By Kenneth Cross
The No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers struggled through much of the first half of Wednesday evening’s 66-46 win over Albany. Then, guard Kihei Clark was reminiscent of an NFL defensive back who knew how to create turnovers and score with immediacy to turn back an opponent.
Clark recorded two steals in the backcourt on back-to-back Great Danes possessions. He picked Albany guard Malik Edmead as he made a pair of layups off the left side to give Virginia a 31-24 lead with 1:48 remaining.
“Once a guy picks your pocket when you get peeled, you’re like, ‘okay, I want no more,’” said Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett. “At least that’s how you think and not what you just guessed.”
Clark’s steals ignited Virginia to an 18-0 run which continued through the early part of the second half. In the run, the Cavaliers picked up their defense as Albany was 0-for-10 with five turnovers.
“That was the turn of the game that they (crowd) woke up and we got to the game and it brought life, so I mean that’s what Kihei does,” said Jayden Gardner.
The massive run started at the 5:15 mark of the first half until Great Danes’ guard Trey Hutcheson made a layup to cut the Virginia lead to 40-26 with 16:28 left in the game.
Experience Played Usual Roll on Offense: Armaan Franklin led Virginia with 20 points while Gardner scored 16.
Franklin finished 7-of-13 from the floor while netting three triples as this was his highest-scoring evening since he went for 26 points in the Cavaliers’ 86-79 win over Baylor back on November 18.
The fourth-year Cavaliers guard had a solid bounce-back game as he had gone 0-for-7 while missing three triples in Virginia’s 66-64 loss to Miami.
“I challenged Armaan after the Miami game,” remembered Bennett. “ He came back and he practiced really tough and hard-nosed and I thought he brought that into the game.”
Franklin’s size was a matchup issue for Albany as well as he led Virginia with six points on an and-one which gave them the lead at 27-24 with 2:24 remaining in the first half. This came before his second three-point field goal off the left wing that pushed the Cavaliers’ lead to 38-24 with 18:04 remaining in the game.
“You can play through and beyond and get to the next play and not let it affect other parts of your game and that’s what I thought he did,” said Bennett.
Franklin’s consistency was seen throughout the game as he scored on a layup and a jumper off the right wing before Clark fed him for a three-pointer off the right baseline.
“He had some pull-ups, he got some transition threes, a couple of good drives and just locked in defensively,” explained Bennett.
Gardner’s Consistency Matched Franklin: Jayden Gardner was 7-of-11 from the floor as he scored eight of the Cavaliers’ first ten points and Virginia opened up a 10-9 lead at the 13:18 mark of the first half.
He had his seventh double figures game in the last eight as he has shot 60.5 percent from the field and has averaged 14.2 points since his season high of 26 against Maryland Eastern Shore.
Gardner’s athleticism and touch around the basket are why he leads a balanced Virginia attack in scoring at 11.8 points per game and also in rebounding at 6.0 rebounds.
The Cavs have six players averaging from 7.6 points to 11.8 points per night.
“If we’re not right, anybody will play with us, but if we’re right, we’ll play with anybody and that’s just reality,” said Bennett.
The combined contributions by Franklin and Gardner were a solid exploit with starter Reece Beckman out with a hamstring injury.