Virginia Wins 76-71 over No. 24 Maryland in ACC/Big 10 Challenge
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Four players finished in double-figures to lead No. 4 Virginia (7-0) to a 76-71 win over No. 24 Maryland (6-1) on the road in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge on Wednesday night at the Xfinity Center.
Kyle Guy (Indianapolis, Ind.) finished with a team-high 18, scoring 15 in the first half, Ty Jerome (New Rochelle, N.Y.) had 17, De’Andre Hunter (Philadelphia, Pa.) had 15 and Jack Salt (Auckland, New Zealand) scored a career-high 12 points.
UVA had eight 3-pointers (8-of-16) in the first half, a season-high in the opening half. The Cavaliers finished the night 47.5 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from beyond the arc.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia took a 39-30 lead into the half, leading by as many as 11 in the first half. Guy hit a three to open the second half, then a dunk and a layup for Salt helped UVA to its largest lead of the game, 48-31. Maryland slowly fought back in and cut the lead to four, 61-57, with four minutes to go. Salt responded with a dunk, then UVA went on a 7-2 run that included a Jerome three and another dunk by Salt to stretch the lead back to 10. The Terrapins closed the gap to four, two more times but could not get any closer as UVA picked up some key stops and converted from the free throw line.
THE GAME BALL GOES TO
Jack Salt scored a career-high 12 points, going 6-for-7 from the floor, and added seven boards with one block and one steal. He had 10 of his 12 in the second half, while also grabbing three offensive rebounds.
NOTES
• Virginia has started 7-0 for the third straight year
• UVA has a five-game winning streak in the ACC/B1G Challenge (13-6 all-time)
• UVA tied a school record with two turnovers (Louisville Feb. 7, 2015)
• UVA has won eight of last nine contests vs. Maryland
• Guy made a season-high five 3-pointers
FROM BENNETT
“I think early on we ran good offense, made some shots and defensively we were not solid in terms of blocking out, they were making plays touching the paint, and then we made some subs and the guys really stood in there. That’s why depth is so important, I thought Marco, Braxton, Mamadi gave us a good lift defensively and then we got on track, but we needed to. We knew there were going to be runs in the game and there were enough plays made and I was really happy for Jack Salt, and Kihei, and Braxton, I thought they made some really good lifts down the stretch.”
UP NEXT
Virginia will return home for the first time since Nov. 16 to host Morgan State on Monday, Dec. 3 at 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.