Experienced freshman sparks No. 23 UVA past Stanford

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Even with their usually potent 3-point offense in a funk Saturday afternoon against Stanford, the Virginia Cavaliers found plenty of other ways to bury their visitors at John Paul Jones Arena for their third straight win.

The Cavaliers crushed the Cardinal in the paint and played shut-down defense in a 70-55 victory, their second resounding triumph against a West Coast ACC foe this week.

UVA improved to 10-0 at home this season and put an end to a seven-game losing streak against Stanford, banking its first win in the series since Dec. 5, 1992.

Virginia freshman forward Thijs De Ridder led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting. He was a catalyst for the Cavaliers, who outscored Stanford 36-22 in the paint and also boasted a 13-2 advantage in second-chance points.

“I thought he was awesome. He took what the defense gave to him,” Cavaliers coach Ryan Odom said of the big man from Belgium.

The Cavaliers (14-2, 3-1) overcame an uncharacteristically poor performance from behind the arc. They made a season-low six 3-pointers on 22 attempts (27.3%), clearly feeling the absence of top 3-point shooter Jacari White, who missed his fifth straight game with a broken wrist.

UVA entered the contest ranked 25th nationally in 3-point baskets per game (10.5) after connecting on 11 or more long-range shots in eight of its first 15 contests.

Guard Chance Mallory came off the bench to make two of his four long-range attempts and supply 13 points, three assists and two steals. Guard Malik Thomas tallied 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Guard Dallin Hall had six points and six assists. Ugonna Onyenso blocked five shots.

Virginia made it difficult for Stanford (13-4, 2-2) to find open shots. The Cardinal had six shot-clock violations, and it connected on only 32.1% of its field-goal attempts, including a 19.4% tally in the second half.

De Ridder had the upper hand in a matchup featuring two of the top freshman scorers in the country. Stanford’s prolific guard Ebuka Okorie finished with only 14 points on 5-of-20 shooting and sat out the final 7:06.

“He’s tough to guard,” Odom said. “We talked all week about guarding him with five guys and not just one.”

Virginia threw a cadre of defenders at Okorie, who ranked seventh nationally in scoring average (22.6) following a 31-point performance in the Cardinal’s comeback win at Virginia Tech on Wednesday.

“I thought Ebuka ran out of gas,” Stanford coach Kyle Smith said.

The Cavaliers clung to a slim lead late in the first half but ran away with it in the second. They followed halftime with a 23-7 run that put the game out of reach.

They take a three-game win streak into a road matchup with No. 20 Louisville on Tuesday.

“We have to move on because we know the games are coming pretty quick, one after another,” De Ridder said. “With three (straight wins in ACC play), we’re pretty confident, but let’s see. Every game is different. We know we have to be ready.”

Okorie was as good as advertised in the first half, posting 14 points and five rebounds in a back-and-forth affair.

Stanford started strong and shot 50% over the first 20 minutes. It led 7-6 four minutes in before guard Sam Lewis scored on a driving layup to give the Cavaliers a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Stanford pulled to within two in the final 1:39 of the opening half. In the closing seconds before the break, however, Mallory buried a 3-pointer and sank a pair of foul shots to stretch the lead to seven.

The Cavaliers carried their defensive intensity over to the second half to run away with the win.

“I feel like we’re just playing together as a team,” Mallory said. “Wearing them down is what we’re trying to do.”

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