Chance Mallory's 16 Points and Six Assists Lift No. 6 Virginia Past Bucknell 95-61

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. Chance Mallory scored 16 points with six assists, and No. 6 Virginia beat Bucknell 95-61 on Tuesday night at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers improved to 4-0. The Bison fell to 0-3. The game tipped at 9 p.m. ET and was televised on the ACC Network. Virginia never trailed.

Mallory went 6 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range in 21 minutes, with two rebounds, three steals and four turnovers. Thijs De Ridder had 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and four steals. Nolan Adekunle scored 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and Johann Grünloh added 13 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Elijah Gertrude came off the bench for five points and seven assists in 13 minutes. Martin Carrere added seven points and six rebounds, and Jan Vide had six points, five rebounds and four assists off the bench. Favour Ibe had four points and four blocked shots in seven minutes. Sam Lewis, who entered averaging 18.7 points, finished with four points on 2 of 3 shooting.

Aleksander Pachucki and Luke Soden each scored 12 points for Bucknell. Soden went 4 of 5 from 3-point range off the bench, and Rocco Lamuno had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists. The Bison shot 35 percent from the field, 11 of 33 from 3-point range and 10 of 14 at the line.

Virginia scored the first 11 points. Adekunle opened with a driving layup from Mallory, Mallory hit a 27-foot 3, Grünloh scored inside, and De Ridder finished a driving layup at 16:09 of the first half. Lamuno's 27-foot 3 at 15:24 was Bucknell's first basket. Virginia then went on a 14-0 run, with De Ridder's dunk at 9:32 making it 28-5.

Patrick O'Brien and Soden answered with 3s, but Adekunle and Mallory kept answering from deep. Grünloh dunked twice in the half, and Mallory's driving layup at the horn sent Virginia into the break up 53-31. The Cavaliers shot 51 percent for the game, going 37 of 73, and they finished with 30 assists, 52 rebounds (23 offensive) and 12 steals. Virginia scored 46 points in the paint, 22 on the fast break and 27 off 16 Bucknell turnovers, and it blocked 11 shots. The largest lead was 37. Virginia assisted on 30 of its 37 field goals. The 23 offensive rebounds helped the Cavaliers control the glass, 52-29, and they turned those extra possessions into a night-long cushion.

O'Brien's 25-foot 3 opened the second half and cut it to 53-34, but De Ridder answered with a 23-foot 3. Virginia then scored 11 straight. Adekunle added a driving layup and a 24-foot 3, Grünloh scored inside, and Mallory's and-1 made it 67-36. Gertrude scored on a floater and a 25-foot 3 to make it 74-38. De Ridder's 24-foot 3 at 11:01 made it 78-41, tying the largest lead of the night.

Soden hit back-to-back 3s to give the Bison a brief burst, but Adekunle answered with another 25-foot 3. Favour Ibe scored inside late, including a tip-in that made it 95-58 with 1:20 left. Bucknell added free throws in the final minute for the 95-61 final. Virginia outscored Bucknell 42-30 after halftime.

Virginia entered 3-0 for the fourth straight season after wins over Drexel (89-60), Northeastern (97-72) and then-No. 12 Arkansas (91-72) at the Skyscanner Capital Showcase in Washington, D.C., where De Ridder had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Grünloh scored 15 with five blocks, Sam Lewis added 16 and Mallory had 15 points and six assists, according to Virginia's official preview and the ACC weekly honor release. The Cavaliers moved up to No. 6 in the AP poll, their highest ranking since Feb. 20, 2023. De Ridder was named Co-ACC Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 18.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.6 steals in those three wins. Ryan Odom, in his second season as Virginia's head coach, entered the night 33-6 at UVA after a 30-6 debut season, according to the official preview. Tuesday's win moved Virginia to 4-0.

Bucknell entered 0-2 after a season-opening loss at Maryland and an 82-62 home loss to Old Dominion on Saturday. John Griffin III's club was outscored 52-37 in the second half at Maryland and 39-19 over the final 12 minutes against ODU, according to Bucknell's official preview. Pachucki scored a career-high 23 points at Maryland, and Luca Soroa Schaller had a career-high 17 against Old Dominion. Soroa Schaller finished with six points on Tuesday.

Virginia entered the series 2-1, with the last meeting a 99-49 win at University Hall on Dec. 28, 2000, according to Virginia's official preview. The Cavaliers also won 64-45 in 1980. Bucknell won the first meeting, 99-81, in 1961. Tuesday's result made the series 3-1 in Virginia's favor.

Virginia plays at Maryland on Friday at 8 p.m. ET at XFINITY Center. Bucknell hosts Columbia on Friday at 7 p.m. ET at Sojka Pavilion.

For the full numbers, see the ESPN box score (opens in a new tab) and play-by-play (opens in a new tab), plus Virginia's game preview (opens in a new tab) and Bucknell's preview of the trip to Charlottesville (opens in a new tab). Official recaps had not been posted at the time this story was published.

Sources: ESPN, Virginia Athletics, Bucknell Athletics. More men's college basketball coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: Jamie Holt / Virginia Athletics (file photo from Nov. 8, 2026, vs. Arkansas)