CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Malik Thomas scored 20 points and No. 23 Virginia beat California 84-60 in its Atlantic Coast Conference home opener Wednesday night, scoring at least 80 points for the 14th time in 15 games this season.
Johann Grunloh, Thijs De Ridder, Sam Lewis and Ugonna Onyenso each added 12 for the Cavaliers (13-2, 2-1), who assisted on 23 of 30 baskets and dominated the glass with 45-26 edge in rebounding.
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Virginia has won two straight since a triple-overtime loss at rival Virginia Tech on New Year’s Eve.
Former Virginia guard Dai Dai Ames, who transferred to Cal after last year and is the team’s leading scorer this season, had 18 points for the Golden Bears (13-3, 1-2).
Justin Pippen, son of NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, added 17 points and Virginia Tech transfer John Camden finished with 15.
Virginia outscored Cal 23-11 over the final 10 minutes of the first half to go to the locker room up 43-33. The Cavaliers pulled away by opening the second half on an 18-4 run as they improved to 9-0 at home.
Virginia held Cal to 35% shooting from the floor and blocked nine shots, with four coming from Onyenso, who also had nine rebounds.
About the only blemish for Virginia was another rough night at the free-throw line. First-year coach Ryan Odom’s squad came into the game ranked 14th out of 18 teams in the league in free-throw shooting, and went 15 for 23.
Cal: The Golden Bears continue their visit to the Commonwealth of Virginia when they play Virginia Tech on Saturday.
Virginia: Hosts the ACC’s other recent West Coast addition, Stanford, on Saturday.