Huff, Hauser, Clark carry Cavaliers past Eagles as team takes another step forward

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No. 22 Virginia 61, Boston College 49

No. 22 Virginia led 18-11 with 12:19 remaining in the first half of Saturday’s game at Boston College.

With under four minutes to go, the Eagles were on a 14-0 run and out in front 25-18. UVa missed nine shots and had five turnovers in an eight-minute span. The Cavaliers could do nothing right. It was the perfect recipe for a second straight loss in Chestnut Hill. BC was full of energy on the court and on the sideline, playing as if this was its Super Bowl. The shouts and yelps of the Eagles (2-9, 0-5 ACC) echoed through the mostly empty Conte Forum, which isn’t much different during pre-COVID times.

And then poof, with the swish of a Trey Murphy III 3-pointer, it was no more.

The Wahoos (7-2, 3-0) finished the half on an 11-1 run, began the second with a streak of 12-5, and eventually pulled away for its first double-digit ACC victory of the season, 61-49.

Jay Huff (in photo being guarded by DeMarr Langford Jr.) tied his career high with 18 points (Dec. 4 Kent State game) on 7-of-11 shooting and added eight rebounds, five blocks and a steal. Fans were gawking at Huff’s +/- after the game of 30. He missed one 3.

“I thought Jay was really good today,” coach Tony Bennett said. “They weren’t elite at stretching and shooting today with their big, so Jay could kind of, at times, really gap it up and zone and then come across and help and his length bothered them, and then when he played one-on-one, he was good.”

Sam Hauser had his third straight double-double — all in conference games — with 17 points on 7-of-16 shooting, 10 rebounds, two steals, and an assist. He went 2 of 6 from deep.

Kihei Clark came up with another solid game, doing what he does best (?!) and scoring around the rim. The junior Californian notched 12 points with a 6-for-8 effort, three assists, and three rebounds. He had just one turnover and did not attempt a 3. Clark has really taken control of the team after a somewhat disappointing start to the season. He’s confident in what he’s doing, and knows what he can do to best help the team, something he was unsure of a month ago.

“Kihei and his ability to put pressure on the paint, sometimes score, sort of posting them up and some drives are good,” Bennett said.

Murphy had 8 points and four boards while making 3 of 9 shots, 2 for 6 on triples, which were basically bookends to Virginia’s first-half scoring drought. He also added a block.

Casey Morsell was out again, so Reece Beekman started alongside Clark again and tallied 4 points, all on free throws. He missed four shots, including a pair of treys, but posted three assists and three rebounds and did not turn the ball over. Bennett was happy with Beekman’s play on offense despite not making a shot.

“Today offensively, [Beekman] from a scoring standpoint, he didn’t score except for the free throws, he had four free throws, but he still created,” Bennett said. “He had that beautiful pass to Jay in the second half, drove baseline, and dropped it, and he has those instincts. As his game continues to improve and his shot gets more consistent, it’s good. But guys that have feel, they can see stuff, they draw, they kick, they know how to play and put pressure by penetration — [they] are important.”

Bennett complimented his team’s on-ball defense. Virginia held an ACC foe under 50 points for the first time since last season’s 46-44 win at Miami on March 4.

“I thought the on-ball defense today was the best we’ve had,” he said. “Obviously, we’re missing some guys, a really good on-ball defender in Casey Morsell, but … I thought Reece [Beekman] really slid well. For a first-year to come in, he’s got good instincts, and then Kihei [Clark] was locked in and Trey’s length. Reece is long, Trey is long, I thought that was significant.”

Bennett’s rotation was pretty tight again. Huff played 29 minutes, and every other starter got at least 35. Clark played all 40 minutes for the second straight game.

Justin McKoy got in for nine minutes, but was not as effective as he was against Wake Forest or Notre Dame, going 1 for 5 from the field with 2 points, though he did pull down four boards.

Tomas Woldetensae came in for seven minutes and put up his third consecutive doughnut. He did not take a shot and committed two fouls. There may be games where Virginia needs him, but right now, Woldo seems to be on the outside looking in when it comes to major playing time. He needs more than a few minutes to get into a rhythm and bang a 3-pointer. I am pulling for him, but Beekman and Murphy are bringing more to the table currently.

Carson McCorkle got into the game for two minutes, his first action since the William & Mary contest, presumably because Woldetensae brought nothing to the table. He didn’t score. Francisco Caffaro also got in for three minutes.

Virginia shot just 45.3% from the field overall and 4 of 15 (26.7%) from beyond the arc. It went 9 of 10 at the line. BC shot 30.9% from the field, 6 of 21 on 3s (28.6%), and 9 of 15 at the charity stripe. UVa did a nice job on defense for the majority of the game.

Aside from the bad eight-minute stretch in the first half, the Wahoos committed only two other turnovers for a total of seven. The Eagles had 11. Despite the work on the glass of Huff and Hauser, BC actually won the rebounding battle, 37-33.

After a loss to San Francisco, a close call against Kent State, and getting run out of the gym by Gonzaga, it feels good to see the Cavaliers at 3-0 in the conference. But let’s not get it twisted. Notre Dame, Wake Forest, and Boston College are not going to finish with winning records in all likelihood. These are not good teams, and other recent Virginia squads have more or less chewed up and spit out the Irish, Deacons, and Eagles, and this group of Wahoos did not exactly do that.

“We haven’t played an offensive team like Gonzaga [in the ACC],” Bennett said. “They are as special as it gets this year. But I think, as we talked about [how] humble pie doesn’t taste good, but it is a reality check that, ‘Hey look, we got to fight,’ and we got to figure out some adjustments to help our personnel and just know that without that, it’s going to be really difficult. I think we’ve made the right strides. I think our energy and our ball pressure has been better, and just covering for each other more.”

UVa won its third straight game to open ACC play, but it has done so by shooting under 31% from beyond the arc in each matchup. That needs to get rectified. That may not work against some of the top dogs in the conference. Other issues have included interior defense and even stopping the fast break. Rebounding is probably not where it needs to be either.

But the building blocks are there, and I believe this team is coming together and getting stronger, brick by brick. Once Morsell is cleared to return — and possibly Kody Stattmann — it will be interesting to see what Bennett does with the minutes. It is clear that this smaller rotation the past couple of games has gotten into a nice rhythm at times. But playing the starters so many minutes probably isn’t sustainable when it comes to winning in March. It would be great if a nice, solid, eight- or nine-man rotation develops where everyone knows their role and successfully fills it.

The ‘Hoos are still not where a lot of us expected them to be, but I think the glimpses of a very good team are shining through the rough spots more and more. I don’t think I’ll call them a national contender quite yet, maybe not even a Sweet 16-type squad, but we know they are capable of getting to that level of play.

For now, we will have to settle for working out the kinks against the dregs of the ACC. Next up, Virginia hosts Notre Dame in a matinee rematch Wednesday. It’ll be another chance for the Cavaliers to sharpen up against a less-than-stellar opponent.

Photo credit: The Associated Press

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