/MorganStateBears   |    @MorganStAthletics

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Center Mike Tobey had 15 points and eight rebounds and the No. 6 Cavaliers shook off early shooting problems to beat Morgan State 86-48 on Friday night.

The 7-foot Tobey took full advantage of the 5 inches he had on Morgan State big men Kyle Thomas and Phillip Carr. He converted a pair of second-half putbacks during a 17-0 run coming out of the halftime break that put the injury-ravaged, outmanned Bears away.

"I knew that size was going to be a factor," Morgan State coach Todd Bozeman said. "I'm not telling you that if we'd had all those guys we'd have come down here and beat them. I knew that we were overmatched."

The Cavaliers missed 12 of their first 13 shots before pulling away with a 24-9 run at the end the first half, and a 17-0 burst at the start of the second. Devon Hall added 13 points, and Gill and Darius Thompson had 12 each.

"I don't really remember all the misses, but I do remember the makes," Gill said. "We just kept fighting until we could put the ball in the bucket."

Thomas led Morgan State with 14 points. The Bears trailed just 16-14 before Tobey kicked off the Cavaliers' decisive run with a layup and a dunk.

Phillip Carr added eight points for the Bears and Martez Cameron chipped in six points and seven assists.

Bear Notes:
- Phillip Carr, a transfer from Williston State, was one of two newcomers in the Bears' starting lineup, along with freshman Antonio Gillespie.
- Assistant coach Brian Ellerbe spent four years at Virginia, starting in 1990. He worked under Jeff Jones, now coach at Old Dominion. Jones' son, also named Jeff, is a junior walk-on for Virginia.
- The Bears series record against Virginia dropped to 0-3.