After a dominant win over Drexel, No. 9 Virginia won its second game of the season Friday, defeating Northeastern 97-72. The visiting Huskies kept it close in the first half, even leading for over six minutes of play, but the Cavaliers took over in the second, outscoring their opponents 59-41 to secure the win. Here are some takeaways from Virginia’s victory:

A slow start from the perimeter kept the game close

The Cavaliers started the game 0-7 from three, and 2-10 from the field. It took them over seven minutes to hit their first triple — one from second-year center Johann Grunloh — which kickstarted a 6-7 shooting streak from distance for Virginia. Those threes, as well as great execution in transition, were instrumental for getting the Cavaliers a lead after a slow start.

Entering the second half up seven, Virginia took over the game on the interior. Second-year forward Thijs De Ridder only scored three points in the first half, but took over in the second, scoring another 16 on 7-9 shooting. Fourth-year guard Sam Lewis had an inefficient nine points in the first, but also upped his game in the second, scoring 20 points and going 5-11 from the field and 8-8 from the line. 

Execution on the full-court press still needs work

Odom is a big believer in pressing full court after a made basket. It can force turnovers, timeouts, and at minimum can mean that opponents are starting their actions with less time on the shot clock than usual.

The problem is, against Northeastern, the press struggled at times to have its desired effect. Multiple fouls in the first half came when Cavaliers pressed with too much contact, and the Huskies got a couple of buckets by sprinting past the pressure and getting downhill for a layup or a trip to the free throw line.

Virginia tightened up the press as the game progressed, and forced some mistakes, but Northeastern still found ways to get the ball up court quickly at times, getting rim attempts early in the shot clock. With a difficult November slate, the Cavaliers will have to iron out their defense after scoring if they want to protect leads against other good teams.

Chance Mallory bounced back from a quiet opener

Second-year guard Chance Mallory had a good defensive game against Drexel, with four steals, but struggled offensively with six turnovers and 2-7 shooting from the field. At times, he seemed to be rushing the game, leading to errors that the Dragons could take advantage of.

Against Northeastern, Virginia’s starting point guard looked much more comfortable, and was instrumental to getting the Cavaliers back in the game after a slow start. He blew up plays, got out quick in transition, and hit his shots at a 7-12 clip to score a career-high 20 points. He tightened up his playmaking too, with five assists and only one turnover on the game.