CHARLOTTESVILLE -- In his first season as Virginia men's basketball coach, Tony Bennett can make a claim that neither of his two immediate predecessors can share.

The Cavaliers held an opponent under 40 points for the first time since the 1996-1997 season when they defeated New Jersey Institute of Technology 68-37 at John Paul Jones Arena on Monday.

A crowd listed at 7,264 but probably closer to 1,264 in terms of bodies in the seats watched UVa (5-4) hold the Highlanders to 13 field goals, only seven inside the 3-point arc.

Bennett came from Washington State with a reputation for defensive basketball and estimated that his Cougar teams had held teams under 40 points on "quite a few" occasions.

"Maybe I shouldn't have said 'quite,' a few," said Bennett following the formal part of his postgame news conference. "But, I think there was one opponent that didn't get out of the 20s."

Sure enough, a review of the archives showed that the third of Bennett's three Washington State teams beat Mississippi Valley State 76-25 in the 2008-2009 opener.

One year earlier, the Cougars had beaten Mississippi Valley State 71-26.

Maybe that had something to do with Mississippi Valley State, just as Monday night's performance may have had something to do with NJIT, a program less than a year removed from a 51-game losing streak.

Nevertheless, the Highlanders (3-8) battled their hosts on even terms until Cavaliers' walk-on Will Sherrill hit a 3-pointer that gave Virginia a 17-15 lead with 6:59 remaining in the first half.

Sherrill's bucket was the impetus for an 18-4 run that put Virginia comfortably on top, 32-19, at the half.

The Cavaliers had not played since Dec. 7, when they lost at Auburn 68-67.

For most of that time, UVa was in exams. However, the Cavaliers were scheduled to play North Carolina-Wilmington on Saturday in a game that was postponed by snow and hazardous driving conditions.

"Somebody lied to me," said Bennett mischievously. "They told me it didn't snow down here."

Not that Bennett's any stranger to snow. He grew up in Green Bay, Wis., where snow-removal techniques apparently are a little more advanced.

"We haven't been in JPJ for 21 days," said Bennett, whose team had not played at home since a Nov. 30 game with Penn State. "We were rusty, certainly, coming out. But, our defense got a little stronger as the game went along."

Virginia was unable to take great advantage of its height advantage against a NJIT team with one starter over 6-foot-3 and none over 6-6. However, the Cavaliers were without top inside threat Mike Scott, their second-leading scorer, who continues to nurse a high-ankle sprain suffered on the eve of the Auburn trip.

In his place, 7-foot sophomore Assane Sene got his first start of the season and played a team-high 28 minutes. Sene missed the first three games of the season while on suspension for breaking team rules and has played sparingly since then.

"During the time [after his suspension], he rolled his ankle and he wasn't physically 100 percent," Bennett said. "I think he's pretty much there now. He's active and I just think he needs to play.

"He had probably his best practice of the year over the break, where he really scored well [and] was catching everything. A lot of times, teams will look at your [center] and ball-screen him a lot. He's been real good defensively with that."

Sene missed two dunks, although he was fouled on one.

He finished with four points, a season-high 11 rebounds, two blocks and a steal. He also stayed out of foul trouble.

"Last year was my first year of playing the college game, so I used to make a lot of fouls," he said. "This year, I know my team needs me a lot, so I've got to play smarter.

"It was great for me to play a lot tonight. I was doing exactly the right things that the coach wanted me to do. I know they need me on the defensive side."

N.J. TECH (3-8)

Regis 2-9 1-2 5, Flores 2-7 0-0 4, Wilson 3-11 3-6 11, Wilkerson 3-7 1-2 9, Scott 1-4 0-0 3, Lopez 0-1 0-0 0, S.Schickel 1-5 0-0 3, T.Schickel 1-2 0-0 2, Darnell 0-0 0-0 0, McCarthy 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 13-48 5-10 37.

VIRGINIA (5-4)

Sherrill 3-6 0-0 8, Sene 1-5 2-3 4, Baker 4-8 0-0 9, Zeglinski 3-5 0-0 8, Landesberg 3-11 4-4 10, Browman 0-0 0-0 0, Evans 3-4 1-2 7, Farrakhan 0-5 0-0 0, Jonke 0-1 0-0 0, Kody 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 3-9 3-4 11, Spurlock 3-5 0-0 6, Tat 0-0 1-2 1, Meyinsse 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 24-62 13-17 68.

Halftime--Virginia 32-19. 3-Point Goals--N.J. Tech 6-17 (Wilkerson 2-3, Wilson 2-5, Scott 1-2, S.Schickel 1-4, Flores 0-3), Virginia 7-20 (Zeglinski 2-4, Sherrill 2-4, Jones 2-6, Baker 1-2, Jonke 0-1, Farrakhan 0-1, Spurlock 0-2). Fouled Out--McCarthy. Rebounds--N.J. Tech 31 (Wilkerson 6), Virginia 46 (Sene 11). Assists--N.J. Tech 8 (Scott, Wilkerson 2), Virginia 12 (Evans 3). Total Fouls--N.J. Tech 15, Virginia 9. A--7,264.