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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Not even coach Pete Gillen knew No.
14 Virginia was this good.
|  | | Donald Hand, who led the Cavaliers with 21 points, also found time to pass out nine assists. |
Stephane Dondon scored 11 of his 16 points in a game-breaking
first-half run and Virginia embarrassed No. 4 Tennessee 107-89 in
the battle of the unbeatens that opened the Jimmy V Classic on
Tuesday night.
"I never dreamed we'd beat a team like Tennessee by that
score," Gillen said after his team's second-best offensive night
of the season.
The 107 points were the most given up by Tennessee in a
non-overtime game since Shaquille O'Neal and LSU put a 119-87
pounding on the Vols on Feb. 23, 1991.
"We came here to see and be seen, and we didn't do well,"
Tennessee coach Jerry Green said. "There is tomorrow and then we
go to Syracuse and then maybe we'll find out something more about
ourselves."
The Cavaliers (7-0) used a balanced scoring attack, 3-point
shooting and a pressing defense to continue their best start since
opening the 1992-93 season with 11 straight wins.
Donald Hand, a Paterson native, had 21 points and nine assists
in his return to New Jersey, while Roger Mason Jr. added 18. Keith
Friel, who shook off a first-half injury to his left knee, had 16.
The Cavaliers were 31-of-67 from the field (48.5 percent),
including 10-of-18 from 3-point range. They also forced 19
turnovers, although the official count seemed well short.
"We were playing this game for respect," Dondon said. "We
didn't get much of that last year, and we want people to know we
are going to be around this year and that we are going to keep
getting better."
Isiah Victor had 20 points for Tennessee (9-1), which never
handled Virginia's three-quarter pressure in failing to become the
third Vols' team in the last four years to open with 10 straight
wins. Tony Harris added 18 points.
Virginia never trailed after Friel hit two 3-pointers in a 13-4
run that gave the Cavaliers a 19-10 lead.
"We wanted to come out and set the tone early and let them know
it was not going to be their night," said Hand, who hit 5 of 8
from the field, including 3 of 5 three-pointers.
Tennessee, which only hit two jumpers in the first half, stayed
close scoring inside while converting 15 of 21 free throws. A
rebound slam by Vincent Yarbrough got the Vols within 32-27 with
6:13 left in the half.
Friel, who missed about six minutes while his left knee was
examined after a fall under the basket, hit two free throws, and
then Dondon took over in finishing off the 19-7 spurt.
The senior from France who was averaging 3.4 points this season made four free throws, converted a baseline jumper, a three-point play and a layup over the next five minutes to push the lead to 51-34.
Dondon had just 15 points in 84 minutes over the previous five
games.
The Cavaliers led 57-40 at the half and pushed their margin to
22 points with 11:04 to go on a baseline move by Mason.
"We approached this as a statement game," Mason said. "Even
though we had beaten Purdue, which had beaten the No. 1 team in the
country, we knew this was our chance to show the rest of the
country how good a team we are. The theme right from the opening
tip was to attack and be aggressive."
When the crowd at the Continental Airlines Arena started
chanting "Over-rated!" with about five minutes to play, the Vols
made a run and cut the lead to 10 points on a couple of occasions,
but they never got closer as Hand and Friel nailed a couple of
3-pointers.
"They set the tempo right from the start and deserved to win," Harris said. "We didn't play good perimeter defense, turned the ball over too much and didn't assert ourselves. But this is a long season. We have to put this one behind us and bounce back."
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ALSO SEE
Men's College Basketball Scoreboard
Tennessee Clubhouse
Virginia Clubhouse
Two teams fly, two flop in V Classic
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Virginia's Adam Hall gets the steal and throws it down.
avi: 492 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Vincent Yarbrough rises above the crowd to throw down the missed shot.
avi: 1366 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Virginia's Chris Williams finds Travis Watson in the lane for the bucket.
avi: 621 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Virginia's Donald Hand knocks down the 3-pointer from downtown.
avi: 1336 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Charles Hathaway slams it down after getting the feed from Vincent Yarbrough.
avi: 791 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Jimmy Valvano at the 1993 ESPY Awards Show.
RealVideo: | 28.8
 Coach Pete Gillen tells ESPN's Michelle Tafoya he was pleased with his team's aggressive play.
wav: 207 k
RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
Listen to the audio stream of the 2000 Jimmy V Classic.
RealAudio: | 28.8
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