Sam Lewis scored 15 points and contributed to a long-distance barrage as No. 24 Virginia rolled to an 84-60 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore on Tuesday in Charlottesville, Va.
Chance Mallory delivered 10 points, five assists and six steals as the Cavaliers (9-1) won a day after crashing the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since February 2024.
Thijs De Ridder provided 13 points and six rebounds for Virginia, which used its 3-point marksmanship to surge to a 23-point lead in the first half. In six home games, the Cavaliers have yet to trail at any point this season.
Virginia made 48.4% of its shots overall, including 13 of 31 (41.9%) from 3-point range. The Cavaliers cooled off after making 10 of their first 14 attempts from deep.
Six Cavaliers had two 3-pointers apiece, including Malik Thomas (nine points), Devin Tillis (eight points) and Dallin Hall (six points).
Reserve Jacari White, who entered having made a program record 12 straight 3-point tries, missed his first attempt four seconds after entering the game and finished 1 for 5 from deep.
Jaden Cooper supplied nine points and eight rebounds and Joseph Locandro added nine points to pace the Hawks (4-9). UMES threw a scare into another Atlantic Coast Conference team, Georgia Tech, in a 56-52 overtime loss in its season opener.
After Locandro made a 3-pointer to tie it 10-10 just over five minutes into the game, Virginia answered with a 28-5 burst over a span of 7:07.
During the spree, the Cavaliers made 10 of 11 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers from Mallory and one apiece from five other players.
Thomas drove for a three-point play late in the burst and added a triple to close the run, which gave Virginia a 38-15 lead.
The Hawks answered the challenge, however, as Justin Monden drained a 3-pointer to trigger a nine-point rush.
Baskets from Locandro and Cooper to open the second half cut the deficit to 46-36, but that’s as close as UMES would get.
Midway through the period, De Ridder scored the first eight points of a 13-point dash that gave Virginia a comfortable 77-48 edge with 7:21 left.
Johann Grunloh, who scored off an alley-oop slam during the spree, finished with eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
