The Virginia men's basketball team came out hot, led by the inspired play of Stephane Dondon, and defeated the Nantucket Nectars 95-80 in its final exhibition game.
Dondon appeared in the starting lineup because Adam Hall sat out nursing a knee injury. Dondon, a senior from Toulouse, France, made all seven of his shots from the field, including two three-pointers to finish with 17 points.
"That is the best he has played since he has been at Virginia," coach Pete Gillen said. "He held their best player to 11 points and I thought he was the star of the game."
"Last year it was a big adjustment coming from [junior college] to the ACC," Dondon said. "I feel more prepared and confident entering this year."
Guard Roger Mason Jr. was forced to play 38 minutes because of Hall's absence and led the Cavs with 20 points. Mason, Travis Watson and Chris Williams all had seven rebounds.
Watson and Williams also were effective offensively, scoring 18 and 15 points respectively.
However, the Cavs struggled to adjust to the ACC's tighter officiating. The conference is trying to open offensive play this season by putting emphasis on calling defensive fouls that have been overlooked in the past. Dondon, Williams, Watson and Donald Hand all ended the game with four fouls, limiting the team's aggressiveness.
"We are still adjusting with the closer calls," Gillen said. "A lot of guys had trouble, so we were very tentative the last 10 minutes of the game."
The team was able to make up for last week's disappointing 89-88 loss at the buzzer to the London Leopards.
"Even though this was an exhibition game, we had a sour taste in our mouth following last week," Williams said. "We worked real hard in practice and came out and got this win."
The team received a surprise with the inspired play of freshman J.C. Mathis. With the lack of depth inside, Mathis' ability to come in and score seven points in 14 minutes provides Gillen with a good insurance policy as the team prepares to begin the regular season.
Gillen had said before the year began that in order for the Cavs to reach the upper echelon of teams in the country, they would have to play improved defense. Last season, the team finished last in the ACC in points allowed, and still has more work ahead.
"Our pressure was very good," Gillen said. "Our halfcourt man defense was very good for 30 minutes but we got tired and we got in foul trouble. It's getting better but we still have a long way to go."
The Cavaliers will play their first regular season game Friday at University Hall against Long Island. After two exhibitions, the Cavs are prepared to embark on a season in which they have high aspirations following last year's near miss at an NCAA berth.
"We are on our way but we're not there yet," Mason said. "We have a lot of improvements we need to make. We made a stride today by getting a win. Now we need to play better defense, play smarter, and get into form"
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