CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Not many teams in the country can go most of a first half without three of their best four or five players and still lead by 25 points at intermission. But that was the case for No. 5 UVa on Sunday afternoon, as the Cavaliers got 20 points and six rebounds each from Kyle Guy and Ty Jerome on the way to a 76-57 win over George Washington.
Guy scored 17 first-half points, UVa got extended minutes from Jay Huff and Kihei Clark early, and didn't miss much of a beat when De'Andre Hunter, Braxton Key, and Mamadi Diakite weren't on the floor due to foul trouble.
UVa (2-0) played the last 12:53 of that half without either Hunter or Key, who had by that point each picked up two fouls. Diakite, meanwhile, came back in with 6:41 left and played the rest of the way with two as well.
But it didn't seem to matter much.
A 12-2 run coming out of the under-8 in the first half and the hot shooting of Guy put this one away practically as soon as it started. It didn't help that GW (0-3) shot just 22.7 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes turned it over eight times.
Guy finished 8-for-15 from the field (4-for-8 from distance) while Jerome was 7-for-9 from the floor (4-for-5 from 3-point territory). Hunter, who played just 16 minutes, added 10 points and four boards while Diakite also posted 10 points in the win.
Jerome's 3-pointer and then Hunter's bucket inside gave UVa the early edge, as the Hoos rolled out to a 16-2 lead after the under-12. Even when the fouls began to mount, the Cavaliers didn't lose much momentum. An 8-0 run through the under-4 set Virginia up with a nice advantage as did a pair of Guy 3-pointers over the final two minutes of the first half.
But GW came back out in the second with some fight, as the Colonials scored the first eight points and forced Virginia to call an early timeout. But the Hoos then went on a quick 6-0 spurt going into the under-16 before Jerome and Guy each made 3s that, combined with a pair of Hunter buckets inside, helped buoy the lead.
In fact, the second of those two field goals was the start of a 12-1 run, capped by a Diakite dunk off a pass from Huff, that put Virginia up 68-37 with 8:13 left.
That gave Tony Bennett a chance to get some of his substitutes in the game but they allowed a 11-0 run that cut it to 68-45 with 6:39 left and the starters came back in to right the ship. Key scored in transition off a steal and Jerome hit another 3-point to help the lead sit at 23 going into the final media timeout.
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