Cavs shuffle, beat pressure
Landesberg, Scott help U.Va. avoid a Kentucky-like upset
Monday, Nov 17, 2008 - 12:06 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

What the Kentucky Wildcats couldn't do -- beat Virginia Military Institute in basketball on Friday night -- the Virginia Cavaliers accomplished yesterday at John Paul Jones Arena.

But VMI refused to go quietly. With 40 seconds left, the Cavaliers' lead was only four points, and a second upset seemed within the Keydets' grasp. Virginia scored the game's final six points, however, and win its opener 107-97 before a relieved crowd of 9,955.

"Just so you know, there will be a press release in the morning: I just fired our schedule-maker," Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said to open his postgame news conference.

At the JPJ on Friday night, Virginia's coaches and players watched on TV as VMI shocked Kentucky 111-103. The Keydets, whose rotation includes no players taller than 6-7, made 14 3-pointers and forced 25 turnovers, a performance that convinced Leitao he needed to alter his lineup for the opener.

So, in place of 6-11 senior Tunji Soroye, Leitao started 6-6 freshman Sylven Landesberg.

Mike Scott, a 6-8 sophomore, moved from power forward to center, and he destroyed the smaller Keydets. Scott finished with 26 points and 18 rebounds -- both career highs -- and hit 11 of 13 shots from the floor, most from right around the basket. Scott's 10 offensive boards tied the school record.

"He was a beast," VMI coach Dugger Baucom said. "We had no answer for him."

Landesberg was equally impressive. The former McDonald's All-American totaled 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in 36 minutes.

"When you flirt with a triple-double right out of the box, that tells you something and answers maybe a question or two," Leitao said.

Landesberg's 28 points were the most by a U.Va. freshman in his college debut since freshmen became eligible in 1972-73. That broke the record of 24 set by Jeff Lamp against James Madison on Nov. 24, 1978.

Midway through the first half, Virginia led by 17 and VMI looked sluggish. But then the Keydets' full-court pressure began taking a toll. By halftime, the Cavaliers had 16 turnovers and their lead was down to six.

After the break, however, U.Va. turned it over only four times. Baucom singled out the ballhandling of redshirt freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski, who had 11 points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals off the bench.

"For him to play 31 minutes and only have three turnovers against what we like to do, I think is pretty good," Baucom said.

Twins Chavis and Travis Holmes led VMI with 31 and 20 points, respectively. The Keydets trailed 82-81 when Chavis Holmes went to the line for two shots with 6:47 left. He sank the first to pull VMI even but missed the second, and Scott scored inside at the other end to put Virginia ahead for good.

 

Lineup change to Landesberg sparks Cavaliers
Freshman Sylven Landesberg nearly has a triple-double in his debut for Virginia.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Three days earlier, VMI might have felt differently about a 10-point loss at Virginia.

When you've opened the season with a victory over Kentucky at Rupp Arena, it creates a whole new set of standards.

"We weren't looking for a moral victory," said VMI senior Chavis Holmes, who scored a game-high 31 points Sunday in a 107-97 loss at John Paul Jones Arena.

Less than 48 hours after beating Kentucky 111-103, the Keydets overcame a 16-point, first-half deficit to force an 82-82 tie with 6:47 remaining Sunday.

Holmes missed the second of two free throws that could have given the Keydets the lead and the Cavaliers responded with a 10-2 spurt fueled by two Jeff Jones 3-pointers.

Jones had been watching the Kentucky-VMI game in Virginia's team room Friday night while several teammates were courtside at the UVa women's opener.

"I went out there and got them," Jones said. "I told them, 'You guys have got to see this!' "

The Keydets' victory certainly got Virginia's attention, so much so that coach Dave Leitao changed his starting lineup.

Leitao, who had started 6-foot-11, 250-pound Tunji Soroye in an exhibition against Division II Shepherd, decided he needed to go with a smaller lineup.

Soroye was replaced by 6-6 freshman Sylven Landesberg, a McDonald's All-American who was the centerpiece of UVa's recruiting class.

"Right before we came out for warmups, he was like, 'This is who's going to be guarding who,' " Landesberg said. "My name just appeared on the board. I was surprised."

Landesberg's surprise didn't prevent him from scoring seven of Virginia's first 15 points. He finished with 28 points, the high for a first-year UVa player in his debut since freshman eligibility was approved for the 1973-74 season.

Landesberg, who logged a team-high 36 minutes, also contributed eight rebounds and eight assists.

"When you flirt with a triple-double right out of the box, that tells you something," Leitao said.

Leitao had hoped to be able to use 6-9 sophomore Mike Scott at power forward this season, but Scott moved to center for Sunday's game and finished with career highs of 26 points and 18 rebounds. His 10 offensive rebounds tied a school record shared by Matt Blundin, Bryant Stith and Travis Watson.

