No. 5 Virginia overcame a sluggish start to open its 2018-19 campaign with a 73-42 win over Towson on Tuesday night at Charlottesville, Va.

Cavaliers junior guard Ty Jerome dropped in 20 points and tied a career-high with six 3-pointers. Redshirt sophomore De'Andre Hunter chipped in with his second-career double-double as he recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Virginia suffocated Towson with its stingy defense, holding the Tigers without a field goal for over 10 minutes in the second half.

Towson was limited to 31.7 percent shooting and did not record an assist on its 13 made field goals. Tobias Howard led the Tigers with 10 points while Brian Fobbs added nine points.

Virginia used an 18-1 run late in the second half to pull away from the Tigers as it shot 48.1 percent on the night, knocking down 10 three-pointers.

Three of Jerome's six 3-pointers came in a short spurt midway through the second half as he fueled Virginia's run. Jerome added three rebounds and four assists.

Towson kicked off the scoring in the contest with a 3-pointer from Fobbs 39 seconds in. The Tigers would lead 11-9 with 10 minutes to play in the first half before Virginia used a 14-1 run to seize control.

Despite shooting just 37 percent in the half, the Cavaliers held Towson scoreless for almost eight minutes to take a 28-19 lead into the locker room.

Jerome led all scorers with 11 first-half points while Fobbs scored seven for Towson.

The Tigers were held to 29 percent shooting over the first 20 minutes as they turned the ball over six times and made just five of their 12 free-throw attempts.

Virginia returns to action on Sunday when it hosts George Washington. Towson will host Wesley on Sunday.

--Field Level Media