Musketeers too tough for Cavs

After last season’s 38-point loss on the road to Xavier, some semblance of payback was one of the goals for the Virginia men’s basketball team heading into Saturday’s rematch at John Paul Jones Arena.
Instead, UVa penned a hideous sequel.
Virginia, coming off an impressive ACC road-opening victory at Georgia Tech last weekend, took about three steps backward in this matinee.
No. 22 Xavier, behind 24 points from B.J. Raymond, embarrassed UVa for the second straight season — this time on its own home court. The final score was 84-70 — but it wasn’t nearly that close. At one point in the second half, Virginia trailed by 28.
“One of my concerns heading into the game,” said UVa coach Dave Leitao, “was to be able to match a mindset.”
The Wahoos didn’t come close.
The gutty, savvy play that was on hand in Atlanta was nowhere to be found. At one point in the second half, the Cavaliers had to call timeout when only four players were on the court. The faux pas was emblematic of Virginia’s entire performance.
“This was real upsetting,” said UVa freshman Sylven Landesberg, who, once again, was one of the few players who showed up — he scored a game-high 25 points. “We went out there and played hard for the first few minutes, but then I don’t know what happened — it just disappeared. I’ve never been down by that [many points] in my life — that kind of deficit.
“I think we’re a team with a lot of heart, but that heart disappeared for a little bit.”
Virginia, which trailed by 16 at the half, essentially imploded for good on back-to-back sequences early in the second half.
First, Xavier big man Kenny Frease threw down a two-hand tomahawk dunk. Then, on the very next possession, facing equally lax resistance, Derrick Brown paraded down the lane for a sweet windmill jam that put the Musketeers up, 58-32.
“That was probably the turning point for Xavier,” said Virginia sophomore Mike Scott (16 points and 5 rebounds), noting that UVa had pulled to within 15 a few minutes before.
The first half was an odd one. Virginia (6-5) held Xavier scoreless for nearly the first five minutes, but only led 6-0 due to some equally stingy Musketeer defense.
After a jumper by Landesberg put Virginia up 8-4, UVa went scoreless for almost six minutes as Xavier — buoyed by the jumpshooting of Brad Redford — went on a 19-0 run to take a 23-8 lead.
“We took their first punch, so to speak,” said Xavier coach Sean Miller, “I thought once we got through that first four minutes, our team settled in and played our brand of basketball.”
Xavier shot 47 percent from the field (42 percent for 3-point range) as Virginia shot just 29 percent (22 percent from 3).
“They are a terrific defensive team,” Leitao said. “They’re physical and are always in front of you. If you beat somebody, there is always a one- or two-guy rotation. They don’t give up 37-percent [shooting for the season] for no reason. That’s not false. That’s a real number.
“I thought in order to counteract that, we would have to move the ball around a lot and find the best shot every time down, and we didn’t do that. And when you don’t play defense well, it puts more pressure on your offense.”
Xavier, which has played one of the toughest schedules in the country, improved to 11-2.
“I’m very, very proud of our team,” Miller said. “Anytime you can come into the ACC on their home court and leave with a hard-fought victory, I think any program relishes those opportunities, and certainly we do.”
For Virginia, it’s back to the drawing board. The Cavs wrap up their non-conference schedule when they host Brown on Tuesday night before traveling to Virginia Tech on Saturday.
“Last year was a lot worse I thought,” said Virginia guard Sammy Zeglinski, when asked to compare the two Xavier debacles. “We got off to a good start when it was 6-0, but just like that the game switched and we weren’t ever able to get back into it.”
Dunks
Mamadi Diane made his first 3-pointer of the season after missing his first 21. He finished with seven points. …Calvin Baker missed all six of his shot attempts. …Junior Solomon Tat made his first appearance since the team’s loss to Liberty on Nov. 25. He had two points in nine minutes. …Assane Sene, making his first start at home, had a career-high 11 rebounds. …Sammy Zeglinski tied a career-high with six assists.