CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Mamadi Diakite had 19 points and 13 rebounds and No. 11 Virginia used a 29-6 run spanning halftime to pull away for a 65-34 victory over James Madison on Sunday night.
The Cavaliers (2-0) led by just 22-20 until Kihei Clark’s 3-pointer started a 9-0 burst for Virginia. A 3-pointer by Darius Banks ended that, making it 31-23 at the half.
Braxton Key scored seven straight for the Cavaliers. After Zach Jacobs’ 3-pointer for JMU, Virginia reeled off 13 more points to lead 51-26 with just under 12 minutes to play. Key finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and, like Diakite, spent most of the last 10 minutes watching.
Matt Lewis led James Madison (1-1) with 14 points, 11 in the first half. The Dukes shot just 24%, making 12 of 50 shots. They turned the ball over 19 times, leading to 18 Virginia points.
BIG PICTURE
James Madison: The Dukes were without 6-foot-8 Dwight Wilson, their top rebounder, and acquitted themselves well for a time against Virginia’s front line other than Diakite, a freakish athlete whose quickness around the basket will give lots of big men trouble. That size won out after halftime.
Virginia: The Cavaliers are still clearly working on finding an offensive identity. They scored just 48 points and had 16 turnovers in their opener at Syracuse, but limited the Orange to just 34 points, the 24th time in Bennett’s 11 seasons they have held an opponent to 40 points or fewer. The Dukes, then became the 25th team.
UP NEXT
James Madison is back at home to face Shenandoah on Wednesday night.
Virginia remains at home and faces Columbia next Saturday.
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