After leading Virginia in scoring last season, Jayden Gardner has seen his scoring average cut in half to start this season. Some of the drop-off was to be expected with the Cavaliers having more scoring options, but it was still surprising to see the Third-Team All-ACC selection score in double figures just once through the first four games of the season.
On Friday night, Jayden Gardner reminded everyone of his offensive talent, scoring 18 points in the first half alone and tallying a season-high 26 points to lead Virginia to a comfortable 72-45 victory over Maryland Eastern Shore to remain undefeated on the season.
In the postgame press conference, Tony Bennett said he challenged his team to be aggressive right from the jump. The pep talk worked as the Cavaliers scored the first eight points of the game and raced out to a 20-4 lead after eight minutes.
The visiting Hawks responded well to the early punch, taking advantage of a…
