UVA downs the Hokies on Senior Day

It was senior day inside of John Paul Jones arena, honoring a very talented class all of whom arrived through the transfer portal last offseason. Dallin Hall, Ugonna Onyenso, Jacari White, Devin Tillis, and Malik Thomas were all seniors that were honored.

The fun started really early for Virginia, opening the game on a 19-3 run forcing an early Hokie timeout. Malik Thomas drilled a three and an and one to start the game, followed by a Sam Lewis three and a Johann Grunloh three. Ugo Onyenso joined the party making a three of his own as the shot clock was expiring. Virginia continued its dominance early with excellent defense and playing in transition.

The Hokies would go on a solid run to even the odds in the middle of the half compositing some productive possessions.

The Cavaliers would then close the half on a tear. A 14-4 run was made by Virginia, but it was not big shots that made it notable. The defense was rolling forcing 3 turnovers in the final two minutes. 41-25 was the score at the half with a wave of momentum for the Wahoo's.

That wave of momentum did not last long though, Virginia Tech opened up the half HOT. Virginia Tech opened the second half on a 17-5 run including 3’s, layups, and lockdown defense.

There was a lot of back-and-forth action in the middle portion of the second half. Both offenses were strong making buckets and finishing. Tobi Lawal began to stand out for the Hokies, making two clutch threes and grabbing multiple rebounds.

Things got very close at the U4 media timeout (4-point UVA lead) before Virginia had another surge. Ugo Onyenso cashed maybe the most important three of his career when he got one up with 1:47 to go to push the lead to 7. UVA continued to make clutch free throws pushing the lead to multiple possessions in crunch time. Jailen Bedford made a CLUTCH three for Tech to make it a 3-point game with 7 seconds to go. However, after a clutch free throw from senior Tillis, Virginia would shut the game down. The Cavaliers would win 76-72.

What each senior finished with:

Devin Tillis - Tillis only had 4 points. He made a big three in the tail end of the first half and had the free throw that made it a two-possession game. He also had a rebound and an assist.

Dallin Hall - Hall did not finish with any points, but he dished the ball all day long. Hall had 9 assists as well as a steal and a rebound. This was the type of role Hall fulfilled all season long being a distributor, while not shooting like he did last season at BYU, he was a playmaker and defensive staple. “Dallin does everything for us, he is the ultimate leader, and he is not afraid of big moments,” said Coach Ryan Odom postgame.

Jacari White - White did not quite have the greatest finale to the season when compared with previous games. He hit one three as well as 4 other points.

Malik Thomas - Thomas started out the game so hot with 6 straight points to open up the game. After 2 steals and 2 rebounds, Thomas finished 6 of 9 from the floor, 2 of which were 3’s. “The message from Coach today was to show whose house it is,” said Thomas postgame. He did not clarify if the spelling was “whose” or “Hoos.”

Ugonna Onyenso - Perhaps the difference maker in this matchup, Onyenso made two very big threes. The first one coming in that early game surge when Virginia went on a 19-3 run. The other one late in the game to push the lead to seven. He finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 blocks. Virginia Tech Coach Mike Young commented on Onyenso postgame, “I don’t know what the f**k I’m doing wrong, he hit two threes.” Coach Young continued to comment on Onyenso and Grunloh throughout his entire presser. Onyenso said postgame his mindset was simple: “Let it fly.”