CHARLOTTESVILLE -- With 2:15 left in a highly-touted Top-1o matchup on Saturday afternoon, UVa led Florida State by 29 in the ACC opener for both teams. The Noles then went on a 16-0 run—against walk-ons— that clearly got under the skin of the sold-out crowd at John Paul Jones Arena but it didn't take the shine off a dominant victory.
Kyle Guy continued his hot-shooting streak and scored 21 points while Braxton Key came off the bench to put up a season-high 20 points as the No. 4-ranked Hoos coasted by the No. 9-ranked Seminoles 65-52.
Despite getting limited scoring production from Ty Jerome (2-for-11 shooting, six points) and De'Andre Hunter (2-for-8 shooting, six points), the Cavaliers (13-0, 1-0 ACC) rolled to their first conference win thanks to Guy's shooting and Key's all-around floor game.
Guy, who finished 7-for-11 from the field and 5-for-6 from deep, hit a school-record 11 straight 3-pointers between the Marshall win and the first part of this one. Key, meanwhile, was also 7-for-11 shooting and pulled in six boards while helping to provide a physical presence on FSU's longer wings.
UVa limited the Noles (12-2, 0-1) to 26.1 percent shooting from deep and didn't let them score any points off turnovers prior to the starters getting their curtain call. It was the Hoos who made hay off 15 FSU turnovers—21 points worth—while also racking up 24 points in the paint.
And Virginia held Terance Mann, FSU's leading scorer coming in at 13.1 points per game who had been dealing with a bruised heel, to zero points on 0-for-3 shooting.
Interestingly enough, the Seminoles had an early lead in this game. After UVa opened things up with a pair of free throws from Jerome, MJ Walker hit a 3-pointer to give FSU a brief lead. After Mamadi Diakite scored inside, the Noles scored the game's next five points to take an 8-4 advantage into the under-16.
Mann, who picked up two fouls in 23 seconds, went to the bench with 12:48 left until the half and shortly thereafter, following a pair of drives by Guy, Key scored a bucket inside to put UVa up for good.
By the time the under-12 media timeout arrived at 10:49, Guy had hit his first 3-pointer of the day and the Wahoos were ready to roll. After Antony Polite hit two free throws to make it 13-11 Virginia, the Cavaliers went on a mini 9-4 run and then, after the teams traded 3s, closed the half on an 18-4 spurt.
Up 42-23 at the break, the Hoos came out gunning to start the second half. Guy hit another 3—his third in 2:08 of game action—to extend the lead. By the time the under-16 came, Virginia's lead was 51-28 and the only real question that lingered centered on how unequivocal the final score would look.
Despite going seven minutes and change without a field goal midway through the period, by the time Key scored inside with 8:41 left to play UVa still led 55-32 because the Noles had only made one field goal of their own during that stretch.
That bucket by Key got the junior wing going, as he scored eight straight for UVa to cap his best day as a Wahoo. Guy, meanwhile, exits the ACC opener 12-for-15 shooting from deep in his last two games. In fact, he's made 19 of 31 attempts from 3-point territory during the last four.
The Noles, who have lost seven of the last nine to UVa, did not have a double-figure scorer on the day.
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