No. 5 Virginia Blows Past Maryland Eastern Shore, 72-45
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Led by Jayden Gardner, who scored a game-high 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting, No. 5 Virginia (5-0) tallied its fifth straight win to start the season in a 72-45 decision over Maryland Eastern Shore (2-4) Friday night (Nov. 25) at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavaliers never trailed in Friday’s contest, leading for 39:17 of game time, and tallied 40 points in the paint.
In addition to Gardner, Kadin Shedrick (13 points) scored in double figures for UVA. He was 4-for-4 from the field and knocked down all five of his attempts at the line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia led 40-22 at the half after Gardner led all scorers with 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting. He scored the first two baskets of the game to help UVA open up a 20-4 lead in the first 7:30 of play. UMES cut its deficit in half with an 8-0 run of its own in the middle of the first, but UVA ultimately doubled up the Hawks, 40-20, with under 2:00 to play in the half. Virginia shot 60 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes of play, while the Hawks made just 37 percent of their attempts from the field and were just 1-of-9 from 3-point range.
UMES drained a 3 to open the second, but their 15-point deficit was as close as they would get for the rest of the game. Gardner, once again, led the team with eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in the half – this time in just 10 minutes of action. Eleven different UVA players checked into the game in the second period, including Chase Coleman, who drained a 3-point with 32 seconds remaining to deliver the Cavaliers’ largest advantage of the game, 72-43, and bring the JPJ crowd to their feet.
THE GAME BALL GOES TO:
Jayden Gardner. Gardner scored a season-high 26 points on 12-of-15 shooting, his eighth 20-point outing since joining the program in 2021-22. Gardner’s 26 points tied for the most by a Cavalier in a single game this season. He finished just three points shy of his UVA career best and checked out of Friday’s contest with 10:11 remaining.
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers travel to Michigan (5-1) for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday (Nov. 29). Tipoff from Crisler Arena is set for 9:30 p.m. on ESPN.