Freshman Jacob Cofie scored 16 points off the bench and Virginia opened its season with a 65-56 win over Campbell on Wednesday night in Charlottesville, Va.
It was a tense but successful debut for Cavaliers interim head coach Ron Sanchez, who took over last month following Tony Bennett’s unexpected retirement after 15 seasons, a school-record 364 wins and a 2019 national title.
Isaac McKneely and Elijah Saunders scored 11 points each for Virginia and Blake Buchanan added 10 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks.
The Cavaliers shot 57.1 percent from the field and 46.2 percent (6 of 13) from behind the arc. Virginia took the lead for good at 18-16 with 8:07 remaining in the first half.
Colby Duggan led Campbell (1-1) with nine points off the bench.
The Fighting Camels shot 37.5 percent overall and 37.9 percent (11 of 29) from 3-point range, with eight players connecting on at least one triple.
Cofie’s dunk gave Virginia a 53-42 lead with 7:19 left in regulation, but Campbell would not go away.
The Camels pulled to within 61-56 on Jasin Sinani’s layup with 1:16 remaining.
Virginia made 4 of 6 free throws down the stretch to halt the comeback attempt.
It was the first meeting between the Cavaliers of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Camels of the Coastal Athletic Association.
It was a tight game for most of the first half before Virginia went on a 12-2 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Cofie and Ishan Sharma for a 35-23 lead with 54 seconds left.
Nolan Dorsey beat the halftime buzzer with a triple to cut Campbell’s deficit to 35-26 at intermission.
Cofie topped all players in the first half with 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting.
–Field Level Media
