CHARLOTTESVILLE Facing an uninspiring opponent sandwiched between two marquee road games, Virginia made a convincing case that it knows how to handle being a top 25 team.
The No. 19 Cavaliers took care of business early in a 68-44 victory against Wake Forest, allowing some rare playing time to those not in the six-man rotation coach Tony Bennett has been favoring.
Guard Malcolm Brogdon stayed out for a career-high 25 minutes, scoring 10 points and demonstrating the potential that his 6-foot-5 frame will give as he continues to develop. Jontel Evans played 29 minutes, because, as Bennett joked, “I don’t think Jontel gets tired.”
Mike Scott still found a way to steal the show in limited action. His 9-for-9 shooting performance tied Jeff Jones and Kenny Turner as the top 100-percent games in U.Va. history. The senior forward finished with 19 points, with five players finding their way to double digits.
“That’s what you hope for,” Bennett said. “That’s why you practice hard and you prepare, and when it comes together it’s nice to see.”
Virginia’s 3-point shooting was also strong, with Joe Harris and Brogdon opening the game 5-for-5 from behind the arc.
Guard Sammy Zeglinski was the only starter not to record points in the first half, as his cold spell continued on a night where the buckets came easily to the other Cavaliers.
Wake Forest (11-13, 2-8 ACC) picked up 16 points from Richmond native Travis McKie, but otherwise was uncompetitive as a six-game winning streak against the Wahoos (19-4, 6-3) came to an end.
With Scott sitting out large portions of the second half, it was an opportunity for forwards Akil Mitchell and Darion Atkins to develop some chemistry.
“You can’t just dump it in there and expect Mike to hit tough shots,” Mitchell said. He tried his own 17-footer that missed, but joked that he’d learn from Scott before the senior departed.
Mitchell played a career-high 35 minutes, though he was arguably the Cav most in need of rest – he said he was ready to crash after a day of five classes.
With the score 64-36 and five minutes remaining, began to clear out the bench, bringing in walk-on Doug Browman and others for some rare conference minutes.
It was a needed breather after last week’s trip to Florida State and a Saturday game at North Carolina looming.
“Coach has been real smart about using us in practice – what we do and how hard we go,” Harris said.
As league frontrunner Florida State got tripped up against Boston College Wednesday night, U.Va. made sure there would be no unpleasant surprises in Charlottesville.
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