CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Assane Sene looked good in his season debut Saturday.

The Virginia center, who had been suspended for his team's first three games, scored a career-high eight points in the Cavaliers' 76-55 win over Oral Roberts at John Paul Jones Arena.

Sene grabbed seven rebounds and blocked one shot in 13 minutes off the bench before fouling out with 35 seconds left.

"I was too excited to play with my teammates, and also see the crowd," Sene said.

The 7-foot native of Senegal had been suspended for undisclosed "conduct detrimental to the team," as the school put it.

"I don't want to talk about that," he said.

But what was the suspension for? Did he miss some classes?

"Oh, no, let's just forget about that," he said.

Did he mouth off to new coach Tony Bennett?

"I love the new coach," he said.

Did the suspension teach him anything?

"If you do one mistake, we have like a ... second chance, and just don't do it again. Just learn from that," he said.

Sene credited his three baskets and two free throws to hard work in the offseason.

"Last year ... I'd get the offensive rebound, then miss the shot. I was rushing a lot last year when I had the ball," he said. "This year Coach came and told me, 'Just take your time when you get the ball in the post ... because every time you go up, somebody's going to touch you or you're going to score.' So every time I got the ball, that's what I got on my brain."

This was the second of UVa's four games in the Cancun Challenge. Now the Cavaliers (3-1) actually get to go to Mexico. Mustapha Farrakhan has already been checking out the weather down there.

"It's supposed to rain a little," said Farrakhan, who had 13 points.

On Tuesday in Cancun, UVa will face a Stanford team that lost to Oral Roberts 83-81 on Wednesday. Stanford has also lost to the University of San Diego.

The following day, UVa will meet Kentucky or Cleveland State.

Are the Cavs ready for a possible test against coach John Calipari and the fourth-ranked Wildcats (4-0)?

"It's good exposure at a national [level], especially if we shock the nation and beat them," said Mike Scott, who had 15 points and 10 rebounds. "We just keep defending like we did tonight, we'll be ready."

Oral Roberts (2-2) led 27-25 with 9:23 left in the first half, thanks in part to six 3-pointers. Four of those 3-pointers were made by backup Kyron Stokes, who had sunk just one 3-pointer in his team's first three games.

UVa went on an 8-0 run to grab a 33-27 lead with 6:54 to go in the half, and led the rest of the way.

Oral Roberts shot just 25.9 percent from the field in the second half. The Golden Eagles were 7-of-11 from 3-point range in the first half but 0-for-6 in the second half.

"We got a hand in their face," Bennett said of the second half. "We fought a little better through screens and got to shooters quicker and tried to be a little more pesky on the ball."

Golden Eagles starting point guard Roderick Pearson left the game with an apparently severe knee injury late in the first half.

Leading 41-38 with 19:09 to go, the Cavs went on a 21-4 run to build a 62-42 cushion with 8:46 left.

"They put you on defense for 25, 30 seconds, and I think it just kind of eventually wears you down," said Golden Eagles coach Scott Sutton, son of former college coach Eddie Sutton.

Farrakhan held Dominique Morrison, who scored 31 points against Stanford, to seven points.

Sylven Landesberg had 14 points for UVa, while Sammy Zeglinski added 13 points.

ORAL ROBERTS (2-2)

Morrison 3-15 0-0 7, Craion 2-8 2-2 6, Ford 6-9 4-8 16, Pearson 1-4 0-0 3, Stokes 4-8 1-2 13, Rogers 0-2 0-0 0, Holdman 0-2 1-2 1, Niles 1-4 1-2 4, Bell-Holter 1-4 3-4 5, Nasarre 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-56 12-20 55.

VIRGINIA (3-1)

Scott 6-12 3-4 15, Meyinsse 1-3 0-1 2, Farrakhan 4-8 3-4 13, Zeglinski 4-7 2-2 13, Landesberg 4-10 6-6 14, Evans 0-0 0-0 0, Baker 1-5 2-2 4, Sene 3-5 2-4 8, Sherrill 1-1 0-0 3, Jones 0-3 2-4 2, Spurlock 1-1 0-0 2, Tat 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-55 20-27 76.Halftime--Virginia 41-35. 3-Point Goals--Oral Roberts 7-17 (Stokes 4-5, Pearson 1-1, Niles 1-3, Morrison 1-5, Bell-Holter 0-1, Rogers 0-1, Craion 0-1), Virginia 6-15 (Zeglinski 3-6, Farrakhan 2-3, Sherrill 1-1, Jones 0-1, Baker 0-2, Landesberg 0-2). Fouled Out--Sene. Rebounds--Oral Roberts 35 (Craion 11), Virginia 44 (Scott 10). Assists--Oral Roberts 7 (Ford, Pearson, Stokes 2), Virginia 12 (Farrakhan 4). Total Fouls--Oral Roberts 20, Virginia 17. A--8,829.