De Ridder strong in debut, Virginia gets past Rider 87-53

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Thijs De Ridder scored 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds in his collegiate debut as Virginia opened its season with an 87-53 win over Rider.

Four other Cavaliers reached double figures, with Johann Grunloh (12 points), Sam Lewis (11), Chance Mallory (11), and Jacari White (11) each chipping in for the win.

Grunloh and Lewis each grabbed seven rebounds as the Cavaliers outrebounded the Broncs 49-32. Dallin Hall led his team with five assists.

After taking a 42-32 lead into the half, Virginia started the second frame on a 27-3 run that lasted almost twelve minutes and stretched the Cavalier lead to 70-36.

Flash Burton paced the Broncs with 17 points, six rebounds, and one assist.

Cavaliers head coach Ryan Odom picked up a win in his debut with his new squad. He was previously the head coach at VCU, Utah State, and UMBC, where he coached UMBC to the first-ever 16-seed upset over Virginia in the 2017 NCAA tournament.

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