TUSCON, Ariz. -- It took Arizona nearly a half to adjust to Virginia's zone. With the ninth-ranked Wildcats' talent, that left plenty of time for a runaway.
Chris Rodgers matched his season high with 20 points, scoring 15 in the second half of Arizona's 81-51 victory Sunday night.
Hassan Adams and Mustafa Shakur scored 14 each. Adams, who also had nine rebounds, had 12 points during a 29-1 run that began late in the first half and blew open a tight game.
"It was all about our intensity level," Rodgers said. "We tend to come out sluggish in games. I wanted to set the tone and get the crowd into it. We definitely are a second-half team. We have to learn to become a first- and second-half team."
The Wildcats went into their home opener in a two-game skid, losing to Connecticut and Michigan State in the Maui Invitational after an opening win over Kansas. They also were intent on avenging a 78-60 loss at Virginia last season, their worst offensive effort since scoring 60 in a loss at Michigan State on Dec. 15, 2001.
Sean Singletary had a season-high 24 points and Adrian Joseph had 12, but it wasn't enough to help the Cavaliers (2-1) win their first three for a sixth consecutive year.
J.R. Reynolds, Virginia's top scorer, went 3-for-14 and missed one of two free throws -- part of the reason Arizona reversed the outcome on the Cavaliers, who hadn't allowed more than 44 points in a game coming in.
"We've got to put a lot on those two guys, and we just can't afford to have either one of them have a bad game," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "J.R. had a bad night, and we've got to get him back and refocused."
Reynolds, guarded by Rodgers, had five turnovers and Singletary committed nine on Shakur's watch, totaling more than half of the Cavaliers' 24 giveaways.
"That gives you an idea how tough our guards were on their perimeter guys," Arizona coach Lute Olson said.
Adams, who was 2-for-10 at halftime, made his first five field-goal attempts in the second half.
The last one opened a 49-29 lead with 14:20 remaining.
Rodgers capped the run -- which included a 20-1 start to the second half -- with a 15-foot jumper 1:05 later. Joseph broke an 0-for-10 spell by the Cavaliers to start the half with a basket with 12:28 left in the game, and Singletary added a jumper and two free throws to get Virginia within 51-35 with 11:11 left.
But Shakur had nine points in a 5:25 span, opening a 71-41 lead with a 3-pointer with 4:17 left, and both coaches sent in the reserves.
"We still played good defense in the first half, but our shots just weren't falling," Adams said. "Our defense was clicking. In the second half, we just started knocking them down. We were attacking, and our energy was up."
Arizona's bench contributed early after the Wildcats went 1-for-12 midway through the first half. J.P. Prince opened a 20-13 lead -- the biggest of the first half -- when he stole a pass and laid it in with 9:01 left in the first.
The Cavaliers responded with a 15-2 run capped by 10 straight points by Singletary, who made a jumper in the lane to tie it at 20 with 5:32 to go and followed with a driving layup and two 3-pointers. The second sent Virginia to a 28-22 lead with 3:10 remaining.
But the Cavaliers had two turnovers in the next 56 seconds, and Arizona finished with a 9-0 surge to take a 31-28 halftime lead.
"A young team, being on the road against a tough team with a tough crowd, it's a learning experience," said Singletary, an all-Atlantic Coast Conference freshman team selection last season. "We want to just take it in stride, just fix things in practice and try to get better."
