Indiana transfer Armaan Franklin hit five 3-pointers on his way to 21 points, leading No. 25 Virginia to a 73-52 victory over visiting Radford on Friday night in Charlottesville.
East Carolina transfer Jayden Gardner added 18 points and seven rebounds, while Kadin Shedrick went 10 for 10 from the free-throw line and had four blocks as Virginia (1-1) rebounded from a stunning loss at home to Navy in its opener.
Franklin hit 5 of 8 shots from beyond the arc, a reversal from Tuesday, when he made just 1 of 7 long-distance tries.
The Cavaliers were propelled by their signature pack-line defense. Virginia forced 15 turnovers, limited the Highlanders to 37.7 percent shooting and didn’t allow a second-chance basket until the second half.
In falling to 0-7 in the series with Virginia, Radford (1-1) was led by Bryan Hart, who scored 12 points and Shaquan Jules, who added 10 points, scoring on a pair of soaring dunks. It was the first loss as a head coach for Darris Nichols.
Virginia trailed early but went on a 15-0 run to take a lead that Radford never seriously challenged. Franklin touched off the spree with a 3-pointer and Gardner helped finish it off with back-to-back buckets as the Cavaliers took a 23-10 lead.
Before the end of the half, Virginia stretched its advantage to 21 points as Kihei Clark, Taine Murray and Franklin drained 3-pointers.
In the second half, Radford never made a run as Virginia’s swarming half-court defense controlled the play. The Highlanders didn’t get the deficit inside 19 points in the second stanza. Virginia hiked the advantage to as many as 24 points.
Josiah Jeffers (nine points) got Radford off to a quick start, hitting two perimeter jumpers as the Highlanders snatched an 8-3 lead. But it wasn’t long before the Cavaliers’ defense took over.
–Field Level Media
