Kyle Guy scored 15 points to lead No. 4 Virginia past in-state foe VCU 57-49 Sunday afternoon in a brick-filled affair in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers overcame a cold shooting day to erase a five-point late-second-half deficit, and remain undefeated on the season.
Ty Jerome joined Guy with a 4-for-13 shooting day and scored 14 points, including what might have been the game-turning sequence in the second half. Jerome's 3-pointer, coupled with Guy drawing a foul and making two free throws, gave Virginia (9-0) a five-point play to put the Cavaliers up 49-45 with 4:17 to play. That was part of a 15-2 run after VCU led 43-38 with just under seven minutes to play.
VCU (7-3) matched Virginia's poor shooting performance of 29.5 percent as the Rams went cold down the stretch and made just one of their last 11 field-goal attempts. Issac Vann was the lone VCU player in double figures as he scored 10 points.
Despite a rough shooting day from the field, Virginia did its job at the charity stripe, knocking down 26 of 30 attempts to help hold off a pesky VCU squad.
After the two teams traded baskets in a back-and-forth first 15 minutes of the game, Virginia took its largest lead of six with 4:09 to play in the half.
The Cavaliers managed a five-point halftime advantage as they took a 29-24 lead into the locker room.
Guy tallied 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting before the break, but the rest of his team managed to make just four field goals total. The Cavaliers shot 35 percent but knocked down 10 of their 12 free throws.
VCU also struggled shooting the ball to the tone of 37 percent as Vann led the Rams with six first-half points.
Virginia will travel to take on South Carolina on December 19th, while VCU will host Charleston on Saturday.
--Field Level Media
VCU | Virginia | |
Issac Vann 10 | Scoring | Kyle Guy 15 |
Issac Vann 3 | Assists | Kihei Clark 4 |
Marcus Santos-Silva 10 | Rebounds | Ty Jerome 8 |
Marcus Santos-Silva 2 | Free Throws Made | Kihei Clark 7 |
De'Riante Jenkins 1 | Steals | Kihei Clark 2 |
Corey Douglas 2 | Blocks | Mamadi Diakite 1 |