Associated Press

Virginia's Michael Scott (right) muscles through the lane against Rider's Ryan Thompson in the first half of Thursday's game.

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Mississippi State certainly got Virginia's attention and those two teams weren't even playing Thursday night.

Rider, which had opened the season with a road victory over No. 18 Mississippi State, ran into a UVa team that wasn't about to overlook the Broncs.

The Cavaliers showed the first glimpses of the defense that has been new coach Tony Bennett's trademark and coasted to a 79-46 victory at John Paul Jones Arena.

"It was one of those nights as a coach that's fun," said Rider coach Tommy Dempsey, who wasn't talking about himself. "Your kids are playing well, they're clicking offensively, the other team's struggling and it looks like you can do no wrong.

"Even [Virginia's] walk-ons were taking us off the dribble and making shots. We just got our butts kicked."

UVa (2-1) was a 5 ¹₂-point favorite after losing at South Florida earlier in the week. The Broncs dropped to 2-1 with the loss.

"I think we played a little tight," said Dempsey, whose team visits Kentucky on Saturday. "After beating Mississippi State and having a good win at home Monday, we knew this was a chance to really burst onto the scene a little bit.

"I think we came down here expecting to win. We were a lot more loose on Friday night at Mississippi State. All of a sudden, you win that game and you win your next and you're getting votes in the AP poll and everybody is talking about how good you are, The pressure mounts and you lay an egg."

Rider, coming off a 19-13 season in 2008-2009, scored the first basket of the game and never led again. Virginia scored the next eight points and jumped to a 36-22 halftime lead. It was a 20-point game, 45-25, with less than three minutes elapsed in the second half.

The Cavaliers were led by 6-foot-8 junior Mike Scott, who made eight of nine shots from the field and finished with a game-high 17 points and nine rebounds.

Scott had been the lone post player in UVa's starting lineup in its first two games. On Thursday, he was joined by 6-9 senior Jerome Meyinsse, starting for only the second time in 61 career appearances.

"The reason I went with two bigs is, we were 17-of-52 [from the field] against South Florida and I said, 'If you're not going to make shots, there's a chance for you to get offensive rebounds and score points that way,' " Bennett said.

The Cavaliers made shots [29-of-56 from the field] and grabbed 11 offensive rebounds in beating the Broncs 42-27 on the backboards.

Bennett liked the two-post arrangement so much that he inserted 6-9 junior walk-on Will Sherrill with 10:42 remaining in the first half. Sherrill finished with two points and six rebounds in 16 minutes.

"That was more than my whole career probably," said Sherrill, who actually had played a total of 35 minutes in his first two-plus seasons but never more than five minutes in a single game.

Sherrill had seen Bennett's arrival and a renewed emphasis on defense as an opportunity for increased playing time. While Bennett wasn't totally disgusted with the defense in a 66-49 loss at South Florida, film of the Mississippi State-Rider game was a wake-up call.

"That was huge," Sherrill said. "We were sitting in here last night and this morning, watching them drain threes all over Mississippi State. But, I think it was even more that we were coming off a loss."

Scott said the Cavaliers were angered by the result at South Florida, plus they've got a history against upstarts like Rider.

"I was telling the freshmen that it was like this last year, when VMI came in here after beating Kentucky," Scott said. "We take every team seriously, but we definitely took this team seriously. And, it's going to be the same way Saturday, when Oral Roberts comes in here after beating Stanford."

RIDER (2-1)

Ringgold 4-12 0-2 8, Gadson 1-4 0-0 3, Jackson 1-1 0-0 2, R.Thompson 3-7 2-6 9, Robinson 2-6 0-0 5, Youngblood 2-6 0-0 5, Johnson 0-0 1-2 1, J.Thompson 0-3 0-0 0, Mansell 1-3 0-0 3, Nd-Ezuma 0-2 0-0 0, Penn 3-7 2-2 10, Myers 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-51 5-12 46.

VIRGINIA (2-1)

Scott 8-9 1-2 17, Meyinsse 1-3 2-3 4, Farrakhan 2-6 2-2 8, Zeglinski 4-5 2-4 12, Landesberg 4-8 2-2 10, Browman 0-0 0-0 0, Evans 0-0 0-0 0, Baker 2-5 4-4 8, Jonke 0-0 0-0 0, Kody 0-2 0-0 0, Sherrill 1-4 0-0 2, Jones 4-7 1-1 11, Spurlock 1-4 0-0 3, Tat 2-3 0-1 4. Totals 29-56 14-19 79.Halftime--Virginia 36-22. 3-Point Goals--Rider 7-23 (Penn 2-5, Gadson 1-2, Mansell 1-3, Youngblood 1-3, R.Thompson 1-4, Robinson 1-4, J.Thompson 0-2), Virginia 7-16 (Zeglinski 2-2, Farrakhan 2-5, Jones 2-5, Spurlock 1-3, Baker 0-1). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Rider 27 (Penn 7), Virginia 42 (Scott 9). Assists--Rider 10 (J.Thompson 3), Virginia 15 (Scott 3). Total Fouls--Rider 16, Virginia 14. A--8,061.