Virginia got off to a slow start Tuesday night. But holding Radford scoreless for nearly 15 minutes fixed that, with the Cavaliers pulling away for a 54-44 home victory.

The Cavaliers (6-3), who opened Atlantic Coast Conference play Sunday with a 57-54 victory over in-state rival Virginia Tech, came out flat. The Highlanders took advantage, leading for most of the first 13 minutes and taking a 19-15 lead on Evan Faulkner’s 3-pointer with 7:34 left in the first half.

K.T. Harrell’s 3-pointer 13 seconds later launched a 19-0 run for Virginia to close the first half. Harrell scored eight points during the run, and Mustapha Farrakhan added four free throws.

The second half opened with more of the same, Virginia holding the Highlanders scoreless for the first 7:11 of the half. By the time Jareal Smith hit two free throws with 12:49 remaining, Virginia had pushed its lead to 37-19 and had held Radford scoreless for 14 minutes, 45 seconds.

The Cavaliers won despite a dreadful shooting performance. Virginia shot just 27.7 percent but was saved in part by hitting 8-of-21 3-pointers and 20-of-24 free throws. Farrakhan and Joe Harris led Virginia with 14 points each. Harrell added 13. Mike Scott pulled down 13 rebounds to go with 10 points.

Radford (2-6) lost its sixth straight. Gorkem Sonmez led the Highlanders with 15 points.

Virginia now gets nine days off before playing host to Oregon on Dec. 17. Radford returns home to play James Madison on Saturday.