Basketball
Virginia (12-12, 5-8 ACC) cruised to its second straight victory on Saturday with a 75-61 win over Georgia Tech (11-13, 5-8 ACC). With Tony Bennett being honored, the Hoos played inspired basketball, outclassing the Yellow Jackets on both sides of the ball in the second half. Read on for our takeaways from the game.
Virginia vs. Georgia Tech Live Updates | NCAA Men’s Basketball
Isaac McKneely was everywhere in the first half, opening his account with back-to-back threes to help jump the Hoos out to a 9-0 lead. After that, McKneely proceeded to hit another two threes while adding a few drives to the basket as the junior scored 18 points in the first half on 7/10 shooting, 4/6 from downtown. His strong start inspired others and was a massive lift to helping the Hoos earn their second straight win. McKneely finished with 20 points.
After scoring a career-high 27 points, Ames continued to play his best basketball, scoring 18 points on Saturday night on 7/12 shooting. Ames added four threes on 4/6 shooting as the Kansas State transfer has evolved into one of the recent stars under Ron Sanchez these past two weeks. Ames has helped spark the Virginia offense, as the Cavaliers have now scored over 70 points in their last four games.
The Cavaliers came out rampant on Saturday with a 9-0 run that started with threes from Andrew Rohde and Isaac McKneely. After the strong start, Georgia Tech hung with the Hoos for much of the first half before Virginia was hitting on all cylinders with a 10-0 run early in the second half. The win is Virginia’s second dominant win in a row after upsetting Pittsburgh on Monday night with a 73-57 victory. Tonight was similar, as Virginia played excellent defense alongside an ever-improving offense that boat-raced the Yellow Jackets 75-61.
The day, which henceforth shall be known as “Tony Bennett Day” in the Commonwealth of Virginia, was a day to remember at John Paul Jones Arena. With Tony Bennett in the building, alongside Virginia greats such as Ty Jerome, De’Andre Hunter, and Grant Kersey, fans at JPJ rose to their feet for standing ovations on multiple occasions as the fans were perhaps the loudest they’d been all season as the Hoos cruised past the Yellow Jackets.
The Cavaliers were dominant defensively on the court, limiting Georgia Tech to only 61 points. To cap off a perfect night, Tony Bennett’s son Eli checked into the contest at the end of the game, picked up a steal and a hockey assist as Desmond Roberts scored for Virginia to end the game.
“They’re such servants to have the opportunity to put Eli [Bennett] into the game along with others while his father was being honored,” said Sanchez. “You know, for both Laura and Tony, was just a gift for me.”
Virginia returns to action next Saturday against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg at 2 PM.
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