Virginia Falls to No. 11 Tennessee, 64-42

NASSAU, Bahamas – Virginia (3-1) suffered its first defeat of the season as No. 11 Tennessee (5-0) knocked off the Cavaliers, 64-42, at the Baha Mar Hoops Championship on Thursday night (Nov. 21).

Virginia committed 18 turnovers while shooting 29 percent from the field.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite shooting 29.2 percent from the floor in the first half, UVA trailed by only one at the break. Tennessee clung to a 22-21 advantage at halftime after leading for 12:49 in the first 20 minutes of play. The Volunteers claimed an eight point advantage [22-14] at the 2:51 mark, but seven unanswered points by Virginia, punctuated by a deep Andrew Rohde 3-pointer with five seconds remaining, cut the Cavaliers’ deficit to just one. Dai Dai Ames was 4-for-4 from the free-throw line and contributed a team-high six points in the opening stanza.

A 17-5 Tennessee burst out of the break put the Volunteers up by 13 midway through the half. Virginia responded with an 8-0 run featuring five points from Ames followed by a Taine Murray 3-pointer. After the Cavaliers pulled back within five, Tennessee broke up the UVA run with a make from beyond the arc. The ensuing 22-3 and 18-0 Volunteer scoring runs then put the game out of reach for Virginia.

UP NEXT
The Cavaliers return to action against No. 22 St. John’s at 7 p.m. Friday (Nov. 22) in the consolation game of the Baha Mar Hoops Championship.