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CHARLOTTESVILLE The Virginia men’s basketball team made its 2008-09 debut Sunday afternoon with an 87-52 exhibition victory over Division II Shepherd (W.Va.) at John Paul Jones Arena. The Cavaliers had four players score in double figures, led by Jeff Jones’ game-high 18 points.
“This is the first time we’ve had the opportunity publicly to start the process of evaluating and figuring out our group,” said Virginia head coach Dave Leitao. “Obviously I still have to watch the film to get a complete understanding of what was good, what was not, and what we’ve got to work on. For me, my mindset has been that we have to do a better job defensively at every stage, all season long, beginning with today, and I thought we pretty much did that.”
Virginia closed out the first half on a 24-8 run to open up a 39-19 lead at intermission. The Cavaliers extended their lead in the second half to the final margin of 35 points.
Jones came off the bench to lead the Cavaliers in scoring, recording 14 of his 18 points before halftime. Mike Scott had a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds, while Mamadi Diane and Sylven Landesberg added 14 and 13 points respectively.
Justin Jarman led Shepherd with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
The Cavaliers open the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 16 as they host VMI. The Keydets have led the nation in scoring average in each of the past two seasons. Game time is 4 p.m. and the contest will be televised by Comcast SportsNet.