PHILADELPHIA -- Sean Singletary has another chance to give
his hometown fans a game to remember.
Adrian Joseph had 23 points and 11 rebounds, Singletary scored
16 points and No. 23 Virginia was unstoppable early on its way to a
100-85 victory over Penn on Friday night in the Philly Hoop Group
Classic.
The Cavaliers (5-0) will play Seton Hall on Saturday in the
championship game of the Independence bracket of the inaugural
eight-team tournament. Drexel will play Loyola, Md. on Saturday in
the Liberty championship game. The tournament is broken up into two
brackets, so there is no undisputed champion.
"We're a still a work in progress as much as anything,"
Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.
The Quakers (1-4) might have a hard time believing Leitao's
assessment.
There was no dispute about the outcome of this one. Not even
playing on their home court and famed home of the Big 5, the
Palestra, provided the Quakers with any kind of advantage.
The word Classic was applicable to the tournament's name only.
The Cavaliers, who jumped into the Top 25 by handing Arizona its
first November home loss since 1978-79, never let thoughts of upset
hatch inside the heads of the Ivy League Quakers. Fans were still
looking for a spot on the bleacher seats when Joseph hit a pair of
3-pointers on an opening 12-2 run. Jamil Tucker and Calvin Baker
each hit 3s early that put them up 20-7 and it was time for
Virginia's seldom-used benchwarmers to start thinking about garbage
time minutes.
Virginia was so dominant -- 7-for-13 from 3-point range in the
first half -- that it didn't even miss Singletary's typical big
game. Singletary, who leads the Cavaliers with a 22.5 scoring
average, made only one field goal and scored seven points in the
first half.
Singletary, a Philadelphia native, picked up his game in the
second half and helped turn this one into a rout. He did earn the
loudest ovation of any player during the pregame introductions.
Singletary had scored at least 19 points in the first four
games, but stalled against the Quakers on a 4-for-12 effort.
"I'm just happy we got the win and I've got a chance to turn
things around tomorrow," he said.
Mamadi Diane scored 13 points and Mike Scott added 10 points and
13 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Another statistical oddity was Penn reserve Remy Cofield's 12
points in the first half. Not bad for a freshman who was scoreless
for the season on only three shots coming into the game. He
finished with 20 points.
"He's going to be a heck of a player for us," Penn coach Glen
Miller said. "He's got himself to the point where he's earned an
opportunity and he certainly took advantage of it."
Joseph sank two more 3s in the second half and each gave
Virginia an 18-point lead. The only suspense was if Virginia would
go over the 100-point mark. Will Sherrill's jumper with 21 seconds
left put the Cavaliers right at 100.
Joseph went 5-for-7 from 3-point range.
"He bought in 1,000 percent to what we're doing," Leitao said.
"He came in as a shooter and now he does other things. You just
see a guy who's game is expanding."
Singletary believed the Cavaliers' lead could have expanded by a
few more points in the second half.
"We could have kept our foot on the gas pedal a little more,"
he said.
The Quakers, who have contended for the Ivy League title for
most of the last 15 years, have to face the possibility of another
blowout against an ACC team on their home court: Top-ranked North
Carolina visits on Dec. 4 at the Palestra.
Penn shot 54 percent from the floor in the second half and a
respectable 46 percent overall. Those numbers were wasted by the
mismatch on the boards. Scott and Joseph helped the Cavaliers
outrebound Penn 56-26.
"We're young. We're learning. We're growing," Miller said.