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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Adam Hall, slowed by knee tendinitis
that caused him to miss 10 days of practice, was angry.
Late in the first half, the Virginia guard broke to the basket,
the crowd stirring. But his shot was swatted away by Cory Seels
before it even got close.
Hall's revenge came in the second half. He scored 15 of his 19
points, including the last 10 in a 12-2 stretch, as No. 11 Virginia pulled away to beat East Tennessee State 85-62 Sunday.
"It was just me being frustrated and angry at myself in the
first half and coming out in the second half trying to help my team
out," said Hall, whose outburst featured two 3-pointers and a big
dunk.
Hall also scored 15 of his 18 points in the Cavaliers' opener
Friday night after the break, and caught the attention of his
teammates.
"He was more aggressive and he asserted himself," said Roger
Mason Jr., who led Virginia with 20 points. Mason also laughed
about the big rejection, saying it was the first time he'd seen
Hall denied.
"The next time he's going to throw one on somebody," he said.
The Cavaliers (2-0) led 42-31 at halftime against the rugged
Buccaneers. It was 53-38 after J.C. Mathis scored with 15:17 to go,
and 63-40 when Hall's two free throws finished his spurt with 12:01
remaining.
"We tried to mix defenses to try to keep them off balance as
best we could," Buccaneers coach Ed DeChellis said. "They're just
much bigger and stronger, athletic and quick. We just couldn't keep
up the pace."
The Buccaneers were called for 28 fouls to Virginia's 16, and
the Cavaliers had a 31-12 advantage in scoring from the line.
East Tennessee State (1-1), which beat Guilford 90-61 in its
opener Friday night, never got back in it as Virginia coach Pete
Gillen emptied his bench, getting plenty of experience for his top
four freshmen.
After playing Howard at home on Wednesday night, the Cavaliers
schedule gets tougher with a game against Michigan State (No. 13 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) a
week later in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in Richmond.
After playing at top speed in a 105-74 victory againstWagner on
Friday night, Gillen was glad to see the Buccaneers' slower
approach.
"It was a different look entirely, so it was good challenge for
our young team," he said. "We're still not a cohesive team."
Travis Watson had 14 and 13 rebounds and Chris Williams scored
13 for the Cavaliers, who held the Buccaneers to 23-for-66
shooting, 35 percent.
Zakee Wadood and Jerald Fields led the Buccaneers with 12 points
each and Tiras Wade had 11. The Bucs also had 11 shots blocked.
"It's a lot different than Guilford College," DeChellis said. |