UVa cruises past MVSU 67-39
Junior Akil Mitchell tied his career-high with 20 points in just 16 minutes of action and Virginia won its seventh-straight game, defeating Mississippi Valley State 67-39 on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville.
Freshman Justin Anderson had 15 points and 9 rebounds while sophomore Darion Atkins added 14 points and 7 boards for the Cavaliers (8-2), who improved to 7-1 at home.
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Davon Usher led winless Mississippi Valley State (0-5) with 14 points.
Virginia, which entered the game ranked third nationally in scoring defense, was in full control from the opening tip.
The Cavaliers raced out to a 12-2 lead, holding the Delta Devils without a field goal for nearly the first six minutes of action.
Virginia opened up a 22-11 advantage when Anderson made a steal and then a nice pass to Mitchell for a fast-break dunk.
Virginia held the Delta Devils to 16 percent (4 of 25) from the field in the first half and only yielded 19 percent for the game, the second-lowest percentage this season by any Division I team (North Carolina A&T in a loss to Cincinnati).
In the second half, the Cavaliers quickly extended their lead. Mitchell scored the team's first 10 points after halftime, highlighting his scoring spurt with a driving two-handed dunk.
Later, Anderson had the crowd on its feet after he tricked the Delta Devils' defense with a fake behind-the-back pass and then dunked.
UVa held an opponent under 50 points for the fifth time this year and the 23rd time since Tony Bennett became coach four years ago. It was also the second-straight game the Cavaliers held an opponent under 40 points.