Hunter, Guy lead No. 5 Virginia past William & Mary

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - De'Andre Hunter scored 18 points, Kyle Guy had 16 and No. 5 Virginia pulled away after halftime and beat William & Mary 72-40 on Saturday.

The Tribe (4-8) used a 14-3 run spanning halftime to trim a 17-point deficit to 34-28 early in the second half, but Mamadi Diakite's basket sparked a 17-2 run that put Virginia (11-0) in command again. Guy had nine points in the run, including the last six to give the Cavaliers a 51-30 advantage with 9:57 to play.

Nathan Knight scored 22 points for William & Mary before fouling out.

Virginia started quickly and led 25-8 as the Tribe missed 13 of 14 shots in one stretch. But William & Mary closed the first half on a 9-3 run, and then scored the first five points after halftime. Justin Pierce, the Tribe's No. 2 scorer (17.6 points per game), capped the run with a 3-pointer, but it was his only basket.

Diakite then sparked the run for Virginia.

William & Mary became the sixth team held below 50 points by the Cavaliers this season.

BIG PICTURE

William & Mary: Juniors Knight (19.1 points per game), Pierce and Matt Milon (12) all need to be making shots for the Tribe to have success, and while Knight scored 12 in the first half, Milon had only two and Pierce was scoreless, missing all three of his shots. He didn't score until 18:51 remained.

Virginia: Coach Tony Bennett substituted more liberally than usual after the Cavaliers opened a 25-8 lead, and then when Ty Jerome went to the bench with his second foul in the first half. While freshman point guard Kihei Clark has drawn much praise for his play, the offense does not run nearly as smoothly when Jerome is not in the game.

UP NEXT

William & Mary: The Tribe open Colonial Athletic Association play at home against James Madison on Friday.

Virginia: The Cavaliers close the year, and their nonconference schedule, at home against Marshall on New Year's Eve.