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Virginia Opens Preseason With Victory
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Nov. 2, 2001
Charlottesville, Va. – The University of Virginia men’s basketball team began the exhibition portion of the 2001-02 season with an 82-70 victory over the Nantucket Nectars Friday evening (Nov. 2) at University Hall.
Junior forward/center Travis Watson (Brookneal, Va.) led all scorers with 24 points on 12-15 shooting from the field. Watson also pulled down 10 rebounds for the Cavaliers and added three blocked shots. Senior forward Chris Williams (Birmingham, Ala.) also recorded a double-double with 17 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. Williams also led all players with six assists. Joining Watson and Williams in double figures were junior guard Roger Mason, Jr. (Silver Spring, Md.) and sophomore forward J.C. Mathis (Brooklyn, N.Y.). Mason scored 14 points and added four assists, while Mathis registered 10 points and six rebounds.
Tim Fudd led the Nectars with 23 points and eight rebounds. Nii Nelson Richards contributed 14 points in the loss. The Nectars shot 44 percent from behind the arc (11-25).
The Cavaliers shot 50 percent from the field (36-72) while holding the Nectars to 38.5 percent (25-65). Virginia also outrebounded the Nectars by a 48-30 margin. Virginia only trailed once in the game, after Fudd scored the first basket of the contest to give the Nectars a 2-0 lead 14 seconds into the game. The Cavaliers took the lead for good on a field goal by freshman forward Elton Brown (Newport News, Va.) with 14:16 remaining in the first half to give Virginia a 16-14 lead. Virginia stretched its lead to as many as 14 points (41-27) in the first half before taking a 41-33 halftime lead.
The Cavaliers conclude the exhibition season with a game against the Los Angeles All-Stars on Sunday, November 11 at University Hall. That game will begin at 2:00 p.m. Virginia opens the regular season on Friday, November 16 when it hosts Wagner College at University Hall. Tip-off for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.