CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Armaan Franklin scored 21 points, Jayden Gardner had 18 and No. 25 Virginia rediscovered its offense after a season-opening embarrassment, beating Radford 73-52 on Friday night.
The Cavaliers (1-1), who were beaten 66-58 by Navy on Tuesday night, used a 24-5 first-half burst to take a 32-15 lead. They held the Highlanders without a point for five minutes and never let their lead shrink below 15 after that.
Bryan Hart led Radford (1-1) with 12 points, but the Highlanders shot 38% and committed 15 turnovers that Virginia turned into 19 points. They also were outscored 24-6 from the free-throw line and had four players with four fouls.
Franklin, a transfer from Indiana, went 5 for 8 from 3-point range after making 1 of 7 in the opener. Gardner, a transfer from East Carolina, grabbed seven rebounds.
It was the first meeting between the in-state schools since the 2010 season.
BIG PICTURE
Radford: The Highlanders hit their first two 3-point tries, a hot start that resembled Navy’s. But Virginia didn’t wait until the second half to tighten up this time and had lots of hands in passing lanes, disrupting everything Radford tried to get going.
Virginia: The Cavaliers led 41-21 at the half and might have won by a larger margin had they not gotten away from their methodical offensive approach and started running with the Highlanders early in the second half.
UP NEXT
Radford: At Virginia Tech on Monday night.
Virginia: At No. 15 Houston on Tuesday night.
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