No upset this year. Virginia fends off feisty Gardner-Webb in NCAA opener
It almost was deja’vu all over again for Virginia.
For the second straight year, the No. 1 seed Cavaliers trailed to a 16 seed at halftime. But this year, there would be no upset.
DeAndre Hunter scored 17 of his 23 points in the second half as Virginia defeated Gardner-Webb, 71-56, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Colonial Life Arena.
The Cavs will play Oklahoma in the second round of the South Regional on Sunday.
Virginia became the first No. 1 seed to lose to a 16 seed in NCAA Tournament when the Cavs lost to UMBC, 74-54, in Charlotte N.C. and Gardner-Webb looked poised to repeat the feat and had much of the packed crowd at the CLA behind them.
Gardner-Webb, which has an enrollment of 2,207 and located about two hours away in Boiling Springs, N.C., jumped out quick and led by as many as 14 points with 7:31 left in the first half.
But the Cavs remained calm and increased their defensive pressure and started using their size to their advantage to chip away at the lead. Virginia cut it to 36-30 at halftime and used a 20-3 run in the second half to take control of the game.
Hunter, who missed last year’s game with UMBC with an injury, was the Cavs’ go-to guy in the second half against the Bulldogs. He was 6-of-9 from the field in the second half and grabbed five rebounds.
Mamadi Diakite added 17 points and Ty Jerome added 13 for Virginia.
Jose Perez led Gardner-Webb with 19 points.
Next
Virginia will play Oklahoma on Sunday at a time to be determined. Gardner-Webb’s season is over with a 23-12 record.
Notes and numbers
Pounding the glass: Virginia outrebounded Gardner-Webb, 21-10, in the second half and 35-21 for the game. The Cavs also led 19-5 in second-chance points.
Lucky 13: Virginia is 13-6 as a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
20-win plateau: Gardner-Webb won 20 games in a season for first time since moving into Division I in 2000.
Postgame reaction
Virginia guard DeAndre Hunter: “We were a little shook. But we knew it was going to be a tough game. Gardner-Webb is a tough team. We knew it was going to be a fight and we just had to fight back. We had to cut the lead down, inch by inch and we did that.”
Virginia coach Tony Bennett: “It was different at halftime than last time. It was just the ability because I thought we had fought back, as I mentioned at the end of the first half, to get ourselves in a spot where was a lot of basketball left. It was one thing I said to my staff and we just talked before we went in the locker room. I said uplift them, and we talked about don’t panic but play with fight, because that is what got them back in.”
Gardner-Webb center Brandon Miller: “I’m going to dream about this tonight for sure. It was a great experience and the fans fave been amazing. There is no better way to go out senior year than going to March Madness.”
Box score
| GARDNER-WEBB (23-12) |
|---|
Laster 5-14 0-0 10, Cornwall 1-4 0-0 2, Johnson 2-7 0-0 4, Efianayi 4-11 0-0 12, Perez 7-10 1-2 19, Jamison 1-2 2-2 4, Miller 1-1 0-0 2, Jenkins 1-1 0-0 3, Turner 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 3-4 56.
| VIRGINIA (30-3) |
|---|
Salt 0-0 0-0 0, Jerome 5-10 1-2 13, Clark 1-5 0-0 3, Hunter 9-16 3-3 23, Guy 2-8 3-5 8, Diakite 8-10 1-3 17, Huff 1-3 0-0 2, Badocchi 0-0 0-0 0, Stattmann 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony 0-0 0-0 0, Key 2-2 0-0 5, Nixon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-54 8-13 71.
Halftime: Gardner-Webb 36-30. 3-Point Goals: Gardner-Webb 9-23 (Perez 4-6, Efianayi 4-7, Jenkins 1-1, Cornwall 0-2, Johnson 0-2, Laster 0-5), Virginia 7-23 (Jerome 2-6, Hunter 2-6, Key 1-1, Clark 1-3, Guy 1-5, Huff 0-2). Fouled Out: None. Rebounds: Gardner-Webb 18 (Johnson 6), Virginia 33 (Diakite 9). Assists_Gardner-Webb 11 (Cornwall, Johnson, Perez 3), Virginia 12 (Jerome 6). Total Fouls: Gardner-Webb 16, Virginia 9.
This story was originally published March 22, 2019 at 5:09 PM.