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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Pete Gillen can relax a little bit now.
Two days after wondering if his Virginia team was ready to open the season, the No. 25 Cavaliers made quick work of Long Island on Friday night, scoring as many points in the first half as the visitors managed for the whole 40 minutes.
"I was concerned because we had not been playing well," Gillen
said after the 96-50 victory, blaming a mix of nagging injuries and
inattentiveness. "I think we took a step in the right direction.
Now we have to answer the bell Monday."
The Cavaliers play Coastal Carolina in another apparent mismatch Monday night.
Back in the polls for the first time in four years and facing
more expectations than they have in recent seasons, Virginia used a
30-4 blitz in the first half to take control. They also impressed
Gillen with unselfish play, getting 20 assists on 36 baskets.
Eleven players had at least one assist.
"That's the key word of the day," Gillen said. "We shared the
ball."
The Blackbirds (0-1) provided plenty of chances for confidence
boosts, allowing Gillen to use all 13 players who dressed. Twelve
of them scored.
Stephane Dondon led the Cavaliers with 17 points on 6-for-8
shooting, and Travis Watson added 16 points, making seven of his 10
shots. Overall, the Cavaliers were 36-for-59, 61 percent, and hit
10 of 20 3-pointers.
Virginia also played solid defense, limiting the smaller
Blackbirds to 35 percent shooting and allowing just eight offensive
rebounds.
"They were stuck on 10 or 11 points," Roger Mason said of the
Blackbirds, who pulled to 20-11 with 9:27 left and didn't score
again until almost four minutes later. By then, Virginia led 38-13.
"We got our pressure up and we didn't want to let go," Mason
said. "We just wanted to keep putting it on them. We were getting
to them."
Long Island, picked to finish 10th in the Northeast Conference,
missed 11 of 13 shots and had five turnovers during the runaway
blitz, which started with Virginia ahead 12-9 and ended with the
score 42-13.
"They're strong and quick. That's a pretty good combination,"
said LIU coach Ray Martin, a longtime friend of Gillen's and
an assistant coach on the 1983 North Carolina State national
championship team.
"This kind of game shows our players where we need to be," he
said.
The Blackbirds were led by Dawan Gary with 12 points, Maurice
Yearwood with 11 and JaJa Bey with 10.
The Cavaliers led 50-21 at halftime and coasted, essentially
scoring two points for every one LIU managed until Gillen emptied
his bench.
"It's good to have a game where everybody gets in," Gillen
said.
The end came early, and quickly, for the Blackbirds.
Keith Friel started the 30-4 blitz with consecutive 3-pointers,
and the Cavaliers also got scoring from five others. They hit 13 of
19 shots in the run, including 3-pointers from Roger Mason and
Chris Williams.
The Blackbirds finished with 20 baskets and 20 turnovers.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Long Island Clubhouse
Virginia Clubhouse
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