CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Another victory for Virginia on Tuesday night came with another valuable lesson for Pete Gillen's young team.
Devin Smith, Todd Billet and Elton Brown combined for 58 points and Virginia returned from a long layoff with a 90-80 victory against James Madison, a game Gillen was quick to note shouldn't have been that close.
"They kept playing," Gillen said of the Dukes, who narrowed a 29-point deficit with 12 minutes left to 10 in the final minute.
"It's a 40-minute game, not a 35-minute game, not a 37-minute game," Gillen said. "When you have a team down, you have to kick them."
The Cavaliers, playing for the first time in 11 days after going through exams, used a 45-16 run bridging the halves to take command, building a 67-38 lead before relaxing while the Dukes heated up.
Ray Barbosa scored 23 of his career-high 33 in the second half and Dwayne Broyles had 20 of his 23 after the break. Broyles hit 5 of 6 3-point shots in the second half, and Barbosa, a freshman, hit 4 of 6.
"We gave them some confidence," Billet said. "We relaxed on our defense a little bit when we got a 28-point lead, and once you make a couple from their perspective, it becomes a lot easier to shoot.
"You've got nothing to lose."
Billet had 20 points, Smith and Brown 19 each and Gary Forbes 13 for the Cavaliers. Billet hit four 3-pointers, Smith and Forbes two.
Brown, who Gillen said could have scored 40 had he not missed a number of easy shots, thought the lax second-half play was less of an issue.
"A mature team is a team that can hold onto the win," he said. "They could have cut the lead to one point. As long as we win, I'm happy."
It was the first meeting of the teams in 20 years, unusual considering the schools are about 60 miles apart. It probably seemed like a bad idea to the Dukes after about 12 minutes.
Brown had nine of his 10 first-half points in a 21-6 run to close the half. The burst started shortly after James Madison pulled even at 20 and 22 and ended with the Cavaliers ahead 43-28 at halftime.
MISS. ST. 77, NEW ORLEANS 59: Lawrence Roberts had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Winsome Frazier scored 16, helping to keep the host Bulldogs unbeaten.
Mississippi State is 8-0 for the third time in six seasons under coach Rick Stansbury.
The Privateers lost their second straight and fell to the Bulldogs for the fourth time in five meetings.
ALABAMA 76, CHATTANOOGA 72: Kennedy Winston scored eight of the Crimson Tide's final 10 over 4:15 to lead host Alabama.
The Mocs went on an 18-6 run over five minutes to take a 68-66 lead. Winston took it back with a 3-pointer, but Ashley Champion's layup gave Chattanooga a 72-71 lead.
Winston then made two free throws with 1:11 left and a tip-in with 24 seconds left.
LSU 65, UTAH 51: Jaime Lloreda and Brandon Bass combined for 31 points for the host Tigers.
LSU, playing its first game after 17 days off for final exams, held the Utes to 34.8 percent shooting from the floor and outrebounded them 42-30.
Nation
OKLA. ST. 93, SE OKLA. ST. 46: Ivan McFarlin scored 19 and Daniel Bobik 16 to lead the host Cowboys past the Division II Savages. Oklahoma State rebounded from a 76-71 loss to BYU 10 days earlier that knocked it out of the Top 25.
COLORADO: A bullet was discovered lodged in the armpit of Buffaloes forward Chris Copeland more than 24 hours after shots were fired at a party he attended, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
Copeland was hit by a ricochet when gunmen fired about 15 shots at a party early Sunday, coach Ricardo Patton said. Doctors missed the bullet when they initially examined Copeland.
Patton said none of the players who attended the party did anything wrong.
Women
UM 74, DARTMOUTH 53: Tamara James scored 18 and Yalonda McCormick 16 to help extend the host Hurricanes' best start in school history. Tatjana Marincic had 11 points, seven assists and four steals for Miami (8-0), which needed a 16-2 run midway through the second half to pull away.
OREGON ST. 71, NO.19 UTAH 62: Mandy Close scored 21 to lead the host Beavers.
NO.20 UCSB 71, UC 70 (OT): Kristen Mann's 3-pointer with 1:12 left in overtime lifted the visiting Gauchos. The Bearcats' Micah Harvey made two free throws with 1:17 left in regulation to tie it at 64 and force overtime.
NO.21 OREGON 68, SANTA CLARA 56: Andrea Bills had 18 points and 20 rebounds as the visiting Ducks (8-1) won their third straight to get off to their best start in 20 years.
