Virginia basketball: Kyle Guy has breakout performance against VCU
When lead guard London Perrantes graduated, there was a fear that the offense of Virginia would suffer. Kyle Guy’s big-time game should quell those fears.
The game started off at a frenetic pace, with threes raining down early. It took awhile to find Kyle Guy on the court without his iconic man-bun, but he made himself known with his quick release on a few smooth jump-shots. He finished with ten points in the first half. Both he and Ty Jerome has signaled a shift in the Virginia Cavaliers (3-0) offense, with both causing problems on the perimeter.
Devon Hall was the key for Tony Bennett, as not only did he set the tone with a couple of early three-pointers himself, but his defense was tremendous. He and the rest of the team caused a number of turnovers in the first half, getting 11 extra points.
Virginia led by as much as 12 in the first half, but credit Maine transfer Issac Vann for keeping the
(2-1) in the game. He had 14 points and at times was the only player who could drive in the paint without throwing the ball away or getting an offensive foul.
Jonathan Williams was held to just two points and without a field goal in the Cavaliers 38-32 halftime lead. The lead would’ve been larger if it wasn’t for Vann’s shooting.
The second half starting out with both teams forcing the ball inside, different from the start of the game. Guy continued to make an impact, getting back to back buckets off of another VCU turnover to bring the lead back to double-digits. The loss of former Ram JaQuan Lewis was being felt with some of the loose passes going on.
Although Virginia was leading, there was a huge foul gap in the first ten minutes. The Cavaliers committed seven fouls to the Rams none. Mike Rhodes and the team knew it and continued to attack, which cut the lead to 59-57 under eight minutes to go.
When Virginia upped the lead to six, De’Riante Jenkins had a clutch drive and And-1 to keep it a possession game with five left to go. Vann had a chance to tie it up but missed his first three-point attempt of the game. Then right before the under-four minute timeout, Williams turned the ball over again.
After a Guy three-pointer missed going in, VCU failed to gather the rebound, and the sophomore guard made them pay with the next shot. The dagger came from Jerome, who with the shot clock expiring made near 30-footer to extend the lead to seven with 1:30 to go.
Credit to the Rams, who never allowed Virginia to pull away from them, but, unfortunately for them, they could just never get the lead in this game. Another Guy deep ball sealed the game for the Cavaliers to end any hopes the home crowd had, and the road team goes coast-to-coast for the 76-67 victory.
After being just a role player last season, Guy is officially the alpha dog with a career-high 29 points. His backcourt mate Jerome chipped in 13.
Vann did his part with 19 points to lead the Rams but was quiet in the second half with just five points. Williams took up some of the slack to finish with 14 points and seven assists. Tillman did have eight rebounds but struggled offensively with just four points on 2/9 shooting.
While VCU has a reputation for their “Havoc” defense, it didn’t lead to any fastbreak points, as Virginia had the edge 18-0. All in all both teams had their moments offensively, with the Rams being more of a work in progress.
Next: Virginia 2017-18 preview
While it’s disappointing to lose at home to a regional rival, Rhodes and VCU showed that they’re a tournament caliber team. As for Virginia, the question was going to be who was going to be “the guy” for the Cavaliers on offense? Look no further than the back of the name for the answer.
Virginia next game: 11/19 – Monmouth (H)
VCU next game: 11/20 – Marquette (N) – Maui Invitational