Field Level Media
Dec 18, 2019
Kihei Clark scored 14 points, Mamadi Diakite added 13 points, and No. 9-ranked Virginia held off Stony Brook 56-44 Wednesday at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Va.
Reigning national champion Virginia (9-1), playing its first game in 10 days, showed no rust from the delay after its Atlantic Coast Conference win over North Carolina on Dec. 8. The Cavaliers jumped to a 14-2 lead, then kept Stony Brook at arm's length with a wire-to-wire lead.
Virginia then stagnated some after its hot start, shooting just 39.3 percent from the floor on the half and 2 of 10 from behind the 3-point line.
Stony Brook (7-6) cut the initial deficit to seven by halftime, but the Seawolves' own shooting woes prevented them from making it any more competitive than that. Stony Brook went 9 of 21 from the floor in the first half, including 2 of 10 from behind the 3-point line.
Virginia held Stony Brook to a final line of 17 of 45 from the floor and 5 of 21 from behind the arc.
Elijah Olaniyi led the Seawolves with 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds, but went just 1 of 6 from deep. Makale Foreman was the lone Stony Brook shooter to make multiple 3-pointers, going 2 of 8 en route to eight points.
The Cavaliers saw balanced scoring from the starting five. Jay Huff joined Clark and Diakite in double-figures with 12 points, Tomas Woldetensae hit two 3-pointers and finished with eight points, and Kody Stattmann added seven points.
Clark added five rebounds and a game-high six assists to his game high in scoring, but also committed six turnovers. Diakite grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots, while Huff pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.
Foreman, Andrew Garcia and Mouhamadou Gueye each had two steals for Stony Brook. Gueye also blocked six shots.
--Field Level Media