Grambling Tigers at Virginia Cavaliers

Guy scores 20 as No. 7 Virginia routs Grambling State 90-34

Justice Bartley scored five points while Jeff Jones and Trevon Gross Jr. added three apiece for the seventh-ranked Cavaliers in a 90-34 blowout of Grambling State.

"It was really good to see Jeff and Tre and Justice, those guys that work so hard to prepare our guys in practice, get that many minutes and that many shots," coach Tony Bennett said, laughing as he glanced at a stat sheet that showed Gross took eight shots in 11 minutes.

The rainbow 3-pointer he finally made with 3:40 remaining took an immediate place in Bennett's memory bank.

"Those are some of my favorite memories," the coach said, rattling off the names of other walk-ons getting their first points.

"I don't think that you can imagine what it's like to play against that defense," Tigers coach Shawn Walker said.

Guy, who was Mr. Basketball in Indiana last season, shot 6 of 7 from the floor, including 5 of 6 from 3-point range. Bennett removed him with 10:51 remaining and started substituting with walk-ons very early.

Marcel Thompson led Grambling State (1-3) with eight points.

Guy, the most heralded of a vaunted freshman class for Virginia, causes a stir in the crowd every time he shows off his quick release. When his shot falls, fans go wild. He whetted their appetite in the previous game by scoring 15 points, and was even better against the Tigers.

"It feels really good right now being out there," Guy said. "I try to be really poised and focused and make sure I am mentally prepared for each game. ... I expect to go through my ups and downs, but will try to stay on an even keel through it all."

Marial Shayok and Darius Thompson added 12 points apiece for Virginia.

Grambling State, meanwhile, might want to lose Virginia's phone number. The Cavaliers led by 40 at halftime after the 26-point burst, their largest lead at the break since the only other time they played Grambling, in 2001. They led that game 68-25 at intermission.

BIG PICTURE

Grambling State: The Tigers have five seniors on their roster, which should bode well when they get to their level of play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, but they also have seven freshmen and are no doubt using the pay-day portion of their schedule to try to blend young and old into something more cohesive.

Virginia: The preseason is over for the Cavaliers, who used their first four games to incorporate Guy, redshirt freshman Mamadi Diakite and freshman Ty Jerome into the rotation, a process that might have taken on greater urgency when talented low post scorer Austin Nichols was dismissed from the team last Friday. The schedule gets more serious for Virginia now with its next string of games against Iowa, Providence or Memphis, Ohio State, West Virginia and East Carolina.

TWENTY-SOMETHING

Virginia has had a run of at least 20 consecutive points in three of its four games. It outscored UNCG 22-0 in the opener, scored 20 in a row against Yale on Sunday night and had the 26-0 run against the Tigers. The Cavaliers are allowing 38.8 points per game this season.

HOMEBODIES

Virginia has won 23 straight at home, the sixth-longest streak in the country.

UP NEXT

Grambling State plays a team to be determined in the Emerald Coast Classic.

Virginia plays Iowa in the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday night in Niceville, Florida.

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