#11 UVA struggled early, but finished strong defeating JMU 65-34 (11-10-19)

By: Darrell Owens

Headline Photo Credit: Darrell Owens-LMS Network

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA- The Virginia Cavaliers (1-0) host their first home game post last season’s National Championship run against James Madison (1-0) on Sunday night. The Cavs came into the game ranked #11 in the nation and with 3 new starters: Casey Morsell, Kody Stattmann & Braxton Key. Key was a major contributor to last season’s championship run and now that he is a starter, Head Coach Tony Bennett will expect big things this season from the Senior. The two returning starters & two of the stars from the Final Four, Mamadi Diakite & Kihei Clark bring back much needed experience for this year’s team. Replacing three NBA Draft draft picks (DeAndre Hunter, Jerome Guy & Kyle Guy) will be tough, but the biggest thing this team will miss will be the shooting of those three stars. We would find out early in this contest that shooting will have to be the biggest thing for this years team to work on.

UVA would defeat JMU 65-34. This was a tight contest early, despite getting decent shots from the floor, the Cavs struggled early to score. UVA’s defense held to its true form holding JMU to 22% shooting from the floor. At the end of the 1st half, UVA held on to an 8-point lead 31-23. The second half was a totally different story. UVA outscored JMU 34-11 in the 2nd half including an 18-0 run. UVA was lead by potential All-American Mamadi Diakite who scored 19 points (8-16 FG) and collected 13 rebounds. Braxton Key chipped in with 14 points (5-8 FG) and 10 rebounds. Matt Lewis led JMU in points with 14 & rebounds with 10 boards.

Virginia (2-0) will host Columbia on Saturday, November 16 at noon. James Madison (1-1)  will head home to take on Shenandoah on Wednesday, November 13 at 4pm.