The Virginia Cavaliers handled their business against the Miami Hurricanes despite missing two of their top-three leading scorers on Wednesday evening.

The Wahoos (10-11, 3-7 in the ACC) used a 14-0 run in the first half to build an early lead. Miami (4-17, 0-10) answered in the first seven minutes of the second half, bringing the deficit within three points with 13:28 remaining. But the ‘Hoos responded in kind, eventually holding on to an 82-71 victory to earn their first road win of the season.

Isaac McKneely (26 points), Taine Murray (20), and Blake Buchanan (16) rallied to make up for Andrew Rohde and Elijah Saunders’ absence due to injury. Murray was particularly impressive, registering a career-high in points and assists (7). The Kiwi was on fire all night long, both hitting triples and attacking the rim with strong dribble drives. Virginia’s lone senior hasn’t been a consistent contributor, but he certainly has his moments of brilliance, and Wednesday night was one of them.

UVA flipped the script from most of its losses this season as the Cavaliers scored 18 points off turnovers and an additional 12 second chance points. On his birthday, Buchanan was especially effective down low as he owned the paint with nine rebounds including five on the offensive glass.

Without Rohde in the lineup, the Wahoos relied on their traditional mover blocker offense to create open threes for Murray (4-for-6 from deep) and McKneely (6-for-12) to knock down. Their contributions from beyond the arc proved critical without Rohde or Saunders to rely on.

“A big emphasis for us has been sharing the ball,” McKneely told the broadcast postgame. “I thought we did a great job tonight of doing that. We were missing two of our leading scorers – Rohde and Elijah Saunders – so we knew I had to step up. Taine Murray stepped up for us today. Everybody made plays down the stretch and I’m just super happy with the win.”

McKneely in particular came up clutch in the waning moments. In a 5:35 stretch from the 7:48 mark in the second half until there was just 2:13 remaining, McKneely scored 13 points including three deep balls. That kept the Hurricanes at bay and ensured that Virginia forced Miami to foul in the last few minutes of action when Ishan Sharma and Jacob Cofie put the game on ice with seven combined makes from the free throw line.

There is no immediate update on Rohde’s or Saunders’ injury status moving forward. Rohde was pictured in a boot at practice earlier this week, while Saunders wore one on the bench at Miami. Stay tuned for additional information once it’s available.

Virginia’s victory on Wednesday keeps the Cavaliers out of the basement of the ACC and, for the first time in a while, moves them into the ACC Tournament picture. UVA is tied for 14th in the conference with Georgia Tech at 3-7. With the team’s next opponent – the Virginia Tech Hokies – just one game ahead at 4-6, Saturday’s matchup at 4:00 PM ET in Charlottesville has added juice.