WATCH: Jay Huff's One-Handed Put Back Dunk | Trey Murphy's Ferocious Flush
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) Trey Murphy III and his Virginia teammates couldn't wait to get back to work.
Murphy scored seven of his 15 points during a 13-0 first-half run and No. 16 Virginia returned from a long coronavirus-related pause to beat William & Mary 76-40 on Tuesday.
''Really, I think that quarantine put a little bit of hunger in us and we were all just so eager to play and when we came back on Saturday, it was just clicking,'' the transfer from Rice said. ''It was crazy that we were out for 10 days and that first practice back, it was one of our better practices.''
The Cavaliers (4-1) were playing for the first time since they beat Kent State on Dec. 4 but showed few signs of rust; they cashed in on their first five possessions to take an 11-2 lead. A 13-0 run came shortly thereafter as William & Mary went 7:52 without scoring.
''I don't even remember the last time we played,'' said Kadin Shedrick, who added 10 points for the Cavaliers. ''It felt really good to be out there.''
Yuri Covington's 12 points led the Tribe (2-3), which never recovered from their scoring drought. They lost their 12th straight in the series, which Virginia leads 56-26. William & Mary's last victory against the Cavaliers came in 1984-85.
Second-year Tribe coach Dane Fischer still found reasons to be pleased.
''For us to get 14 offensive rebounds against Virginia speaks to the volume of the effort our guys were giving, which is great,'' Fischer said.
The game served as a tuneup of sorts for the Cavaliers before they face top-ranked Gonzaga on Saturday, but with the contest well in hand, coach Tony Bennett emptied his bench.
''Things that you can't control, you can't have a negative reaction to it,'' Murphy said. ''And so I just had to move on because we know we're going to get our opportunity and I'm looking forward to that on Saturday.
''It's a really big game and me and my teammates are very excited to play Gonzaga.''
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The Cavaliers go on the road to face top-ranked Gonzaga in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday.