Thijs De Ridder's big night lifts No. 21 Virginia over American

A season-best 27 points from Thijs De Ridder drove No. 21 Virginia to a dominant 95-51 win over American University in Charlottesville, Va., on Monday in both teams' final game before conference play.

A game after De Ridder tied a career low with five points on just 1-for-8 shooting in Virginia's previous game against Maryland on Saturday, the freshman forward dropped 21 first-half points in setting his brief career's scoring mark as Virginia never trailed and raced past American easily.

Virginia (11-1) benefitted from a sharp start from its Belgian star. In the first three minutes of the game, De Ridder scored eight of Virginia's first 10 points as the Cavaliers raced to a 10-3 edge. By the midpoint of the first half, the Cavaliers stretched the lead to 22-8 and American never again drew closer than 11 points.

De Ridder made a layup to end the half and stretch UVA's edge to 45-25. Despite playing only 24 minutes in total, resting the majority of the second half, De Ridder added eight rebounds while shooting 11-for-15, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

Malik Thomas was one of three Cavaliers to finish with 11 points, joining Sam Lewis and reserve Eiljah Gertrude (who connected on all four of his field-goal attempts). Chance Mallory added 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists.

Virginia shot 62.3% (38-for-61) for the game and improved as the game continued, shooting 70% (21-for-30) in the second half.

The Cavaliers tallied 56 points in the paint, though they oddly shot worse from the free throw line (10-for-18 for 55.6%) than from the floor. The Cavaliers' 44-point margin is a season best.

American (7-6) was paced by Julen Iturbe, who scored 13 points and shot 3-for-6 from 3-point range. Greg Jones added 10 points.

The Eagles shot just 31.7% (19-for-60) and were outrebounded 45-23 for the game.

--Field Level Media