under coach Greg Gard. Happ also had 15 rebounds, six assists and four blocked shots.
Happ was the only double-figure scorer for the Badgers, who shot 43.8 percent
The Cavaliers won a November tournament for the sixth straight season and allowed less than 50 points for the third time this season.
Virginia also extended its November winning streak to 24 games dating back to a five-point loss against George Washington on Nov. 16, 2015.
Hunter scored 12 points as the Cavaliers shot 48 percent and held a 33-18 lead by halftime. Wisconsin was within 21-16 on a layup by Happ with 5:33 remaining but 3-pointers by Jerome and Kyle Guy helped Virginia end the half with a 12-2 run.
Consecutive hoops by Happ helped the Badgers open the second half with an 11-3 run to make it 36-29 with 14:22 left on a 3-pointer by Kobe King and nearly four minutes later cut it to 40-34 and forced Virginia to call a 30-second timeout.
Wisconsin remained in striking distance, getting within 47-42 on a basket by Brad Davison with about 3 1/2 minutes left and then 51-46 on a basket by Happ with 72 seconds left. Hunter then capped his big day by making a free throw with 17 seconds left and King blew a layup for Wisconsin that essentially clinched the win for the Cavaliers.
--Field Level Media
Virginia | Wisconsin | |
De'Andre Hunter 20 | Scoring | Ethan Happ 22 |
Ty Jerome 5 | Assists | Ethan Happ 6 |
De'Andre Hunter 9 | Rebounds | Ethan Happ 15 |
De'Andre Hunter 4 | Free Throws Made | Khalil Iverson 1 |
Kihei Clark 3 | Steals | Brad Davison 2 |
De'Andre Hunter 1 | Blocks | Ethan Happ 4 |