Virginia wins rematch with Chaminade, 86-72
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
LAHAINA — Led by two of its big men, Virginia's powerful front line sent a message to Chaminade: Save the upset for another basketball team.
Elton Brown scored a game-high 22 points and Travis Watson added 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Cavaliers overpowered the Silverswords, 86-72, in the opening game of the EA Sports Maui Invitational yesterday at the Lahaina Civic Center.
The Cavaliers avenged their historic 77-72 loss to Chaminade on Dec. 23, 1982, in what was called the greatest upset in college basketball history at the time. Virginia was ranked No. 1 that year.
"This was a lose-lose situation," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "If we lose, we're bums, coaches are bums, players are bums. If we win, you're supposed to win. It's not that easy."
A crowd of about 300, including players from the 1982 Chaminade and Virginia teams, watched the 6-foot-8 Watson and 6-foot-9 Brown manhandle the smaller Silverswords, whose last opening round win was in 1991.
"Their front line is obviously very, very good," Chaminade head coach Aaron Griess said. "They're big, their strong, they're even athletic."
The Silverswords (0-2) grabbed a brief second-half lead and scared Virginia (2-0) with flashbacks of '82.
"Their players came in relaxed," Griess said. "They thought they were just going to run right over us. Our guys weren't going to let that happen. We weren't going to let it be a cakewalk. That's a credit to our guys."
Chaminade played without its second-team Pacific West Conference guard Kashif Reyes, who sprained his ankle Friday. Griess said Reyes' status is day-to-day.
Still, with Watson out with four fouls, the Silverswords took a 45-44 second-half lead on Rahshaw McAfee's layup with 15:23 to play. But Brown responded with a 3-pointer as Virginia regained a 47-45 lead.
"Elton was great," Gillen said. "He's our best low post offensive player. He hit that big three. He picked a big time to make it. He was rolling today and our guys got him the ball."
Watson returned less than a minute later and sparked a 6-2 run, sinking three straight baskets, including a breakaway dunk off his block of McAfee. Virginia led 53-47 with 12:18 left and would never trail thereafter.
"He's an All-American," Brown said of Watson. "He can do stuff like that. It was a big play in the game. That's what we needed."
Roy Stigall III, who led Chaminade with 18 points, said the Silverswords were aiming for an upset, but were outmuscled by the Virginia big men.
"The whole game we had the mentality that we could actually win this game," Stigall said. "When we took the lead, we tried to keep our composure. But unfortunately when you have Brown and Watson in the low post it gets kind of difficult."
Virginia outscored Chaminade 44-24 in the paint overall, and held a 15-7 offensive rebounding advantage in the first half.
Chaminade put forth its best effort in the second half, outrebounding the Cavaliers 12-5 on the offensive boards.
"Our guys battled," Griess said. "It's not like they weren't trying to block out. Our guys were putting bodies on their bodies. But their bodies are just a little bigger.
"Our guys were attacking," Griess added. "I was very proud of our guys. We're not going to play tentative."
VIRGINIA (2-0)
Byars 3-9 2-2 8, Watson 8-14 0-0 16, Vander Laan 0-3 3-4 3, Jenifer 1-4 1-6 3, Billet 2-8 4-4 9, Campbell 0-0 0-0 0, J.Rogers 0-0 1-2 1, Smith 6-10 2-4 16, Clark 3-3 2-2 8, Brown 8-13 5-7 22. Totals 31-64 20-31 86.
CHAMINADE (0-2)
Ballard 2-7 4-4 8, Walters 1-7 0-0 2, Donegan 2-2 5-6 9, Sykes 2-7 2-2 6, Stigall 6-13 2-2 18, Thomas 0-3 3-4 3, Kirk 0-0 2-2 2, McAfee 3-7 4-4 10, Sobotta 0-0 0-0 0, D.Rogers 1-1 0-0 2, Wells 3-11 0-1 8, Ross 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 22-63 22-25 72.
Halftime—Virginia 36-31. 3-Point goals—Virginia 4-17 (Smith 2-4, Brown 1-2, Billet 1-6, Jenifer 0-2, Byars 0-3), Chaminade 6-18 (Stigall 4-6, Wells 2-3, Thomas 0-1, Walters 0-2, Sykes 0-2, McAfee 0-4). Fouled out—Donegan. Rebounds—Virginia 44 (Watson 14), Chaminade 40 (Ballard 8). Assists—Virginia 15 (Jenifer 6), Chaminade 11 (Stigall, Kirk 3). Total fouls—Virginia 20, Chaminade 26.
