UNCASVILLE, Conn. (AP) Trey Murphy III scored 21 points a day after learning he was cleared to play and fellow transfer Sam Hauser added 19 points as No. 4 Virginia opened the season Wednesday with an 89-54 rout of Towson.
Jay Huff added 14 points for the Cavaliers, who never trailed and led by 23 points at halftime.
Nicolas Timberlake scored 19 points for Towson, which was a late replacement after Maine withdrew from the game Tuesday. Maine paused all winter sports because of COVID-19 cases at the school and in its athletic department.
The game was the first in an 11-day event dubbed ”Bubbleville,” which includes several tournaments and individual games being played inside the Mohegan Sun resort casino in Connecticut.
Each program is given its own floor in the resort’s hotel tower and the teams are using back-of-house passageways to avoid the gaming floor and other guests.
Huff opened the game with a 3-pointer from left of the key and the Cavaliers ran out to an early 12-3 lead.
Murphy’s first points, one of his six 3-pointers, gave Virginia its first 20-point lead at 33-13. A 3-pointer from Hauser at at the halftime buzzer sent the Cavaliers into the break up 42-19.
Towson scored the first eight points after intermission, helped by a pair of 3-pointers from Timberlake.
But the Tigers had no answer for Hauser, Murphy or the 7-foot-1 Huff, who had four baskets in the first five minutes.
Murphy, a transfer from Rice, learned on Tuesday he’d received a waiver from the NCAA to play this season. He and Hauser, who played three seasons at Marquette, combined to go 14 of 18 from the field.
Murphy’s driving dunk and subsequent free throw midway through the second half gave the Cavaliers a 32-point lead at 68-36. That was part of a 22-2 second-half run.
BIG PICTURE
The Cavaliers shot 35 of 63 (56%) from the floor and 15 of 29 (52%) from 3-point range. Hauser made all three of his shots from beyond the arc, Murphy went 6 of 8 and Huff was 2 for 3.
Timberlake was the lone bright spot for Towson, which lost its top three scorers from last season. The sophomore went 6 of 12 from the field, including five 3-pointers.
UP NEXT
Towson has another Bubbleville game Thursday, taking on San Francisco.
Virginia also faces San Francisco next, facing the Dons Friday in Bubbleville in the HomeLight Classic.
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More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25
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