Point guard's return sparks Virginia in blowout of Seattle

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Virginia played its best offensive game of the season in an 83-43 win over Seattle on Saturday, thanks in large part to the availability of a true point guard.

Redshirt freshman point guard Teven Jones saw his first action of the season, which was good news for the Cavaliers (2-2) considering their injuries at the position and the defensive pressure of Seattle (1-1). Jones was suspended for the opener against George Mason and missed the last two games with a back injury.

Jones managed just four points, three rebounds, and one assist in 25 minutes, but this was the first extended action Virginia has played this season with a true point guard.

"Even though statistically it doesn't show, I thought Teven gave us a great boost, calming force," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "Defensively, where he met the ball and set our point of attack. Then, sometimes we could just give him the ball and let him bring it up. I was pleased that he got out there and did some good things."

Seattle led 6-3 on a layup by center Louis Green with 16:58 to play in the opening half. The Cavaliers then went on a 32-5 run over the next 12:12 to take control of the game. Virginia cruised from there in the first of three games in a four-day span.

Virginia shot 56 percent (28 of 50) from the floor. The Cavaliers were shooting 38.5 percent entering the game and had not shot better than 40.4 percent in any of their three games before Saturday. That improvement can be attributed to the availability of Jones at point guard.

"It definitely helps just having him healthy," Virginia forward Akil Mitchell said. "Just having that guy back there just evens the floor out, gets everyone more balanced. You start to see what guys can do in their natural positions."

Mitchell had 14 points and 16 rebounds for his second consecutive double-double. Freshman center Mike Tobey had a game-high 17 points off the bench in 15 minutes of action.

"He has good touch, good left (hand) and good right (hand)," Bennett said of Tobey. "He's a little weak right now. You can see that, even though he is 240 (pounds). I think as the weight and strength comes, he's going to be a real good player."

Seattle was held to just 25.4 percent shooting (15 of 59) and had just four assists. The Redhawks made just five of their 19 attempts (26.3 percent) from beyond the arc.

"I thought defensively, they didn't allow us to get in the paint," Seattle coach Cameron Dollar said. "Then, they contested the shots. We tried a bunch of different deals and went to a couple different people. We were slow passing it, and they were quick rotating."

Redhawks forward Deshaun Sunderhaus had a team-high nine points. Guard Sterling Carter had eight points but made just 3 of 15 field goal attempts. Chad Rasmussen came off the bench to score eight points.

Virginia jumped out to a 44-13 halftime lead, holding Seattle to 20 percent shooting (5 for 25). The Redhawks also shot just 11 percent (1 for 9) from three.

The Cavaliers lost 59-53 at home to Delaware on Tuesday in the NIT Season Tip-Off. In that game, Virginia managed just 15 first-half points. The Cavaliers had 15 points less than seven minutes into this one.

"With a team like ours, you just keep trying to build on the areas you know you need to and not get too high and not get too low," Bennett said. "I think it's important when you have an inexperienced team, but having a little more of a point guard out there I thought helped us substantially."

NOTES: Virginia point guard Jontel Evans missed his third game of the season with a foot injury. Evans played three minutes against Delaware on Tuesday in his first action of the season. The Cavaliers were also without guard Malcolm Brogdon, who has missed all four games this season with a foot injury. ... This is the third year in a row these schools have met. Seattle won in Charlottesville 59-53 in 2010. Virginia won 83-77 in Seattle last year.