Virginia uses fast start to cruise past North Carolina Central

Field Level Media|published: Tue 5th December, 21:17 2023

Dec 5, 2023; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Isaac McKneely (11) celebrates with teammates against the North Carolina Central Eagles in the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. credits: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Isaac McKneely drilled his first four 3-pointers to score Virginia's first 12 points, and the Cavaliers cruised to a 77-47 wire-to-wire win over North Carolina Central in nonconference action on Tuesday night in Charlottesville, Va.

McKneely matched his shooting stats from Saturday's win over Syracuse exactly, tying his career high with 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting (6 of 8 from 3-point range) as the Cavaliers (8-1) won their fourth straight game.

Leon Bond III added 14 points and nine rebounds, Elijah Gertrude had 13 points and Virginia shot 54.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent (9 of 21) from long distance and only turned the ball over five times.

The short-handed Eagles (4-6) played without three starters due to injuries and have now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Perry Smith Jr. had 12 points to lead NC Central, which shot just 29.4 percent from the field and 17.6 percent (3 of 17) from 3-point distance. Guy Fauntleroy scored 11 points and Josh Smith added 10, but Po'Boigh King, the Eagles' leading scorer entering Tuesday, was held to four points on 2-of-13 shooting.

Virginia led 50-18 with 17:04 left in the game thanks to McKneely's fifth 3-pointer. His sixth trey made it 63-30 with 11:20 to play and his night ended shortly thereafter.

The Eagles struggled against a Virginia defense that came into the game ranked second in the nation in scoring defense (54.0 points allowed per game). The Cavaliers improved to 112-2 under coach Tony Bennett when holding opponents under 50 points.

The Cavaliers led 12-4 following McKneely's game-opening barrage in the first three-plus minutes. The sophomore guard is shooting 58.1 percent (25 of 43) from beyond the arc this season.

The lead ballooned to 33-13 on Ryan Dunn's fastbreak dunk with 5:25 left in the first half, punctuating a 12-0 run.

Virginia's biggest lead of the first half was 41-17 after Gertrude's 3-pointer with 1:50 remaining. That was still the score at intermission.

The Cavaliers are off until Dec. 16. The Eagles will visit Radford on Saturday, with LeVelle Moton needing two wins to pass Floyd Brown (251) as the winningest coach in NCCU history.

—Field Level Media