McKneely Catches Fire Again, Virginia Demolishes NC Central 77-47

Isaac McKneely matched his career-high with six threes and 22 points for the second-straight game as the Cavaliers blew out the overmatched Eagles

Any concerns over the possibility that the Cavaliers might have a hangover game against a lesser opponent after delivering a pair of statement wins over major conference competition last week were laid to rest rather quickly. Isaac McKneely repeated his performance from Saturday's win over Syracuse, matching his career-highs with six threes and 22 points to lead Virginia (8-1) to a thorough 77-47 demolition of NC Central (4-6) on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. 

Isaac McKneely proved to be the definition of "picking up where he left off" to start the game. After knocking down six threes and scoring a career-high 22 points in Virginia's victory over Syracuse on Saturday, McKneely took four three-pointers in four consecutive possessions early in the game and all four hit nothing but net.

"Obviously, when Isaac gets going like that, guys look for him, they found him," UVA head coach Tony Bennett said.

McKneely scored 14 points in the first five minutes of the game to help UVA build a double-digit lead early on. 

NC Central made sure McKneely didn't get any clean looks after that, but other players stepped up for Virginia. Elijah Gertrude and Leon Bond III provided a big lift for the Cavaliers off the bench, with Gertrude leaking out in transition for a couple of easy baskets and Bond putting his silky smooth mid-range jumper on full display. Later in the half, both players hit their first-career three-pointers. Bond had nine points in the first half, while Gertrude had seven. 

NC Central got a few easy baskets in the first several minutes of the game to hang around, but then the Cavaliers tightened things up defensively and proceeded to hold the Eagles without a point for more than six minutes. That allowed Virginia to string together a 12-0 run to completely seize control of the game. 

Virginia knocked down seven threes, recorded 15 assists to two turnovers, and shot 58.6% from the floor in the first half, while holding NC Central to 29.2% shooting. That level of domination on both ends of the floor led to Virginia taking a 41-17 lead into halftime. 

With the game already in hand by the halftime break, there wasn't much to determine in the second half. Isaac McKneely knocked down two more three-pointers to match his career-high with 22 points for the second-consecutive game. Both Andrew Rohde and Elijah Gertrude got hit in the face and briefly exited the game. Gertrude's was a little more serious than Rohde's, as he held a towel over his face and went up the tunnel with UVA athletic trainer Ethan Saliba, presumably to address a bloody nose or mouth. 

Gertrude later returned to the game, sporting a new jersey with the No. 55 and no name on the back. He continued his solid night by driving from the left wing and stepping back into a baseline jumper and swishing it, putting him in double figures for the first time in his collegiate career. A few possessions later, Gertrude knocked down another fadeaway jumper, showing he can score in a few different ways. Gertrude finished with 13 points on 6/11 shooting. 

After scoring just 17 points in the first half, NC Central managed to score 30 points in the second half. 12 of those points came from the charity stripe, as the Eagles went to the free throw line 19 times due to the Cavalier reserves having a bit of a foul trouble. Still, Virginia had no problem salting the game away behind nine second-half points from Blake Buchanan, eight from McKneely, and six from Gertrude. 

In an interesting, but no less impressive statistical coincidence, Isaac McKneely finished with an identical shooting line from his performance against Syracuse on Saturday. McKneely shot 8/11 from the floor and 6/8 from beyond the arc for 22 points in back-to-back games. Through eight games this season, McKneely is 25/43 from three-point range, good for 58.1%. 

"McKneely, he's an alien. He's not from here," said UVA freshman guard Elijah Gertrude after the game. 

Leon Bond III had a near double-double with 14 points (on 6/8 shooting) and nine rebounds to go along with three assists and two blocks. Reece Beekman had eight points, four rebounds, four assists, and four steals. 

Virginia ended up shooting 54.2% from the floor and 42.9% from beyond the arc (9/21). UVA had 22 fastbreak points, 32 points in the paint, and 36 bench points. Most impressively, the Cavaliers had 24 assists as a team with just five turnovers. 

Read Val's Plus/Minus breakdown of Virginia's win over NC Central here: The Plus/Minus: McKneely Scorching as Virginia Buries NC Central

Now 8-1 on the season, Virginia gets a 10-day break for exams before hosting Northeastern on Saturday, December 16th at 6pm at John Paul Jones Arena. 

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