Thijs De Ridder scored 10 of his 21 points in the first six minutes, getting Virginia off to a quick start in a stress-free 94-69 win over Queens on Friday in Charlottesville, Va.
Sam Lewis scored 15 points and Devin Tillis added 13 points for the Cavaliers (6-1), who led wire-to-wire in the first ever meeting between the teams.
The smallest player on the floor, 5-foot-10 Chase Mallory delivered 11 points and eight rebounds, while 7-footer Johann Grunloh supplied 13 points and 10 rebounds for Virginia.
Nasir Mann scored 18 points while Jordan Watford and Yoav Berman added 10 points each for Queens (3-5), which was selected by a vote of coaches as the preseason favorite in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
Taking advantage of open-floor opportunities and using superior ball movement, the Cavaliers worked for quality shots. Of their 32 field goals, 24 came by way of an assist, with Dallin Hall proving five helpers.
The Cavaliers hit 53.3% from the floor and made 15 of 33 (45.5%) of their attempts from 3-point range, with Tillis and Grunloh each making both of their attempts from deep.
The Royals shot 38.1% overall, including 9 of 29 (31%) from beyond the arc.
In the first six minutes, Virginia made 4 of 6 triples, with Lewis and De Ridder each draining a pair to help the Cavaliers to an 18-5 lead.
Midway through the half, Virginia reeled off 16 straight points to take its biggest lead of the half. Mallory, Grunloh and Tillis had 3-pointers during the spree which swelled the Cavaliers’ advantage to 43-19.
Queens answered with its best stretch of the game. Over the final 2:13 of the half, the Royals outscored the Cavaliers 10-3 with Mann accounting for all but two of the points in the burst.
Mann’s 3-pointer with two seconds left in the half reduced Virginia’s lead to 46-29 at the break.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Mallory scored five points in a span of 12 seconds to hike the Cavaliers’ advantage to 62-39.
Mallory’s spurt came during a stretch when Virginia made 12 of 13 shots, including a pair of 3-pointers from Jacari White, who finished with 11 points.
–Field Level Media
