Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
3 spree for Virginia
Kyle Guy had 25 points, Ty Jerome added 21 points, and the two combined with De’Andre Hunter for 18 three-pointers as No. 2 Virginia broke open a tight game to defeat Syracuse 79-53.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter led a long-range assault, combining for 18 3-pointers as No.2 Virginia broke open a tight game in the second half and cruised to a victory over Syracuse on Monday night.
Virginia (27-2, 15-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), whose only two losses were to Duke, has won seven consecutive since losing for the second time to the Blue Devils and leads North Carolina by a half game in the ACC.
Syracuse (19-11, 10-7) was coming off a road victory at Wake Forest, but the Orange’s zone defense was torched for eight 3-pointers during a 27-3 spurt. After falling behind by one point, the Cavaliers outscored Syracuse 37-10 over the final 15 minutes and set a record for 3-pointers allowed by the Orange.
Guy finished with 25 points, Hunter had 21, and Jerome 16. They finished a combined 18 of 24 on three-pointers.
Just over a year ago, Hunter scored 15 points and Guy added 14 as then-No. 2 Virginia humbled the Orange 59-44, the fewest points Syracuse has scored in the Carrier Dome. This one was tight until the big barrage.
Virginia’s biggest lead in the first 25 minutes was four points, but after Tyus Battle hit a corner 3 to give Syracuse a one-point lead at 15:05, the Cavaliers defense kicked in as they scored 11 straight points to gain a double-digit advantage and pulled away.
Hunter hit a 3 from the left corner, Mamadi Diakite converted a layup and Jerome hit a long 3 from the top of the key for a 50-43 advantage nearing the midpoint of the period. Guy’s fifth 3 of the game made it 53-43 at 10:26 as Syracuse went scoreless for nearly five minutes and hit only 1 of 10 shots as the lead slipped away.
Guy’s eighth 3, a career high, gave Virginia its 17th from beyond the arc, the most ever against the Orange.
Battle, the Orange’s leading scorer, finished 5 of 19 for 11 points. Elijah Hughes and Buddy Boeheim also had 11 points apiece.