Virginia beats Longwood 85-72 in Bennett debut

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — The Tony Bennett coaching era at Virginia began with an 85-72 win against Longwood on Friday night.

Bennett, the former Washington State coach, was hired in April to replace Dave Leitao.

Virginia, behind 23 points from Sylven Landesberg and 17 from Mustapha Farrakhan, defeated Longwood in the season-opner for both teams.

Virginia's defensive pressure in the first half limited the Lancers to 40-percent shooting, but the Cavaliers' didn't have the same intensity in the second half and Longwood shot 55 percent after the break.

Bennett admitted to a few pre-game butterflies.

"I was a little nervous, wondering, 'How are we going to show here?'" Bennett said. "I felt good at halftime, didnt feel so good in the second half as the lead was getting cut into.

"But I'm excited for the future. I know there will be some growing pains, but I'm glad the first one is under our belt. We'll just try and get better from it."

The Cavaliers, who led 49-27 at halftime, were without sophomore center Assane Sene and senior forward Jamil Tucker.

Sene was suspended for the first three games of the season by Bennett "for conduct detrimental to the team," while the school announced on Wednesday that Tucker was taking an indefinite personal leave of absence from the team.

Both Sene and Tucker were expected to be significant contributors to this year's squad. Without the duo, both of whom were in the arena in street clothes, Bennett turned to a small-ball lineup.

The former NBA guard for the Charlotte Hornets paired guards Landesberg Farrakhan, Jeff Jones and Sammy Zeglinski with forward Mike Scott.

Virginia took control of the game in the latter stages of the first half. Leading 22-18 with less than 8 minutes to play, the Cavaliers closed the stanza on a 27-9 run. The spurt was highlighted by a Scott dunk, 3-pointers by Farrakhan and Zeglinski, and a put-back basket from Jerome Meyinsse.

The Lancers, led by Antwan Carter's 18 points, were able to cut into Virginia's lead in the second half, but could never get any closer than eight points.

"We expected a disciplined team to play good solid man-to-man defense, be perimeter-oriented and throw it to Mike Scott in the post," said Longwood coach Mike Gillian. "What you have is someone (in Bennett) who has proven to be an outstanding coach. The future is certainly bright."

Landesberg, who also pulled down six rebounds and had four assists, said it felt good to get a win in the opener after going just 10-18 last season.

"I think everybody got a little cobwebs out," said Landesberg. "There are definitely some things we need to work. In the second half, we got a little too comfortable and let them come back."