Virginia Cavaliers at Providence Friars

No. 7 Virginias beat Providence for Emerald Coast title

Virginia beat the Friars 63-52 to win the Emerald Coast Classic on Saturday night.

London Perrantes, selected the tournament's most valuable player, and Darius Thompson scored 11 points each to lead the Cavaliers.

Virginia (6-0) had been giving up only 39.2 points per game.

Providence (4-2) topped the 51 that UNC Greensboro scored against the Cavaliers, but had trouble penetrating the tight defense that denies post touches and forces contested jumpers.

Mamadi Diakite added 10 points for Virginia.

Jalen Lindsey led Providence with 18 points. Rodney Bullock added 16, but that was short of his 20.4 average.

"They are physical, really physical, offensively and defensively," Perrantes said about the Friars.

He said the rough play, though, will only help the Cavaliers prepare for other tough opponents that will be coming up.

Cooley also had some high praise for Perrantes, saying he "may be the most poised player I've seen in college basketball in a long, long, long time."

Virginia coach Tony Bennett credited the Cavaliers' balance for getting them through some challenging moments in the game including a 9-0 Providence run to start the second half that cut Virginia's lead to five points.

"It's not who we play, it's how we play," Bennett said. "We played pretty solid, but we had a lapse that could be very costly."

BIG PICTURE

Virginia: Bolstered by strong performances from bench players Marial Shayok, the team scoring leader averaging 11.2 points going into Saturday's game, and freshman Kyle Guy, the Cavaliers have shown little affect from the graduation of four players from last season's 29-win team.

Providence: Losing to a highly touted Virginia team does nothing to take the luster off a strong early season showing. That includes a dramatic come-from-behind 60-51 victory over previously undefeated Memphis in the Emerald Coast semifinals.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

After breezing through four relatively weak opponents to open the season, Virginia did the same in its first major challenge, beating the Big Ten's Iowa 74-41 in the semifinals Friday. Taking down Providence from the Big East can only enhance the Cavaliers' chances of moving up from their No. 7 ranking if any of the teams ahead of them stumble.

UP NEXT

Providence: The Friars host New Hampshire on Wednesday.

Virginia: Host Ohio State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge on Wednesday.

How can I watch Virginia vs. Providence?

• TV Channel: Virginia at Providence 2021 College Basketball, week 3, is broadcasted on .
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