As many University students were just getting back into the swing of things after Thanksgiving break Sunday, the Virginia men's basketball team looked as if it was in mid-season form with a dominant win over Maryland Eastern Shore 104-63, preserving an undefeated record.
The Cavaliers were led by senior forward Jason Cain, who turned in a stellar performance and finished with 22 points and eight rebounds. Cain provided a powerful inside scoring threat to complement the Cavalier's excellent perimeter game. Senior guard JR Reynolds shot over 50 percent from field goal range and contributed 22 points and four assists. Sophomore forward Mamadi Diane continued his impressive play and shooting ability and finished with 17 points and junior guard Sean Singletary added 11 points and nine assists.
Virginia played a complete game from start to finish and dominated the Hawks offensively and defensively.
"We've been getting better as a whole," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "I think we took a really good step today in becoming whole in what we need to look like and how we need to play."
Leitao used the game as an opportunity to get his new freshman players some valuable playing time. Freshman guard/forward Will Harris and freshman forward Jamil Tucker saw extended playing time during Sunday's game as did a number of other young players. The freshmen performed admirably and allowed Reynolds and Singletary to get some well-deserved rest.
Virginia came out in the first half ready to play, as the Cavaliers jumped out to an early 15-point lead thanks to an emphatic dunk by Jason Cain with nine minutes left in the first half. Leitao encouraged the Cavaliers to push the ball up the court, which led to a fast-paced and high-scoring half.
Cain led the Cavaliers in the first half with 16 points and six rebounds. He provided a dangerous inside scoring threat and also managed to get to the free-throw line three times. Cain made all six of his free throws in the first half, which allowed Virginia to score 20 points on 87 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
Maryland Eastern Shore could not match Virginia's physicality on both ends of the court as the Cavaliers grabbed 25 rebounds compared to the Hawks' eight. Cain was a big part of Virginia's physical play as he turned in a career game.
"He's our best player, he's very aggressive," Reynolds said. "He can rebound, he can score, he can shoot the three and he can post up. He's a great all-around player."
Virginia came out in the second half and continued to push the tempo and maintain its physical play. The Cavaliers buckled down on defense and limited the Hawks to 30 points in the half on 30 percent shooting from the field.
Reynolds exploded in the second half and helped the Cavaliers blow the game wide open. Virginia held a significant lead for much of the half and finished the game with a 41-point advantage. Virginia finished with 40 points in the paint and 23 second-chance points, a tribute to their physicality and dominance on the boards.
But Cain really emerged as the player of the game. As he exited the game in the second half he received a rousing standing ovation from the crowd of 10,104 people in attendance.
"Before I didn't want to take as many shots and things went a lot smoother," Cain said. "But now I know I need to get it done for my team. Hopefully I can continue to do it because that frees up everybody."
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