Inefficiency catches up with No. 6 UVa in 66-57 loss to No. 25 WVU
CHARLOTTESVILLE - Despite losing its leading scorer just before halftime due to an ejection, No. 25 West Virginia used a key 7-0 run going into the under-4 late and closed the game on a 13-1 run to beat No. 6 UVa 66-57 on Saturday afternoon.
The Cavaliers (7-1) saw their 24-game winning streak at John Paul Jones Arena snapped in a game where they committed a season-high 14 turnovers and gave up 18 points off of them.
When Daxter Miles, who had a game-high 7 points in the first half, was disqualified after a flagrant foul on Isaiah Wilkins with 2:42 left until halftime, it looked like the Wahoos would be able to get the win. But Wilkins missed both free throws and UVa came up empty on its free possession. It was emblematic of Virginia's issues on the day: The Cavaliers shot just 53.8 percent at the free-throw line (7-for-13) and were erratic offensively in general.
UVa carried a 25-24 lead into the break after losing an 11-point advantage just before the under-12 media timeout. In the time between then and halftime, the Wahoos missed nine of 13 shots and committed six turnovers, several of which were unforced.
The second half saw 13 lead changes and five ties in a game that was much closer than the margin would seem to imply.
When London Perrantes found Darius Thompson for an alley-oop with 6:21 left, it gave UVa a 49-45 lead thanks to a 7-0 run that began with a Thompson 3-pointer. Though the lead felt solid at the time, West Virginia answered back with a pair of free throws from Jevon Carter and then a bucket inside from Teyvon Myers. But it was Lamont West's 3-pointer with 4:35 to play that put the pressure on UVa and broke the penultimate tie.
First-year guard Ty Jerome scored about 30 seconds later and UVa got a Perrantes 3-pointer with 3:09 left that was ultimately his team's final lead. The ball movement, an extra pass off a Thompson drive and kick late in the clock, was pure as Hall dished to Perrantes for the better look.
But WVU (6-1) took command on a Nathan Adrian lay-up with 2:07 left and, after Thompson made one of two at the line with 1:44 to play to tie it at 55-55, the Mountaineers were clutch. Esa Ahmad, who finished with nine points on 2-for-7 shooting, hit a 3-pointer with 1:27 left, followed by a Tarik Phillip drive with 32 seconds remaining. West Virginia then made all six free-throw attempts down the stretch to seal the victory.
"West Virginia is an obviously well-coached, very physical, tough, veteran team," UVa's Tony Bennett said, "and you could see that. Our guys gave great effort but I do not know if we quite matched the physicality."
Carter finished with a team-high 11 points while Adrian added 10 points and five rebounds. Thompson's 14 points were a game-high for UVa but the Cavaliers shot just 45.8 percent from the floor, 31.6 from beyond the arc, and didn't have another player in double figures. Perrantes, who had just six points on 2-for-10 shooting, had seven assists against three turnovers.
WVU's 24 points in the first half were a season low for the Mountaineers and the 66 points were 28 below their scoring average. Interestingly, though UVa's 14 turnovers may have been a season high for the Wahoos, they were the fewest West Virginia has forced this season.
