Virginia Picks Up Exhibition Win Over Villanova

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers beat the Villanova Wildcats 75-72 in Friday night’s (Oct. 24) exhibition matchup at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia finished with a 45.3 percent (24 of 53) shooting mark from the field and shot 38.5 percent (10 of 26) from deep. All eleven Cavaliers that entered the game recorded points, with Malik Thomas (16 pts, 5-10 FG, 3-4 3FG) and Johann Grünloh (12 pts, 4-9 FG, 3-4 FT) reaching double figure scoring. Virginia outrebounded the Wildcats 39-32 and tallied 15 assists, seven blocks and seven steals.

Villanova shot 41.9 percent (26 of 62) in the contest.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cavaliers went into the half with a 40-35 lead after shooting 53.6 percent (15 of 28) from the field with eight 3-pointers. Malik Thomas led the way for Virginia with nine points  off 3 of 5 shooting.

After a back-and-forth start to the second half, an 11-3 scoring run pulled the Wildcats within two [62-60] with 5:26 remaining. Virginia promptly responded with an 11-3 scoring run of their own to secure the 75-72 victory.

UP NEXT
Virginia opens its regular season slate against Rider on Monday, November 3. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.