"Coach told me I would probably be playing some 'five' this season," said Scott, who was 11-of-13 from the field. "All I want is to be in position to rebound."

Leitao was determined not to let his team get off to a slow start, having seen Kentucky fall behind by 21 points in the first half. He got his wish when Virginia grabbed a 30-14 lead with 12:21 left in the first half.

Sloppy ball-handling and VMI's pressure led to 16 first-half turnovers by UVa and the Cavaliers saw the Keydets trim the margin to four points on three occasions before going into halftime down 51-45.

Another 16-turnover half would have spelled doom for Virginia, but the Cavaliers started to protect the ball and committed only four turnovers during the final 20 minutes.

That helped offset VMI's 51.3-percent shooting in the second half.

The first Virginia player singled out by VMI coach Duggar Baucom was redshirt freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski, who played 31 minutes off the bench and had 11 points and six rebounds, compared to three turnovers.

"Zeglinski had a great game, I thought," Baucom said. "He handled our pressure very well. We were able to impose our will more Friday night than we were today. We actually got out of our pressure for a little bit because he was just dicing us up."

It was a credit to VMI that Leitao elected to try and beat the Keydets at their game, rather than stay with big men who couldn't guard the Keydets on the perimeter.

"We do that to some teams," Baucom said. "I hate they started Landesberg. He had an awesome game. It probably helped them, with two days to prepare, to know what we were going to do a little bit."

Soroye did not play and neither did the Cavaliers' two freshmen centers, John Brandenburg and Assane Sene. UVa announced before the game that Sene would be held out of action until an issue about his eligibility is resolved.

The Cavaliers are attempting to rebuild following the departure of three-time All-ACC choice Sean Singletary and have only one returning double-figure scorer, Mamadi Diane.

"This team was going to force us to score," Leitao said. "I told the team, 'Let's score 100 and not let them score 100.' "

The Keydets have lost 24 straight games to Virginia dating back to 1964-65 and you'd have to go back to 1977 to find a UVa-VMI game decided by fewer than 10 points.

"As a coach, the happiest thing about this whole thing is that my guys are upset that they didn't win the game today," Baucom said, "I'm not sure that's always been the mindset."

 

Scott sparkles as the Cavs corral rampaging Keydets
By Ed Miller
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 17, 2008
CHARLOTTESVILLE

Virginia's Mike Scott grabbed his 18th and final rebound, squeezed the ball, and waited for the final buzzer.

When it sounded seconds later, and the Cavaliers had held off VMI 107-97 Sunday evening, a visibly relieved Scott flung the ball toward the ceiling of John Paul Jones Arena.

"Hard game," Scott said afterward. "VMI - they're a good team."

Who knew? The Keydets were picked to finish seventh in the Big South, and when the Virginia schedule came out a few months back, this game looked like a season-opening layup for the Cavaliers.

That perception changed Friday night, when the Keydets stunned Kentucky 111-103. Coach Dave Leitao took notice, and shuffled his starting lineup to better match up with the fast-paced "stun-and-gun" VMI attack. Even with those adjustments, the game was tied at 82 with under seven minutes left, and VMI was within two with 5:27 to go.

Jeff Jones hit a pair of 3-pointers to give Virginia some breathing room, Sylven Landesberg scored 15 of his team-high 28 points in the second half, and the Cavaliers avoided Kentucky's fate.

Jones' shots were timely, and Landesberg's 28 points were a record for a Virginia freshman playing in his first game. But in a contest played at a frenetic pace, the 6-foot-8 Scott, a sophomore from Deep Creek High, was the biggest difference maker. He scored 26 points to go with his 18 rebounds, 10 of which came on the offensive glass to tie a school record.

"Mike Scott was a beast," VMI coach Duggar Baucom said. "We just didn't have an answer for him."

"Twenty-six and 18, regardless of how many possessions there are, is a big number," Leitao said.

The table was set for Scott to excel. The small-ball Keydets start no player over 6-6. They press full-court, shoot early in the shot clock, spread the floor and launch 3-pointers.

When Virginia beat VMI's pressure, it often resulted in layups. When the Cavaliers drove and missed, Scott was often there to clean up. He made 11 of 13 shots, most of them from point-blank range off offensive rebounds.

"When you don't have to run through an offensive play, those are easy rebounds," Scott said.

Scott was the largest player on the floor most of the night as Virginia went small to match VMI. Scott moved from power forward to center, and the 6-5 Landesberg replaced 6-11 Tunji Soroye in the starting lineup.

"The way they play is so unique.... the game is going to be 94 feet whether you like it or not," Leitao said.

VMI had it that way for much of the night. The Keydets forced 16 turnovers in the first half, but the Cavaliers did a better job in the second, particularly when point guard Sammy Zeglinski was in the game. The redshirt freshman, who missed most of last season with an ankle injury, committed just three turnovers in 31 minutes.

