Virginia Defeats Richmond 96-53 in Preseason Exhibition, reports virginiasports.com

Virginia Defeats Richmond 96-53 in Preseason Exhibition, reports virginiasports.com

October 10, 2026 Rachel Kim – Technology Editor Technology

Virginia Defeats Richmond 96-53 in Preseason Exhibition at John Paul Jones Arena

The University of Virginia men’s basketball team defeated the Richmond Spiders 96-53 during the second of three preseason exhibition games at John Paul Jones Arena in Charlottesville, Virginia, virginiasports.com reported. After falling behind 20-12 in the first half, the Cavaliers responded with 26 unanswered points to take control of the matchup.

The Tech TL;DR:

  • Virginia routed Richmond 96-53 in a preseason exhibition game at John Paul Jones Arena.
  • Point guard Chance Mallory sparked a decisive 26-0 first-half run after Richmond initially took a 20-12 lead.
  • Five Cavaliers finished in double figures while the team shot 50 percent from 3-point range and held the Spiders to 25.4 percent shooting.

First-Half Momentum Shift Led by Chance Mallory

Richmond head coach Chris Mooney acknowledged that his squad caught Virginia off guard early, stating that the Cavaliers were initially not ready for that type of opponent. Virginia second-year head coach Ryan Odom similarly noted that his team started the game on their heels and played with hesitation. The tide turned when second-year point guard Chance Mallory entered the game after sitting out the first exhibition with a minor injury. Mallory scored the first seven points of a 26-0 run that broke the game open. Mooney described Mallory as a player who puts intense pressure on an opposing defense, while Odom called the local St. Anne’s-Belfield School graduate the engine of the offense and defense due to his speed up the court.

Ryan Odom Press Conference Opens in a new window

Dominant Statistics and Balanced Scoring Dominate the Second Half

Holding a 43-28 advantage at halftime, Virginia pulled away completely in the final period. According to virginiasports.com, the Cavaliers outrebounded the smaller Richmond roster 54-29 and converted 21 second-chance points. Five different players reached double figures for Virginia: Chance Mallory, Thijs De Ridder, Martin Carrere, Elijah Gertrude, and Jan Vide all scored 11 or more points, with Mallory, De Ridder, and Carrere leading the team at 12 points each. From beyond the arc, Carrere made 4 of 6 attempts and Gertrude hit 3 of 5, pushing the team’s overall 3-point shooting accuracy to 50 percent on 14-of-28 shooting. Odom noted the presence of multiple reliable shooters on the roster following the win.

// Performance metrics recorded at John Paul Jones Arena
const matchStats = {
    opponent: "Richmond Spiders",
    finalScore: { uva: 96, ur: 53 },
    rebounds: { uva: 54, ur: 29 },
    threePointAccuracy: "50% (14/28)",
    secondChancePoints: 21
};

Virginia Prepares for Final Exhibition Game

The exhibition matchup marked the second of three tune-up games for Virginia ahead of the regular season schedule under Odom, who compiled a 3-1 record against Richmond during his previous tenure leading VCU. The team prepares to finalize its exhibition slate at John Paul Jones Arena before opening regular-season competition.

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