The Sports Xchange
Nov 10, 2017
Sophomore guard Kyle Guy scored 14 of his game-high 16 points as Virginia opened the season Friday night with a 60-48 win over UNC Greensboro at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Cavaliers overcame a poor shooting night in which they shot just 43 percent from the field and 4 of 16 from the 3-point line, but used their patented defense to capture the 12-point win. Virginia (1-0) forced UNC Greensboro (0-1) into 17 turnovers and held the Spartans to 29.4 percent shooting.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 19 in the second half and connected on 20 of their 24 free throw attempts. Senior guard Devon Hall added 13 points on 4-of-5 shooting and pulled down six rebounds.
Forward Marvin Smith scored 12 points to lead UNC Greensboro, which jacked up 26 3-pointers but made just four of them. Smith was the only Spartan to score in double figures.
Both teams started cold from the floor and neither was above the 30 percent mark more than 10 minutes into the game. UNC Greensboro held an early 2-0 lead but never led after that as Virginia took its largest lead of the half at 29-20 into the break.
The Cavaliers shot just 35 percent in the half but got 14 points from Guy, who connected on two 3-pointers late in the half to extend Virginia's lead. Isaiah Wilkins complemented Guy with nine first-half points.
UNC Greensboro connected on just 26 percent of its field goals in the half and failed to make a 3-pointer on 12 attempts. Guard Francis Alonso led the Spartans with eight first-half points.