Zeglinski, Landesberg and Calvin Baker combined for 23 assists as Virginia attacked the basket in transition and got layup after layup. It was a good thing because Virginia made just 3 of 16 3-pointers. VMI, which got 51 points from twins Chavis and Travis Holmes, hit 9 of 31.

Leitao, for one, wasn't complaining.

"We'll take a win against this team any day," he said.

 

UVa holds off VMI
By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: November 17, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Virginia coach Dave Leitao kept a keen on eye on the happenings in Lexington, Ky., Friday night. By the middle of the second half, a group of Cavalier players had gathered in the team’s lounge to watch, too.
They saw VMI drill shot after shot and hold off a furious Kentucky charge at Rupp Arena.
“It was a little bit of a wake-up call,” Leitao said. “What we saw out there really raised our eyebrows.”
And it changed the Cavs’ gameplan for Sunday’s season opener at John Paul Jones Arena. Most of Virginia’s big men stayed on the bench. Tunji Soroye was expected to start, but he didn’t even play. Instead, Leitao put Sylven Landesberg in the lineup, and the freshman from Flushing, N.Y., responded with one of the greatest debuts in Virginia history. He scored 28 points, the most ever for a Virginia freshman making his first appearance, and added eight assists and eight rebounds to lead the Cavs to a 107-97 victory.
“I think I’m going to fire the schedule maker,” Leitao joked.
Preparing for the opener was certainly a challenge. VMI has led the nation in scoring the last two years, but Keydets coach Duggar Baucom added some new wrinkles to the mix this season. He recruited solid shooters in Keith Gabriel and Michael Sparks, giving the team more outside threats. He mixed his defenses, adding more full-court press and some additional half-court pressure.
As a result, Virginia looked like a confused basketball team at times. The Cavs (1-0) led by 17 points midway through the first half, but VMI (1-1) made some defensive adjustments and began forcing turnovers. UVa had 16 giveaways in the first half, allowing the Keydets to scrap their way back within six points by halftime.
“The defense was real confusing,” Landesberg said. “You didn’t know if they were pressuring you, or lying back waiting for the steal. You just had to be aggressive.”
Landesberg and Mike Scott did just that, taking advantage of favorable matchups. The 6-8 Scott bullied VMI’s smaller forwards, finishing with career highs in points (26) and rebounds (18) and tying a Virginia record with 10 offensive rebounds. The Keydets, who tried to defend Scott with 6-7 Willie Bell, 6-7 Quinn Brownfield and 6-4 Ron Burks, had no chance at slowing the athletic sophomore.
“He was a beast,” Baucom said. “We had no answer for him. If he can do that against ACC people, then they’ll be a lot better than everybody thought.”
Virginia’s lead fluctuated between four and six points for most of the early part of the second half, but VMI finally made a charge, tying the game at 81 on Gabriel’s basket with 8:28 left. Later, Gabriel pulled the Keydets within 86-84 with another basket when Jeff Jones hit two daggers that kept the Keydets at arm’s length.
Jones, who missed his first three 3-point attempts, drained consecutive 3s to push the Cavs’ lead to 92-84 with 4:31 left, and VMI got no closer than four points the rest of the way.
“We know Jeff is always in the gym shooting,” Scott said. “So him just spotting up and shooting his shot, I didn’t even have to box out. I already knew it was going in.”
Baucom admitted his team was fatigued at the end. His team traveled back to post after the win at Kentucky Friday and bussed to Charlottesville Sunday. Before the game, his assistant coaches told him they didn’t like the way the players were warming up, so Baucom wasn’t surprised with the Keydets’ sluggish start.
Still, “I never really thought we were out of it,” VMI’s Austin Kenon said. With the Holmes twins finding a flow — Chavis led all scorers with 31 and Travis added 20 — the Keydets were able to hang around.
Once Virginia got the turnover problems under control, the Keydets struggled to match Virginia’s offense. Freshman Sammy Zeglinski, who had 11 points and six assists, handled VMI’s pressure defense well in the second half, and the Cavs had just four turnovers after the break and none in the final 10 minutes.
“I thought sometimes in the first half, he’d break a double team, and then back up a little bit,” Leitao said. “I told him to take it as far as they’d let him go, take it to the foul-line area, look at your options, jump stop and make some plays. He got a lot better as the game went along.
“This is really his first experience in college. You’re not going to be perfect. We’ve got a lot of things to clean up with him, and everybody. But I was really happy with him in the second half.”
DRIBBLES: Virginia freshman center Assane Sene didn’t play Sunday and will be held out of games as the school explores some issues with his pre-college coursework that could have an affect on his eligibility status. Sene will continue to practice with the team but won’t play until the issue is resolved, UVa athletics director Craig Littlepage said in a statement. … Virginia tied a JPJA record with 24 assists. Calvin Baker tied a career-high with seven assists before leaving the game in the second half with an apparent right calf injury. … The previous best debut for a UVa freshman came in November 1978, when Jeff Lamp scored 24 points against James Madison.

