No. 2 Virginia Falls 69-61 to No. 5 Houston
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — No. 2 Virginia (8-1) had its eight-game win streak snapped as No. 5 Houston (11-1) knocked off the Cavaliers on their home court 69-61 at John Paul Jones Arena Saturday afternoon (Dec. 17).
Kadin Shedrick led UVA in scoring with 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and made both of his attempts at the line. Jayden Gardner (13 points, 4-8 FG, 6 rebounds) and Armaan Franklin (10 points, 3-6 FG, 6 rebounds) also scored in double figures for the Hoos.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Houston led 30-26 at halftime after scoring 16 points in the paint, eight more than UVA did in the first half. The Cavaliers got off to a great start, scoring the first nine points of the game, including five straight points and an assist from Kihei Clark, who finished Saturday’s contest with nine points and eight assists. After UVA’s 9-0 run to open the game, the Cougars responded by scoring seven unanswered points and later orchestrated a 9-0 run to claim their first lead of the game [16-15] with 8:25 remaining. On the ensuing possession, Virginia regained the lead for the last time of Saturday’s contest on an offensive rebound and putback by Gardner. After Houston led by as many as seven points [26-19], the Cavaliers chipped away at their deficit in the waning minutes of the opening half to make it a two-possession game at the intermission. UVA had six players chip in points in the first 20 minutes of action, including Gardner who led the Hoos with six points on 2-of-3 shooting and sunk both of his attempts at the line.
The Cougars secured their largest lead of the contest [43-32] with 14:37 to play. Virginia cut the UH lead to six [54-48] after Clark came up with a steal at midcourt and made a layup in transition to get the JPJ crowd on its feet with 4:06 remaining. Minutes later, the Cougars buried a 3-pointer and made another shot on their next possession to go up 61-50 with under 2:00 to play. Down the stretch, Houston made eight of its last nine free throws of the game to effectively shut the door on any chance of a UVA comeback. Shedrick scored 12 of his 16 total points in the second half. The Cougars shot 50 percent (5-10) from 3-point range in the second half of play compared to Virginia, which shot 22 percent (2-9).
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers travel to No. 25 Miami (10-1, 2-0. ACC) for an ACC game on Tuesday (Dec. 20). Tipoff at Watsco Center is set for 8:30 p.m. on ACC Network.