CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — The 17 points and nine rebounds stood out on Mike Scott's stat line for Virginia on Thursday night, but it might have been the three assists that got the most attention from first-year coach Tony Bennett and the rest of the Cavaliers.
"He just made some great decisions," point guard Sammy Zeglinski said of 6-foot-8 Scott, who led the Cavaliers to an easy 79-46 victory against Rider in the Cancun Challenge.
"He saw the double team coming and he was able to hit the open man numerous times."
Bennett said Scott only started to show his flair for passing during practice in the last week or so, but Scott said he's "always been known as a crafty passer in practice, and that I have vision. I've just never showed it in the game. I think today everybody saw it."
They also got to see plenty of Will Sherrill, who walked onto the team three years ago and played in the first half for only the second time in his career. Cheered for everything he did, Sherrill wound up playing 16 minutes, grabbing six rebounds and scoring two points.
On a team missing starting center Assane Sene while he serves a suspension and forward Jamil Tucker while he is on a leave of absence from the team, the 6-9 Sherrill was key to the Cavaliers using as big a lineup as they could against the surprising Broncs.
Rider (2-1) had stunned Mississippi State 88-74 in winning its opener for the first time since 2003, and then hit 16 3-pointers in an 86-71 victory against Lehigh on Monday night.
"I thought he gave us a nice lift," Bennett said of Sherrill.
Sherrill was all smiles afterward.
"I just tried to go in there and provide a spark for us," he said, adding that he heard the celebratory cheering usually reserved for players who almost never get off the bench.
"I definitely sensed it a little bit," he said. "When I got a rebound, it was a little more exciting than when Mike got a rebound. It's nice to have the crowd behind me."
The Cavaliers (2-1) held Rider to 33.3 percent shooting (17-for-51), ending a fast start to the season that saw the Broncs average 87 points in their first two games.
"We did not give them much of a fight, which was disappointing," Broncs coach Tommy Dempsey said, surmising that perhaps his team got a bit caught up in its own success.
"We knew this was a chance, if we could win again tonight, to maybe burst onto the national scene a little bit with the Kentucky game on Saturday," he said, looking ahead to the Broncs next game — at fabled Rupp Arena against the fourth-ranked Wildcats.
"This will bring us back to earth."
Scott had 13 points in the first half, which ended with Virginia ahead 36-22.
The Cavaliers used a 14-3 run to start the second half to stretch the margin to 50-25 with 15 minutes left. The Broncs never got any closer, even when Bennett emptied his bench.
Zeglinski added 12 points and Jeff Jones 11 for the Cavaliers.
The Broncs, who arrived with three players averaging 17.5 points or more, got nine points from Ryan Thompson, 8.5 below his average. Mike Ringgold had eight, more than 15 below his average, and Novar Gadson had just three, 17 off his norm. Brandon Penn scored 10.
But against Virginia, coming off a 66-49 loss at South Florida, the defense Bennett has promised the Cavaliers would play was on display. Virginia also shot almost 52 percent (29-for-56).