 

Cavaliers defeat VMI 107-97 in high-scoring affair
Sylven Landesberg sets freshman debut record with 28 points; Mike Scott racks up double-double with 26 points, 18 rebounds
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Senior Associate Editor
Published: Monday, November 17 2008

Sylven Landesberg (No. 15) and Jamil Tucker (No. 12) both go up for a rebound last night against VMI. Landesberg scored 28 points in his collegiate debut and Tucker netted 14 points. “I just fired our schedule-maker.”

Virginia coach Dave Leitao’s quip following the men’s basketball team’s 107-97 victory against VMI was naturally in jest, but his point was clear. In a season where clamping down on defense is the theme, opening a season with the run-and-gun Keydets — who averaged 91.3 points per game last season, which led the nation — is not an ideal team with which to break the ice.

“It kind of felt like it was the NHL All-Star game,” Leitao said. “It affected everything that we do.”

On the other hand, Virginia knew this Keydet team was no joke after it took down Kentucky 111-103 in its first game of the season Friday night. So, in last night’s victory at John Paul Jones Arena — with highly touted recruit Renardo Sidney in attendance — the Cavalier perimeter players were put to the test in their first game without the graduated Sean Singletary against VMI’s aggressive, trapping defense. By all accounts, they passed.

VMI “is going to force you, if you’re ready, willing, and able, to score 100 [points],” Leitao said. “That was my goal; let’s score 100, and let’s not let them score 100, and we accomplished that goal.”

The Cavaliers had several players who Leitao hopes showed their true colors last night. Freshman shooting guard Sylven Landesberg — who was told only moments before the game that he would start — was magnificent in his regular-season debut, putting up 28 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. His point total is an all-time Virginia record for a freshman debut since they became eligible in 1972-73; the previous record was held by Jeff Lamp, who put up 24 points in his debut in 1977-78. The freshman’s strength was particularly noticeable, as he finished several buckets with contact, including two 3-point plays.

“If anybody knows me — particularly Sylven — I don’t hand out bouquets too often,” Leitao said. “I’ve known for a while now that he’s got great potential, and we just want to make that potential a reality.”

Sophomore forward Mike Scott — who was the biggest Virginia player to see action as Virginia countered VMI’s speed with a small lineup — also took a piece of the spotlight. Scott was an efficient 11 for 13 from the field for 26 points and snatched 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive glass. The 10 offensive boards tied yet another Virginia record.

“I think [Scott] probably turned [the 10 offensive rebounds] into at least 20 points, if not more on some 3-point plays,” VMI coach Duggar Baucom said.

When informed about tying a school high with 10 offensive boards, Scott was a bit bewildered.

“I didn’t know I had — man, that’s crazy,” Scott said. “Just trying to go after every rebound — that’s what I live by.”

Scott also had the most impressive score of the night, and perhaps the biggest. With Virginia up 91-87 and just more than two minutes remaining, Scott received the ball in the open court with just senior guard Travis Holmes between him and the basket. After going up for the lay-in, Scott was body-checked in mid-air by Holmes but still remained upright and somehow flipped in the bucket, plus the foul.

Only two minutes earlier, sophomore guard Jeff Jones also made two enormous 3-point shots on back-to-back possessions. With Virginia leading 86-84, Jones’ two 3-pointers pushed the lead to 8; the Keydets would never get closer than 4 points in the remaining minutes.

While describing Jones’ threes as “huge,” Leitao also noted the importance of those shots to Jones’ confidence in his shot, which wavered often last year as he struggled to a 31.4 percentage from beyond the arc.

“His first two or three shots didn’t go in,” Leitao said. “I think he’s different this year, especially mentally, that maybe you’ll have a string of shots after that that may not go in, but he knows he’s being counted on to score ... when he gets those open threes, to take it.”

After Virginia opened up an early 17-point lead 9:46 into the first half, it appeared that the Keydets were suffering an emotional hangover from their big win against Kentucky two nights earlier. VMI’s full-court pressure, however, took its toll on the Cavalier backcourt in the latter portion of the first half. Whether it was junior guard Calvin Baker, redshirt freshman Sammy Zeglinski or sophomore guard Mustapha Farrakhan acting as the primary ball-handler, VMI both took the ball from Virginia and flustered the Cavaliers into making careless mistakes that led to turnovers. By halftime, VMI had cut the lead to 6, as Virginia committed 16 turnovers in the first half.

Perhaps the biggest factor that swung the tide toward Virginia in the second half was the difference against VMI’s pressure; with Zeglinski handling the point guard reins for the majority of the second half, Virginia did not turn the ball over once in the final 10 minutes.

At halftime, “we talked about the amount of unforced turnovers that were part of that 16, and those were the ones that we had to eliminate,” Leitao said. “That’s really what you’ve got to be able to do — get high-percentage shots without giving the ball back.”

