Charlottesville, Va.– Possibly fueled with a little revenge from the football season, the Hoos came out hot on Wednesday night against state-rival Virginia Tech, earning a 71-48 victory. Early shots by Isaiah Wilkins and London Perrantes brought the fans up and out of their seats, as they built a 10-0 lead, starting what became a very one-sided win.
Offensively, UVA stayed strong throughout the entire game. Wilkins’ presence on the court made a huge impact in the victory. On both sides of the court, he rebounded well, amassing nine rebounds. And when he touched the ball, it went in. Banking in the first of his six shots, he tied the school record from 1977 for the amount of consecutive field goals made. Wilkins ended the night with 15 points and high praise from Coach Bennett.
“Any interior scoring like that for us is significant. I like that and I think he needs to continue to keep looking and feeling the game and have the right kind of decision making,” Bennett said.
As the leading scorer for the night, Devon Hall also made a statement with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Coach Bennett complimented the redshirt junior’s accomplishments on the court.
“He was on his way to a double- double and maybe twenty and ten. His versatility is showing, his completeness offensively and defensively,” Bennett said.
Being the only Wahoo hailing from Virginia, Hall also may have taken the rivalry a little more to heart. In the press conference afterwards, he joked to the media that there had been talk before, after, and even during the game with his former Cape Henry High School teammate Chris Clarke. Virginia’s performance, with Hall leading the way, made it clear to the rest of the state which team ranks in basketball.
Virginia will now travel to Syracuse to take on the Orange, a team that crushed their hopes of reaching the Final Four last year. Does that still sting? Both Perrantes and Bennett said they had not thought about it until it was brought up. Either way, the team will use its two prep days to be ready for a 12 PM tipoff on Saturday.
