Brown’s Bears deliver little opposition for Cavaliers

By Jeff White
Media General News Service

Published: January 7, 2009

Virginia 74
Brown 50

 

CHARLOTTESVILLE — The ACC’s leading scorer, battling a head cold, didn’t make a field goal and finished with a season-low four points last night.

Against Brown, the University of Virginia men’s basketball team didn’t need a big game from freshman swingman Sylven Landesberg.

UVa had too much size, too much quickness and too much talent for its Ivy League opponent. The Cavaliers clamped down on the Bears’ deliberate offense in the second half and pulled away for a 74-50 victory before a smattering of fans at John Paul Jones Arena.

“It’s always good to get back to winning,” said fourth-year coach Dave Leitao, whose team was coming off an ugly loss to Xavier.

The Wahoos (7-5) may not get to savor many more routs this season. UVa, which opened ACC play by winning in overtime at Georgia Tech last month, closes the regular season with 15 consecutive conference games, starting Saturday at Virginia Tech.

Landesberg, who came in averaging 19.6 points, the most of any ACC player, went 0-for-6 from the floor Tuesday night. But the Cavaliers got contributions from virtually everyone on their roster — 11 players scored — and blitzed the Bears (5-7).

Leitao would love to see such balance every game. He knows Landesberg will score, Leitao said, and “if we can get other guys jump-started where they feel better about themselves and more integrated into the offense and as a result are more productive, I think that will be ideal for us.”

Sophomore forward Mike Scott led Virginia with 15 points and 10 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season. Freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski added 14 points on 7-for-12 shooting.

The victory — UVa’s 13th consecutive against Ivy League competition — isn’t destined to live long in fans’ memories, but it was notable in at least one way. The game marked Mamadi Diane’s return to the starting lineup.

Virginia’s top returning scorer from 2007-08, Diane has spent most of his senior season mired in a horrendous slump, and he’d been demoted after the fourth game. The 6-5 swingman played well in the second half against Xavier, however, and that convinced Leitao to put Diane back in the first five, in the place of junior guard Calvin Baker.

Diane “stepped off the court the other night with a little bit of energy,” Leitao said, “and so I tried to ride that a little bit, to jump-start not only him but us.”

In the first seven minutes, Diane scored seven points Tuesday. His baskets included a 3-pointer — only his second of the season — and a soaring dunk off a steal.

Diane, a team captain, found out Monday that he’d be starting against Brown. His reaction, he said, was simply “to go out and handle business. (Leitao is) giving me an opportunity.”

The past month has been difficult for him, Diane acknowledged. “There’s been a lot of downs, but I’ve just stuck with it. I’ve been working hard, and I’m still going to continue to work harder than I ever have.”

The crowd, announced at 8,357 but in reality much smaller, saved its loudest cheers for the 50-foot heave that Brown reserve guard Steve Gruber made midway through the second half as the shot clock expired.