Armaan Franklin scored 20 points and No. 13 Virginia used an 18-0 run to pull away for a 66-46 victory against visiting Albany on Wednesday night in Charlottesville, Va.
Jayden Gardner added 16 points as the Cavaliers (9-2) halted a two-game skid. Kihei Clark played in his school-record 139th game and contributed eight points and 10 assists.
Franklin knocked down 7 of 13 shots and made three 3-pointers on the heels of his 0-for-7 effort in Virginia’s 66-64 loss at Miami on Dec. 20.
Da’Kquan Davis led the Great Danes (5-10) with 11 points. Jonathan Beagle had nine points and leading scorer Gerald Drumgoole Jr. finished with just seven points on 2-of-12 shooting.
Albany shot 30.8 percent overall and 22.2 percent (6 of 27) from 3-point range.
Trailing 24-22 late in the first half, Virginia broke it open with an 18-0 run bridging halftime. Albany was scoreless for the final 5:15 of the opening half and the first 3:29 of the second half.
The lead swelled to 46-26 on Clark’s 3-pointer with 14:50 remaining.
Kadin Shedrick’s dunk with 4:30 left gave the Cavaliers their largest lead at 60-32.
Virginia shot 48.1 percent from the field, blocked seven shots and outrebounded Albany 38-30, led by seven boards from Gardner.
The Cavaliers led 33-24 at intermission after an opening half that featured seven lead changes and three ties.
Albany took a 19-15 lead with an 8-0 run sparked by consecutive 3-pointers by Trey Hutcheson and Davis.
Virginia scored the final 11 points of the opening half, highlighted by back-to-back steals and layups by Clark.
Gardner and Franklin each scored 10 points in the first half for the Cavaliers, who played without starting guard Reece Beekman due to a hamstring injury.
It was the 325th win at Virginia for head coach Tony Bennett, one shy of tying the school record set by Terry Holland from 1974-90.
–Field Level Media