Singletary Is Slowed, But Not the Cavaliers

Freshman Scott Comes Up Big in 1st Start

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Dec. 19 -- Sean Singletary jogged past the Hampton bench and noticed Coach Kevin Nickelberry, once the man who tried recruiting him and currently his main tormentor. Nickelberry, a former Clemson assistant, engineered his defenses Wednesday night with the primary goal of stopping Singletary from scoring. And it was working.

"I know you guys are trying to stop me," Singletary said with a sly smile. "But we're going to do what we need to do to win."

Even as Singletary and Mamadi Diane endured forgettable games, Virginia's role players backed up Singletary's claim. Freshman Mike Scott scored 15 points in the first start of his nascent career and forward Adrian Joseph scored 12 of his team-high 19 in the opening six minutes of the second half, lifting Virginia to a 79-65 victory over Hampton.

Joseph erupted early in the second half. After Singletary made a free throw in the opening minute, Joseph scored a dozen consecutive points, drilling three three-pointers in two minutes and converting a three-point play. Though he would not score again, Joseph's outburst provided the difference. It gave the Cavaliers a 49-41 lead, and the Cavaliers did not trail by fewer than eight for the remainder of the game.

Joseph, whom Nickelberry called "the wild card," was left open by design, with Hampton's defense concentrating on Diane and Singletary. Singletary nearly snapped his personal string of 32 straight games with at least 10 points, scoring 12, the final three on a three-pointer with slightly less than a minute remaining. Diane missed all five shots he took and played only 18 minutes.

"If you'd have told me Singletary scored 12 points and they turned it over 21 times and we lost by 14, I probably would have told you that wasn't possible," Nickelberry said.

While the Pirates relentlessly trapped Singletary, he raced around defenders and passed to open teammates. Joseph, a senior, has consciously assumed a leadership position this season, concentrating on improving it "like you would your jump shot or ballhandling," Coach Dave Leitao said. Joseph, who is from Trinidad, was so laid back in previous seasons that his roommate, center Tunji Soroye, rarely could gauge Joseph's emotions. Now, he's often the first Cavalier to address his teammates.

Joseph's more assertive demeanor has carried to his play. Joseph averaged 3.5 rebounds last season; he entered Wednesday as Virginia's leading rebounder at 8.9 per game and grabbed three against Hampton. Joseph drove so infrequently in 2006-07 that he shot eight free throws the entire season and zero in conference games; he has made 11 of 15 free throws this season.

But on Wednesday, Virginia needed his shots most.

"If I have a wide-open shot," he said, "I'm definitely going to make it."

With Laurynas Mikalauskas, Ryan Pettinella and Soroye all out with injuries, the freshman Scott, typically a forward, started at center. On Tuesday, Leitao had prepared for the possibility of Scott starting at center without consternation. In the long term, Leitao still sees Scott as an explosive power forward with the touch to shoot from outside. But the glut of injured big men already had pressed Scott into playing center, and Hampton does not start any player taller than 6 feet 6.

Scott displayed the versatile low-post arsenal of a seasoned player. He scored 15 on an array of spins and putbacks, shelving jump shots while making 6 of 8 attempts. He snared six rebounds, four of them on offense.