Wahoo Wire

Last night, Virginia took the floor against Boston College coming off of a dismal performance against in-state rival Virginia Tech in the Cavaliers’ first game without center Assane Sene, who will be out six weeks with a fractured ankle. Tony Bennett had to be hoping that his team would show up against the Eagles in order to regain some momentum and avoid their first losing streak of what has thus far been a stellar 2011-12 season.

Fortunately for Tony Bennett, Mike Scott still suits up for the Cavaliers.

Scott led all scorers with 18 points on a night where he scorched the nets, going 7-for-11 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 from the stripe, and Virginia (16-3, 3-2 ACC) ran away late to put away the Eagles (7-13, 2-4 ACC) 66-49. It was the tenth time this season Bennett’s squad and the infamous “pack-line” defense has held an opponent to 50 points or less, and the third in as many games, all against ACC opponents.

Sophomore Akil Mitchell and freshman Darion “Dunkasaurus” Atkins combined for 16 points and eight rebounds to replace the injured Sene, and, along with Scott, helped hold BC’s post tandem of 7-foot center Dennis Clifford and forward Ryan Anderson to 8-for-19 from the floor. Senior point guard Jontel Evans provided ten points and six assists of his own, and sophomore swingman Joe Harris drilled two key three-pointers, despite battling a fever that left him unable to practice Wednesday and unsure if he would suit up, according to Bennett.

The Eagles held their last lead of the game at the 9:30 mark of the first half, when Clifford scored to put Boston College up 15-14. Virginia led 31-23 at half, but BC clawed back into the game and tied it at 44 with just over ten minutes to play. At that point, the Cavaliers ripped off a 22-5 run to close the game, punctuated with 44 seconds remaining by a massive throwdown by Mitchell from a Malcolm Brogdon assist.

Three observations about the game:

Players keep stepping up. Atkins and Mitchell have already been discussed, as has Harris’s playing sick. Another guy who came to play was freshman Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon may have scored only six points in his 32 minutes on the floor, but one of those baskets was a key starter of the end-game run, and he contributed seven rebounds, three assists, and contributed on defense with his length. If Virginia’s bench keeps making timely contributions like that, especially with a stellar recruiting class lined up for next season, the transfers of KT Harrell and James Johnson might hurt just a little less.

He’s back! Senior guard Sammy Zeglinski had a stretch to forget, nailing just two treys in the last three games, which included scoreless performances against both Duke and Virginia Tech. Eight points is not much for a scoring guard, but his two threes really electrified the crowd at John Paul Jones Arena. Which brings me to…

The fans love this team. At times last year, Virginia fans, especially the student section, seemed a tad lackluster. Sure, they showed up for the Duke game on national television. But in general, as with football games, it was largely a social event, and students would start filing out before the final whistle, especially if things weren’t going so well. This year, things are different. The student section was rocking last night, and the fans seem to be really biting the Virginia sports bug this year. Many casual fans sometimes fail to realize that fan support is a cycle: obviously, fans want to cheer more when their team is winning and playing well. But it works the other way as well. A dedicated fan base can spur a team on to bigger and better things, and that seems to be what Virginia has this season.