Baucom was particularly impressed with the play of Zeglinski, who had just three turnovers while playing 31 minutes off the bench.
“The little guy, I think Zeglinski’s going to be good,” Baucom said. “He was a question mark coming into the game — I would think y’all would think that, he was kind of unproven.”

Though the game remained tight throughout the second half, VMI never managed to take a lead. Senior guard Chavis Holmes had the opportunity to give his team the edge as he earned a trip to the foul line with the Keydets trailing 82-81 with just under seven minutes remaining but made one of two free throws to merely knot the game at 82 apiece. Two quick buckets by Scott and senior forward Mamadi Diane gave Virginia the lead that lasted to the final buzzer.

“Anytime you can get an ACC team down with six minutes to go, your mindset kind of changes a little bit,” Baucom said.

The Cavaliers return to JPJ Wednesday night to take on South Florida at 7.

 

For starts, Cavs come up big by going small
November 17, 2008 1:08 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.
CHARLOTTESVILLE--

Dave Leitao watched every possession of Virginia Military Institute's upset victory over Kentucky on Friday night.

The primary thing that caught the Virginia men's basketball coach's attention was that the Wildcats' big players were helpless in keeping up with VMI's frantic pace.

"The game's going to be 94 feet whether you like it or not," Leitao said of playing against the two-time NCAA leader in points per game.

That's why just before the Cavaliers and Keydets tipped off yesterday in John Paul Jones Arena, Leitao informed 6-foot-11 senior center Tunji Soroye that his services weren't needed.

Instead, he injected highly touted freshman guard Sylven Landesberg into the starting lineup.

The move paid off as Landesberg scored the most points in a debut in Virginia history.

He registered 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Cavaliers avoided becoming VMI's second upset victim in a 107-97 season-opening nonconference home victory.

Landesberg's point total against VMI (1-1) surpassed Jeff Lamp's 24 in his 1978 debut against James Madison.

"I was a little surprised," Landesberg said of his insertion into the lineup. "I was just thinking, 'This is an opportunity for me.'"

Leitao wasn't totally surprised by Landesberg's outburst for Virginia (1-0). The 6-foot-6 Flushing, N.Y., native was a McDonald's All-American as a high school senior.

Still, his performance was a pleasant sight for the coach, whose team has limited scoring options in the absence of graduated star point guard Sean Singletary.

Leitao said Landesberg is "a good player," but that "hopefully he's on his way to being a terrific player."

"When you flirt with a triple-double right out of the box, that tells you something," Leitao said. "And maybe answers a question or two."

A few other Cavaliers answered key questions as well for Leitao, whose team was picked to finish last in the ACC.

Point guard Sammy Zeglinski appeared capable of handling Singletary's former position, finishing with 11 points, six assists and just three turnovers against VMI's pressure defense.

Sophomore power forward Mike Scott dominated VMI's undersize front line with 26 points and 18 rebounds. His 10 offensive boards tied a school record.

"He was a beast," VMI head coach Duggar Baucom said. "We had no answer for him."

The Keydets weren't totally outmanned, and it appeared for a while they were capable of beating a major conference team for the second time in three days.

They rallied from a 17-point first-half deficit to tie the game at 82 after guard Chavis Holmes (game-high 31 points) converted 1-of-2 free throws with 6:47 remaining.

But the Cavaliers then went on a 10-2 run to take a 92-84 lead on a 3-pointer from Virginia guard Jeff Jones (eight points). The Keydets got no closer than five points the rest of the way.

Baucom lamented Holmes' missed free throw that he said could've given the Keydets a psychological edge.

"Any time you can get an ACC team down with six minutes to go," Baucom said, "the mind-set kind of changes a little bit."

Notes

Virginia freshman center Assane Sene was held out of yesterday's game because of a pending matter with the NCAA regarding his eligibility.

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage said the Cavaliers are looking to resolve the issue quickly.

High school star power forward Renardo Sidney was on hand yesterday and the Cavaliers faithful noticed. They showered the five-star recruit with chants of "We want Sidney!" in the first half. Sidney is a talented 6-foot-10 power forward from Los Angeles, who is considered one of the top seniors in the nation. He's considering attending Virginia, Southern California or Arizona State.