No. 15 Kentucky 82, ASU 65
Keith Bogans scored 20 points and No. 15 Kentucky opened its 100th season of basketball with a victory over Arizona State (1-1).
The Wildcats opened a 20-point lead in the first half and were up 43-30 after shooting 53 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
Kentucky shot 51 percent for the game (29-for-57) with Bogans finishing 7-for-10 from the field, including 3-for-4 from 3-point range. He also had a team-leading seven rebounds and four assists.
Jamal Hill had 16 points, all but four in the first half to lead Arizona State, playing without leading returning scorer Curtis Millage who is sitting out over academic eligibility questions.
ARIZONA STATE (1-1)
Smith 4-9 0-2 8, Knight 0-4 9-10 9, Diogu 5-10 3-6 13, Braxton 4-13 0-0 9, Hill 7-13 0-0 16, Dodd 0-2 0-0 0, Crandall 1-6 2-2 5, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Redhage 2-6 1-4 2. Totlas 23-63 15-24 65.
KENTUCKY (1-0)
Barbour 4-9 3-4 13, Hayes 0-3 2-4 2, Estill 6-8 2-6 14, Fitch 5-10 2-3 13, Bogans 7-10 3-3 20, Stockton 0-2 0-0 0, Carrier 2-4 0-0 6, Cote 0-0 0-0 0, Azubuike 1-4 3-4 5, Camara 4-7 1-2 9. Totals 29-57 16-26 82.
Halftime—Kentucky 43-30. 3-Point goals—Arizona St. 4-18 (Hill 2-5, Braxton 1-4, Crandall 1-6, Knight 0-1, Diogu 0-2), Kentucky 8-21 (Bogans 3-4, Carrier 2-4, Barbour 2-4, Fitch 1-4, Azubuike 0-1, Stockton 0-2, Hayes 0-2). Fouled out—Smith. Rebounds—Arizona St. 39 (Diogu 8), Kentucky 40 (Bogans 7). Assists—Arizona St. 11 (Braxton 4), Kentucky 15 (Barbour, Fitch, Bogans 4). Total fouls—Arizona St. 22, Kentucky 20.
No. 19 Indiana 84, Umass 71
Tom Coverdale scored 20 points and George Leach added career highs of 19 points and 16 rebounds as Indiana beat Massachusetts in the season opener for both teams.
Raheim Lamb had 17 points and 12 rebounds for Massachusetts, while Marcus Cox, a transfer from Connecticut, had 14 points.
Jeff Newton's rebound dunk of a missed shot by Coverdale gave Indiana a 72-54 lead with 7:57 to play.
MASSACHUSETTS (0-1)
Rogers 5-10 2-6 12, Lamb 6-7 5-6 17, Cox 5-10 4-5 14, Brand 6-12 0-3 13, Anderson 1-9 0-1 2, Martin 0-1 0-0 0, Lasme 3-10 0-0 7, Lee 1-5 0-0 2, Viggiano 0-3 4-4 4. Totals 27-67 15-25 71.
INDIANA (1-0)
Newton 5-7 2-4 14, Leach 9-13 1-1 19, Coverdale 5-20 6-8 20, Wright 3-10 3-4 11, Hornsby 3-7 2-2 10, Moye 2-3 1-2 6, Perry 1-2 0-0 3, Strickland 0-0 0-2 0, Kline 0-2 1-2 1, Roberts 0-0 0-0 0, Tapak 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-64 16-25 84.
Halftime—Indiana 50-40. 3-Point goals—Massachusetts 2-18 (Brand 1-3, Lasme 1-3, Martin 0-1, Viggiano 0-2, Cox 0-3, Anderson 0-6), Indiana 12-26 (Coverdale 4-10, Newton 2-2, Hornsby 2-5, Wright 2-7, Moye 1-1, Perry 1-1). Fouled out—None. Rebounds—Massachusetts 36 (Lamb 12), Indiana 51 (Leach 16). Assists—Massachusetts 10 (Viggiano 3), Indiana 18 (Coverdale 6). Total fouls—Massachusetts 25, Indiana 20. Technical—Rogers.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
