Virginia Upends Morgan State, 85-66

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Nov. 19, 2006

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -J.R. Reynolds scored 17 and Will Harris added 16 as Virginia beat Morgan State 85-66 Sunday in the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Virginia (2-0) never trailed and remained perfect at home, the new $130 million John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavs opened play there last week with a 93-90 come-from-behind win over then-No. 10 Arizona.

The Cavaliers scored the first 12 points and led 23-8 with 10:37 remaining in the first half. Sean Singletary’s 3-pointer with 3:06 left in the half put the Cavs up 40-19, but Morgan State (0-3) answered with an 11-2 run fueled by two 3-pointers from Rogers Barnes and one from Karanvir Aujla to go into the break trailing 42-30.

Virginia extended the lead to 19 in the first five minutes of the second half and the Bears could get no closer than 13, when Aujla’s 3-pointer made it 73-60 with 4:41 to play. Virginia followed with a 9-0 run that gave the Cavs their biggest lead of 22 with 2:04 remaining.

Virginia outrebounded Morgan State 48-30 and outscored the Bears 38-14 in the paint. The Cavaliers shot nearly 51 percent, compared to just 35.4 percent for Morgan State.

Mamadi Diane scored 15 for the Cavaliers and Singletary added 12 points and eight assists.

Reggie Holmes and Aujla each had 12 for Morgan State, Joseph McLean had 11 and Jamar Smith added 10.