For too much of Thursday’s contest, Virginia appeared as if it was destined to end up on the wrong side of an unfavorable result. Bethune-Cookman, a popular buy-game opponent for power-conference teams — the Wildcats already played at Texas Tech, Nebraska, Minnesota and have others still to come at West Virginia and Mississippi State — led for the duration for the opening half against the Hoos and were up a possession with about 10 minutes to play. But the Hoos rallied with a 12-0 run on the way to a 59-41 victory to survive Bethune-Cookman and fend off its upset bid.
UVa forward Elijah Saunders, a transfer from San Diego State, led the Hoos with 15 points and eight rebounds while freshman guard Ishan Sharma chipped in with 12 to help the Cavaliers improve to 6-4 overall. Bethune-Cookman dropped to 2-7. Here are three takeaways from UVa’s win over the Wildcats.
Sharma’s fourth 3 of the night broke a tie and fellow guard Andrew Rohde’s old-fashioned three-point play that followed extended UVa’s lead to 43-37 with 8:37 to play. Both the 3-pointer from Sharma and the and-1 from Rohde were crucial during that 12-0 run the Hoos used to catapult from behind against Bethune-Cookman. Then, forward Jacob Cofie was able to add to the advantage with a three-point play of his own in which he made a layup and sank that free throw afterward to push UVa’s edge to 46-37 with 7:25 to go.
Saunders’ dunk and then a free throw to end the next possession evened the bout at 37. S.
