Virginia 67, Navy 42
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Forward Anthony Gill came off the bench to score 18 points, and guard Joe Harris broke out of an-early season slump with 16 points as Virginia beat 67-42 Navy on Tuesday.
Guard Malcolm Brogdon added 13 points, and forward/center Mike Tobey had 13 points and eight rebounds in his first start of the year for the Cavaliers (3-1). Virginia led 61-37 with about five minutes to go, and the outcome was never in doubt.
Harris, the team's leading scorer last season, was coming off a game Saturday at Davidson in which he missed all four shots from the field and scored one point. The senior entered play Tuesday with an average of eight points per contest.
Gill was held scoreless in a loss to nationally ranked VCU at home on Nov. 12.
Navy (2-3) was led by guard Brandon Venturini, who scored 15 points. The Midshipmen, playing for the first time at John Paul Jones Arena, committed nine turnovers in the first half and were outrebounded 20-10 by the taller Cavaliers at the break.
Virginia made just one of six free throws in the first half but was 15-for-26 from the field and led by as many as 18 points in the first half.
The Cavaliers wound up 4-for-11 from the foul line.
Virginia went on a 13-0 run to take a 30-12 lead on a free throw by forward Akil Mitchell with 2:01 left in the first half. After a basket by Navy forward/center Will Kelly ended the run, Harris scored to make it 32-14.
Virginia led at halftime 32-17, and Harris had 11 points at intermission. Harris averaged a team-high 16.3 points per game last season.
The Midshipmen made many turnovers during the Virginia run, as several Navy players got caught in the air on the way to the basket against the taller Cavaliers and threw the ball away. Venturini had eight first-half points.
Virginia fell out of the national rankings Monday after it began the year at No. 24 in the preseason AP poll.
NOTES: The Cavaliers host in-state foe Liberty of the Big South Conference on Saturday. Navy hosts Maryland-Baltimore County on Saturday. ... Navy was picked to finish last out of 10 teams in the Patriot League this season ... Navy sophomore F Jerome Alexander is from Radford, Va., less than two hours west of Charlottesville ... The last time Navy played Virginia was Feb. 16, 1974, with the Cavs winning 91-72. Virginia entered Tuesday's game with a 32-12 lead in the series, which began during the 1909-10 season ... Virginia F Akil Mitchell and Navy F Worth Smith were high school teammates in Charlotte, N.C. Smith entered the game with a team-high average of 10.3 points per contest.
