Virginia's men's basketball team scored seven unanswered points at the outset of its exhibition game against Carson-Newman and never looked back, as the Cavaliers blew the Eagles out of John Paul Jones Arena 124-65.
Virginia dominated Carson-Newman on both ends of the floor. The Cavaliers shot 55.4 percent to the Eagles' 28.7 percent and had a rebound margin of +20.
One sign of things to come for the Cavaliers was Virginia coach Dave Leitao's decision to start freshman Jeff Jones in the backcourt along with senior Sean Singletary. Jones responded with 12 points in 23 minutes, including Virginia's first two buckets of the afternoon. Leitao did say, however, that if sophomore Will Harris, who did not play because of injury, had been healthy, he might have started Harris instead.
As Virginia looks to replace the scoring of J.R. Reynolds, the performance of the freshmen was an encouraging sign for Leitao; Jones, Sammy Zeglinski and Mustapha Farrakhan combined for 31 points in 57 minutes. Leitao placed confidence in Zeglinski, who handled point guard responsibilities with Singletary on the bench. In 17 minutes on the floor, Zeglinski had three turnovers and five assists.
In addition to the decision to start Jones, Leitao made some other adjustments to the depth chart. Most notably, sophomore Jerome Meyinsse, who played just 6.7 minutes per game in 2006-07, entered the game before senior Ryan Pettinella, who played 10 minutes per game last season.
Sunday's game was particularly special for sophomore Calvin Baker, who saw his first action in a Virginia uniform after transferring from William & Mary in 2006. Baker had 10 points on four for seven shooting and had three assists in 16 minutes.
All 13 players who suited up for Virginia got into the game. Leitao elected not to play junior Lars Mikalauskas for reasons internal to the team, according to Virginia Athletics. He continues to practice with the team, and was seen in warm-ups on the bench for Sunday's game. His availability for the Cavaliers' Nov. 11 debut against Vermont has yet to be determined. Sophomores Will Harris and Solomon Tat and freshman Mike Scott also did not did not play as a result of injury; Leitao said Scott and Harris are likely to be ready for Virginia's first game, while Tat may be out for several more weeks.
-- compiled by Paul Montana
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