Saturday afternoon in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, the No. 22 Virginia Cavaliers Men’s Basketball team (7-2, 3-0 ACC) dominated the Boston College Eagles (2-7, 0-5 ACC), 61-49 thanks to outstanding performances by veteran Jay Huff and transfer Sam Hauser.
Coming off of a 9 point victory against Wake Forest , the Wahoos lacked a consistent offensive leader who the team could rely on. That was not the case Saturday afternoon, as Jay Huff tied his career-high with 18 points, along with 5 blocks and 8 rebounds. Marquette transfer Sam Hauser earned his third straight double-double this season, with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
In the first half, the Wahoos came out looking more confident than in earlier games. However, this comfort caught up with them as Boston College fell into a defensive rhythm, icing out the Wahoos for an 8 minute scoring freeze. After a couple time outs by Bennett, the momentum shifted and the Wahoos were able to pick up 11 points, placing them up by 3 (29-26) at the half. It was evident that Jay Huff was brewing something special, with 5 blocks and 8 points in the first half alone.
In the second half, the Hoos put down the hammer on Boston College by locking down defensively and finding an rhythm offensively. The Hoos have improved offensively every game this season, and currently have the highest points per game (73) since the 2007-2008 season. In the entire second half, the Wahoos only turned over the ball twice, shutting down any opportunities for Boston College to climb back. A storyline to watch this season is the growing chemistry between Kihei Clark and first year Reece Beekman on the court.
After the game, Jay Huff referenced their loss against Gonzaga as a turning point for the team as a whole. Huff recalled that after this game the team realized they “had a lot of work to do.” Since this game, the Wahoos have not played a team close to the same caliber, but these wins have earned some valuable momentum for the defending national champions.
With this win, the Wahoos are now 3-0 in ACC play and 7-2 overall. Tune in on Wednesday afternoon at 2:30 pm to watch the Hoos rematch against Notre Dame on the ACC Network.