 

Cavs’ small ball pays off big time
By Whitey Reid
Published: November 17, 2008

Who needs 7-footers, set plays, or any kind of real half-court offense?
On Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena, the Virginia men’s basketball team sure didn’t.
UVa, playing a brand of small ball that would have made New York Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni proud, put on a free-wheeling,
offensive show that had the JPJ crowd begging for more.
Virginia, behind a school freshman record 28 points from Sylven Landesberg and a career-high 26 points and 18 rebounds from sophomore Mike Scott, held off pesky VMI in front of 9,955 fans to win its 11th straight season opener.
“We have a long way to go obviously, but I’ll take a win against this team any day,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao.
Due to VMI’s up-tempo style, Leitao elected to start with a small lineup after watching the Keydets’ upset victory over Kentucky on Friday night. Landesberg started in place of 6-foot-11 inch Tunji Soroye, who didn’t see any action. Joining the 6-foot-6 McDonald’s All-American were
6-foot-2 Calvin Baker, 6-foot-4 Mustapha Farrakhan, 6-foot-5 Mamadi Diane and the 6-foot-8 Scott (who played center).
“I thought that if we went with a small lineup — more ball-handlers —that would be good,” Leitao said.
Landesberg certainly took advantage of the opportunity, breaking former Cavalier Jeff Lamp’s record for most points in a debut. He also dished out eight assists, grabbed eight rebounds and had three steals.
In addition, Landesberg showed tremendous poise for a first-year player, committing just three turnovers in his 36 minutes.
“When you flirt with a triple double right out of the box, that tells you something,” Leitao said.
Scott was just as impressive. The Chesapeake native was unstoppable on the offensive glass, where he collected 10 of his 18 boards. Scott’s first five baskets of the game were all on offensive put-backs.
“He was a beast,” said VMI coach Duggar Baucom. “We had no answer for him. If he can do that in the ACC, they’re going to be tough.”
Virginia (1-0) got great production off its bench. Led by Jamil Tucker and Sammy Zeglinski, UVa outscored VMI’s reserves 32-14.
Virginia built a 17-point lead in the first half, but led just 51-45 at the break after VMI closed the half on a
19-8 run.
In the second half, the Keydets kept within striking distance before eventually tying the game on a Keith Gabriel lay-up with just over 8 minutes to play.
Shortly after, Chavis Holmes (game-high 31 points) had a chance to put VMI up, but split a pair of free throws to make it 82-all.
From there, UVa went on a 12-5 run that was sparked by two 3-pointers from sophomore Jeff Jones.
Leading by five with just over 2 minutes to play, Zeglinski put VMI away when he beat full-court pressure with a nifty pass to Scott whose 3-point play gave the Cavaliers a relatively safe lead of eight.
“They handled our pressure very well,” Baucom said. “Zeglinski had a great game from the point-guard position…he was just dicing us up.”
While Leitao was happy with the end result, he certainly sounded like a guy who wasn’t very eager to play “small ball” again anytime soon.
“They play you against yourself,” he said, “so it was a difficult preparation for us in trying to go against what we do every day, so I’m just glad and fortunate that we won.”
Dunks
Virginia played without freshman big man Assane Sene. The school held him out of the game, pending the resolution of his eligibility status. “Because of a recent NCAA interpretation, there are some aspects of Assane’s pre-college enrollment that must be reviewed further,” said Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage in a press release. “We’re looking forward to having this resolved quickly.”…UVa picked a good time to play well. In attendance was prep phenom Renardo Sidney, whom many experts feel is the No. 1 high school recruit in the nation. “I got to hang out with him a couple hours [on Saturday],” said Mike Scott. “Hopefully he enjoyed what he saw today.” Scott says he has definitely envisioned playing alongside Sidney in what would be a fearsome frontcourt. “I saw a couple of his clips online and I’ve definitely heard about him. Us two together would be [good].”

 

Cavaliers Down West Virginia 3-2 in NCAA Second Round
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 11/16/2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE – The Virginia women’s soccer team used three first half goals to top West Virginia 3-2 in a NCAA Tournament second round game at Klöckner Stadium Sunday afternoon. Virginia held off a second half rally by the Mountaineers and advance to the round of 16 for the fourth consecutive season.

“This was a hard game for any team to lose,” said head coach Steve Swanson. “Give West Virginia a lot of credit. We knew that up 3-0 at the half that they weren’t going to give up and were going to fight back. This felt like a game in the elite eight, not the second round.”

The Cavaliers (15-4-3), the No. 2 seed in the UCLA region, took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute of play on the first shot of the game for either side. Lauren Alwine (Elizabethtown, Pa.) sent a corner kick that Alli Fries (Dublin, Ohio) headed in for her fourth goal of the season. The assist was Alwine’s 14th of the season, tying the school record for assists in a season set by Sarah Huffman in 2004.

Virginia held that one-goal lead until late in the first half when they added a pair of goals under a minute apart. In the 44th minute, Sarah Senty (Arlington, Va.) played a ball through to Maggie Kistner (St. Louis, Mo.). Kistner beat the charging keeper to the ball and dribbled around her. She took a shot from almost no angle at the end line towards the empty net that hit the inside of the far post and rolled into the goal. Just 46 seconds later, the Cavaliers struck again. Kistner sent a cross to Alwine at the top of the penalty area. Alwine headed the ball into space and then chipped a 25-yard shot over the keeper who had come forward to try to make a play on the loose ball.

