Virginia Powers Past Navy

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Four players scored in double-figures to pace No. 16 Virginia (10-2) to a 65-56 win over Navy (6-5) on Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.
 
Kihei Clark (Woodland Hills, Calif.) had a double-double with a career-high 13 assists and 10 points. Braxton Key (Charlotte, N.C.) led the Cavaliers with 15 points, adding seven rebounds and three steals. Mamadi Diakite (Conakry, Guinea, Africa) scored 13 points with a team-high eight rebounds. Casey Morsell (Fort Washington, Md.) had 10 points. Jay Huff (Durham, N.C.) added nine points and four blocks.
 
Virginia shot 53 percent from the floor, shooting 57 percent in the first half. The Cavaliers had a 28-26 edge in rebounds and an 11-4 lead in fast-break points. Cam Davis led Navy with 19 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
Tomas Woldetensae (Bologna, Italy) scored the first five points for the Cavaliers. UVA then went on a 10-0 run to lead 12-4. Virginia eventually stretched its lead to 28-18 after a three by Woldetensae at the 5:17 mark. A three by Huff made it a 37-26 lead, but Navy hit a three just before the half as UVA led 37-29 at the break.
 
Navy opened the second half with a 12-3 run to take the lead, 41-40, with 10:41 to play. Clark hit a jumper in the lane then Key had a block on the other end led to a fast-break dunk and got the foul for a 3-point play. That sparked a 12-0 run for the Cavaliers to lead 52-41. Navy cut the lead to five, 54-49, with 4:09 to play. Virginia stretched its lead back to 11 twice in the win.
 
THE GAME BALL GOES TO
Kihei Clark had a career-high 13 assists, just one shy of the UVA record set by Ty Jerome and added 10 points and four rebounds. Clark hit a jumper to put UVA back in the lead and had a three as the shot-clock expired in UVA’s 12-0 run in the second half.
 
UP NEXT
Virginia hosts Virginia Tech in a Commonwealth Clash on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.