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CHARLOTTESVILLE – Virginia will host Bradley in the semifinals of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational Wednesday at 7 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena. The winner will advance to play either Houston or Tulsa in next week’s CBI championship series. Fox College Sports will televise the Virginia-Bradley game.
Tickets for Wednesday’s semifinal game are on sale and are available online, by calling the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-542-UVA1, or in person at the Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium. Tickets for the semifinal game are $10 for reserved seats and $5 for UVa students. Student tickets are available online at UVaShots.com. Parking Wednesday night will be $5.
Virginia (17-15) advanced to the tournament’s semifinals with an 80-76 quarterfinal win over Old Dominion on Monday night. The Monarchs led 75-72 with under 30 seconds to play before Sean Singletary banked in a 3-pointer to tie the game. On the ensuing possession, Old Dominion was holding the ball for the final shot when Singletary stole the ball near midcourt and scored the game-winning layup with 4.6 seconds remaining.
Singletary finished the game against the Monarchs with 22 points and tied his career high with 10 assists. He also had three steals and three rebounds.
Four other Virginia players scored in double figures in the game. Mamadi Diane scored 14 points, Jamil Tucker had 11 points and a team-high six rebounds, and Jeff Jones and Laurynas Mikalauskas each scored 10 points.
Singletary leads the Cavaliers in scoring and in assists. He is averaging 19.9 points and 6.1 assists a game. Diane is the only other Virginia player averaging in double figures in scoring with an average of 11.8 points a game.
Bradley (19-15) also made a comeback to advance, rallying from 14 points down in the second half to defeat Ohio 79-73 in the quarterfinals Monday. The Braves defeated Cincinnati 70-67 in the opening round of the CBI.
Bradley compiled an overall record of 9-9 in the Missouri Valley Conference during the season.
Guards Jeremy Crouch, Daniel Ruffin and Andrew Warren lead Bradley in scoring. Crouch is averaging 15.6 points a game, Ruffin 14.4 and Warren 13.3 points a game. Ruffin leads the team in assists with an average of 5.8 assists a game. Forward Theron Wilson averages 11.5 points and 6.2 rebounds a game, while forward Matt Salley averages 6.0 points and a team-leading 6.6 rebounds a game. Guard Sam Maniscalco averages 7.8 points a game.
Jim Les is in his sixth season as Bradley’s head coach. His Bradley teams have compiled an overall record of 103-88. The Braves advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2006 NCAA Tournament and participated in the 2007 NIT.
Bradley and Virginia have met once before with the Braves gaining a home victory over the Cavaliers 77-58 during the 1946-47 season.