In the second half, the Mountaineers regrouped and rallied to get back into the game. They got on the scoreboard just 1:07 after intermission. Greer Barnes sent a ball to Deana Everrett, who sild a shot from the top of the box past the keeper and in for her sixth goal of the season. Everrett struck again in the 64th minute as she headed in a corner kick from Nicole Mailloux to cut the lead to one. West Virginia had several chances to find the equalizer, but Cavalier keeper Celeste Miles (Garland, Texas) was there each time for a save or interception of a cross.

“We played a great first half,” said Swanson. “That third goal, less than a minute after the second, was a big goal for us. Their first goal, so quick into the second half, was a big goal for them. It gave them hope that they could get back into the game. We knew they were going to come out and pressure us in the second half and fight hard to get back into it. After they got their second goal, I was pleased with how we got back to playing our game over the final 20 minutes.”

Overall, each team had nine shots, while West Virginia had an 8-3 corner kick advantage. Miles and WVU keeper Kerri Butler each had three saves.

The Cavaliers will host ACC rival Duke in the round of 16 on Saturday night at 7 p.m.

“This tournament is all about momentum,” said Swanson. “You just need to get that ball rolling. Being at home has certainly helped us with that and we are looking forward to being able to be at home next week as well. We are at a point of the tournament where it is one game a week now, so we can focus on Duke and be ready for next week.”

 

UVa hangs on for win over West Va.
By Whitey Reid
Published: November 17, 2008

The last minute of Virginia’s second-round NCAA Tournament game against West Virginia on Sunday afternoon was all a blur to goalie Celeste Miles.
“The ball bounced and hit off someone’s foot and was kind of sitting there,” said Miles, trying her best to recall the frantic final sequence. “Luckily, I was able to slide in there and get it.
“Then I heard the announcer say, ‘Ten seconds left.’”
And it was then that Virginia could finally exhale.
UVa, thanks to a strong first-half performance and some clutch defensive plays down the stretch, was able to hold off a valiant West Virginia effort, downing the Mountaineers, 3-2, in front of 499 fans at Klockner Stadium.
With the win, Virginia advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fourth straight season. UVa, which nearly surrendered a three-goal halftime lead, will play ACC rival Duke next weekend.
“They forced us to fight every second,” said Miles, who had three saves. “Obviously we would have liked to make it a little easier and make the 3-0 [lead] stay that way, but I give them a lot of credit and us a lot of credit for holding onto the win.”
The game was a rematch of a regular-season meeting that West Virginia had won, 3-0.
“We knew it would be a tough game,” said Virginia coach Steve Swanson. “Even when we were up 3-0, I didn’t expect them to back down at all.
“I’m pleased with the way we played.”
West Virginia (14-4-6) came into the contest the hotter of the two teams. The Mountaineers, who beat Princeton on Friday night, were riding a nine-game unbeaten streak.
But from the opening whistle, it was Virginia
(16-4-3) that seemed to have the extra pep in its step.
In the 13th minute, Alli Fries headed in a Lauren Alwine corner kick for a 1-0 lead.
Virginia was able to control tempo throughout the stanza, then shocked West Virginia with two goals within the final two minutes of the half.
The first came on a brilliant play by Maggie Kistner. The freshman beat West Virginia goalie Kerri Butler to a loose ball near the Mountaineers’ goal line, then fired a tough-angled shot that ricocheted off the far right goal post and into the net.
Just 46 seconds later, Alwine gave UVa a commanding 3-0 lead when she chipped a shot over the head of Butler, who had misjudged a loose ball in front of her.
“I kind of headed it to myself,” Alwine explained, “then saw the keeper was out and played it over her.”
The second half started ominously for Virginia. Just over a minute in, West Virginia took advantage of a defensive breakdown when Deana Everrett beat Miles.
“We told them to not give anything away in the first five minutes and we promptly did just that,” Swanson said. “It gave them hope that they could get back into it.”
In the 64th minute, Everrett struck again, heading in a corner kick past Miles to make it 3-2.
From there, there were certainly some anxious moments for the Cavaliers as they clung to a one-goal lead, but they were able to hold on.
“I give a lot of credit to West Virginia,” Swanson said. “I feel like this could have been one of those Elite 8 games to be honest, but we happened to face them in the second round.
“We’re happy to be moving on at this point.”
Throw-ins
Virginia senior Sarah Senty tied the school record (held by Becky Sauerbrunn) for most games played with 91. …Lauren Alwine now has 14 assists, which ties a school record (Shannon Foley)…UVa now has a
19-18-3 all-time record in the NCAA Tournament,
16-7-2 under Steve Swanson.


