Virginia starts fast, routs poor-shooting Louisville
Jan 24, 2024; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard Ryan Dunn (13) reacts after a dunk against the North Carolina State Wolfpack in overtime at John Paul Jones Arena. credits: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports Ryan Dunn scored 19 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and helped visiting Virginia extend its winning streak to four games with a 69-52 ACC victory over host Louisville on Saturday.
Dunn went 8-for-10 from the field, blocked two shots and helped the Cavaliers (15-5, 6-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) hold a 30-18 scoring advantage in the paint.
Reece Beekman added nine points and nine assists for Virginia, which dominated the first half, leading 41-13 at the break, and made the second half a formality.
Tre White finished with 10 points for Louisville (6-14, 1-8), which dropped its fifth consecutive game and shot just 35.7 percent (15 of 42) from the field.
Virginia came in just 1-4 in road games but looked comfortable against the Cardinals, opening the game on an 11-0 run. They connected on their first five shot attempts, including a 3-pointer by Andrew Rhode with 15:04 to play.
It was the exact opposite for Louisville, which missed five straight shots to open the game and did not get its first points until Mike James made a couple of free throws with 14:15 remaining.
Louisville finally got its first field goal less than two minutes later when Ty-Laur Johnson made a layup that cut the Virginia lead to 11-4.
There seemed to be a glimmer of hope for a Louisville rally when White drilled a 3-pointer with 11:42 to play, trimming the Cavalier lead to 14-7.
Back-to-back dunks by Dunn ignited an 11-0 run for the Cavaliers, who soon stretched their advantage to 25-7 with 7:06 to play after Jake Groves nailed a 3-pointer.
Going 4-for-20 from the field in the first half, the Cardinals didn't reach double digits until there was 2:17 left in the half as Kaleb Glenn scored off a layup to cut the deficit to 36-11.
The Cavaliers led by as many as 30 in the opening half when Rhode buried a 3-pointer with 1:20 left, pushing the advantage to 41-11.
The Cardinals finished 15 of 42 (35.7 percent) from the floor; the Cavaliers were 27 of 54 (50 percent) in the game.
—Field Level Media