Jordan Minor's Massive Night Lifts Virginia Over Virginia Tech 65-57
The story of the night, Jordan Minor.
The transfer from Merrimack finished with 16 points and was a presence in the paint on both ends of the floor, something the Cavaliers have been lacking all season. The big-time performance by Minor, in conjunction with 16 points from Reece Beekman, gave Virginia a much-needed 65-57 win over in-state rival Virginia Tech on Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. The win also extended the Cavaliers' home win streak to 20, the longest active home winning streak in men's college basketball.
After back-to-back double-digit road defeats, the Cavaliers responded, playing some of their best basketball of the season, stifling the Hokies defensively to earn half a point in the 2023-2024 Commonwealth Clash, which UVA now leads 5.5-1.
Jordan Minor was the spark for Virginia to start, picking up four of Virginia’s first six points. On the other side, Virginia Tech made three threes to make it 9-6. Reece Beekman and Minor led the way, scoring UVA’s first ten points to retake the lead. After that, Dante Harris entered the game, his first appearance since November 22nd after picking up an ankle injury.
“It was noticeable to have Jordan Minor’s physicality... and then the athleticism of Dante to defend the ball at times or beat some screens and then touch the paint," Bennett said of the meaningful contributions his team got from Minor and Harris. "So to have that against the quality guards that we were going against... you need the quickness to try to stay with them.”
Jake Groves then sparked the Hoos with two threes followed by a three from Beekman to give Virginia a 19-13 lead. The Cavaliers started 4/7 from beyond the arc, an area they have struggled in during their losing streak.
Related: read Val's Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.
Defensively, the Hoos isolated the Hokies center Lynn Kid as he was held scoreless in the first half. Virginia continued to shoot the three, with Isaac McKneely joining the party to make it 23-13.
The Hokies then closed the half with a three of their own to make it 25-18 as the Hoos cooled off, making only one of their last ten shots entering the locker room. Despite this, the Cavaliers' defense held the Hokies to only five points in the final ten minutes of the half to maintain the advantage.
Reece Beekman led the way in the first half with ten points, including two threes.
The Hokies opened the half with a three from Robbie Beran before the Hoos fired back with nine straight points, including four from McKneely and an emphatic alley-oop by Ryann Dunn from Beekman to make it 34-21.
After that, the Hokies fired back with a 10-2 run that included five points from Sean Pedulla, the Hokies' leading scorer.
A sequence of up-and-down scoring ensued as Virginia maintained a 10-point cushion at 46-36. During this, Jordan Minor came alive with seven second-half points to start as the transfer from Merrimack was playing his best basketball in the orange and blue. His presence in the paint overwhelmed Virginia Tech and showed the Virginia faithful why he was in Charlottesville.
"Just knowing that my teammates want to see me succeed," Minor said after the game. "My teammates and the coaches give me confidence."
On the other side, Virginia Tech began to cut the lead to five after a poor pass from Beekman awarded the Hokies a free fastbreak layup.
Then, after a timeout, Minor drew two fouls and made all four free throws, giving Virginia a 50-43 lead with five minutes left. The points from Minor sparked a bucket from Harris and six points from Buchanan as the Hoos found themselves in the driver’s seat, ahead by ten with two minutes to go.
Buchanan, who checked in for Minor, proved just as effective as Minor, scoring three-consecutive baskets as the Hokies had no answers for the Virginia big men.
In the final stages, Virginia faced a stern press and last-ditch effort from Virginia Tech as the Hokies cut the lead to as little as five, which included a three from Pedulla after a questionable no-call push-off that left Pedulla wide open.
Then, a clutch block from Ryan Dunn set up a layup for him in transition, sealing the deal as Virginia hung on to defeat Virginia Tech 65-57.
After getting back into the win column, the Cavaliers (12-5, 3-3 ACC) will look to build on this momentum as they travel to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech on Saturday at 6pm, looking to earn their first true road victory of the season.
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