 

UVa falls short against Maryland
By The Daily Progress Staff
Published: November 17, 2008

CARY, N.C. — Maryland midfielder Jeremy Hall scored the game’s lone goal in the third minute, and Maryland held on to defeat Virginia for the ACC Championship, 1-0.
“Congratulations to Maryland,” Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch said. “They played hard and are a good team. We looked like a team that had played three games, including two overtimes against the best team in the country.”
Virginia defeated
consecutive ranked opponents (No. 23 Duke and No. 1 Wake Forest) to advance to the final, and now awaits its NCAA Tournament fate. The field will be announced today.
Maryland (18-3-0), ranked No. 4 and seeded
second in the tournament, was on the offensive early, as UVa goalkeeper Michael Giallombardo was forced to make a save on a long shot off the opening kick-off.
Shortly after in the third minute, Doug Rodkey played a through ball up the right sideline to Casey Townsend, who crossed the ball. Hall one-touched the ball into the back of the net to put Maryland ahead.
Virginia had six shots in the first half, including three by Jonathan Villanueva and one apiece by Hunter Jumper, Brian Ownby and Howard Turk, but could not capitalize.
Maryland goalkeeper Zac MacMath made five saves on all five of UVa’s shots on goal.
In the second half, Virginia’s best shot at tying the game came in the 88th minute, when Ownby headed a shot just wide right of the goal.
Giallombardo finished with five saves, as did MacMath. Maryland out-shot Virginia, 15-12, and held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks.
Ownby, Villanueva and Matt Poole were named to the 2008 ACC All-Tournament team for Virginia (11-8-1).


 

Demon Deacons oust Cavaliers in NCAAs
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By Jay Spivey Daily Progress correspondent
Published: November 17, 2008

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Kim Romansky scored with less than five minutes remaining, and Wake Forest survived an off day to defeat Virginia 4-3 on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA field hockey tournament at a cold and blustery Kentner Stadium.
Virginia (14-9) led 2-0 in the first half and 3-2 at halftime.
Romansky, a junior, scored at 65:22 after she took a pass from Hilary Moore. Moore picked up the loose ball after Romansky shot it and it rebounded off goalkeeper Amy Desjadon. Moore passed it to Romansky, who backhanded it past Desjadon.
“The team played so well and I am extremely proud of them for the level that we raised today,” Virginia coach Michele Madison said. “We set our game plan to put the pressure on Wake and try to capitalize and pick up some balls off our press. It’s too bad there’s a loser in that game.”
Wake Forest (21-3), the tournament’s No. 2 seed, defeated Virginia for the third time in the NCAA Tournament, each time at Kentner Stadium. Wake Forest won 5-1 in the quarterfinals in 2001 and won 3-2 in the quarterfinals in 2006.
Wake Forest will meet No. 3 Syracuse, which defeated Princeton 3-2, in next week’s national semifinals. Wake Forest won the national championship from 2002-04.
The Demon Deacons, who defeated the Cavaliers 6-2 in Charlottesville on Sept. 25, played sloppily in the first half. The Cavaliers outshot the Deacons 8-5 and took a 2-0 lead on two goals by Paige Selenski.
Selenski scored the first goal off a rebound from Traci Ragukas’ shot at 13:25. Selenski added to the lead at 28:45 after she took a cross from Michelle Vittese to beat goalkeeper Crystal Duffield.
Wake Forest coach Jennifer Averill said the team lacked intensity before halftime.
“We were a little flat,” she said. “We like to possess it, and they
didn’t allow us to possess it. We were a little flat. They (Virginia) were just on a different speed zone than we were. We needed to stop and control the tempo and really work within ourselves. They’ve got tremendous speed on the front line, so I felt like that was really hurting us.”
Kasold then scored two straight goals to knot the game at 2-2. The first goal came on a blast from 10 yards at 30:17. Kasold tied the game just 58 seconds later after Moore went on a breakaway and passed it to Kasold, who flicked it past goalkeeper Desjadon.
“It’s the NCAAs. If you win you go to the final four,” Kasold said. “Every team’s fighting. If you lose you go home. You really have to give the Cavaliers credit. They came out with everything, and I think it threw us back. We played them in-season, and they threw a lot more at us than we’d seen before.”
The momentum didn’t last long, because Kaitlyn Hiltz (14-9) gave UVa the lead back at 32:38. Hiltz got the ball after Duffield whiffed on a kick-save attempt and scored to give it a 3-2 halftime lead.
“I think we had a lot of scoring opportunities, but we executed a bunch of them. But some of them, we were there but couldn’t get them in,” Selenski said. “I knew they were up, but I knew how good they are and how easy it would be to come back on us.”
Wake Forest tied the game at 57:20 on a shot from Raisa Schiller. Schiller caught a rebound off Moore’s shot, grabbed it and scored. Then Romansky scored what proved to be the game-winner eight minutes later.
Madison said Virginia will eventually get to the level of Wake Forest.
“We gotta get to get them once. We gotta get ‘em,” she said. “We’re really young. We have five freshman on the field at any one time, so we you’ve got the youth behind us. We just have to get the experience. The more they learn now the better we’re going to be. We’ve gotta work harder every day.”