Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 8, 1995 TAG: 9501100030
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
Usually it's the other way around in ACC basketball, but the Cavaliers continued their resurgence Saturday with a 76-65 triumph over North Carolina State.
It was the second road victory in four days for Virginia, both at sites where they were beaten last season. The Cavaliers improved their record to 8-3 overall and 2-0 in ACC.
State (8-3, 1-1) was coming off an 80-70 victory over top-ranked North Carolina, but the Wolfpack shot 37 percent from the field and trailed by as many as 16 points, 64-48.
``You can check the records of teams after they beat No.1,'' said Les Robinson, the Wolfpack's coach. ``Sometimes you have a hard time coming off games like that. If it was a factor, it was a factor, but we worked hard to guard against it.
``I've used the analogy that we had played only one hole on an 18-hole golf course and we had birdied it. So what? We have not had the kind of success we've had this season, and this was the first time we ran into a wall.''
Virginia had put itself in a bind with early losses to Ohio University, Vanderbilt and Stanford, but some of the Cavaliers have been looking forward to the ACC schedule since early December.
``It was really a time for this team to take a stand,'' said senior forward Junior Burrough. ``Even against the best teams on our early schedule, we didn't match the intensity we had [Wednesday night] at Florida State.''
And that was with the stands less than half-full at Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center. There were few empty seats Saturday at 12,400-seat Reynolds Coliseum.
``It's just you against the rest of the world,'' Burrough said. ``We've done a really good job this week of focusing in and doing what we have to do - playing defense first.''
State was 14-of-38 from 3-point range against North Carolina and was averaging more than 26 3-point attempts per game, but the Wolfpack was only 6-of-19 against Virginia. It matched a season low for attempts.
``Obviously, the pace wasn't what N.C. State likes,'' said Jeff Jones, UVa's coach. ``I noticed at the half that we had attempted eight [3-pointers] and they had attempted seven. I told myself, `If they get 25, they're going to have to force them.'''
State's best offense was to get the ball to 6-foot-11, 255-pound center Todd Fuller, who had a team-high 19 points, but all too often the Wolfpack failed to look inside.
``On our last 10 possessions of the first half, we averaged 2.3 passes,'' Robinson said. ``That's what you might expect out of a transition game, but those weren't all fast breaks.
``I think you saw [the Cavaliers] defensively at their best. They're known for what they did today. This was a typical game for them.''
Offensively, Virginia did not shoot a high percentage (43) from the field, but the Cavaliers made 23 of 28 free throws, scoring their last 14 points from the line.
Harold Deane hit his first 11 free throws, extending his two-game streak to 20 without a miss. The Cavaliers' leading scorer was senior guard Cory Alexander, with 20 points.
``I've been back and forth, in and out,'' said Alexander, who had 21 points in UVa's 81-75 victory over Florida State. ``I feel I'm back now, but I'm the kind of player who's always going to be kicking myself about something.''
Alexander wasn't happy with six turnovers, two on charges, but it was a solid all-around game by the Cavaliers, who got 10 rebounds apiece from Burrough and Yuri Barnes to outrebound the ACC's No.2 rebounding team 46-32.
``We decided we weren't going to be pushed around anymore,'' said Burrough, who had 17 points and recorded his first double-double of the season. ``We even got pushed around in some of the wins; it's time now to be the intimidators.''
The Cavaliers, whose first five ACC games include four road dates, return home Wednesday to meet one of the three remaining unbeaten teams in Division I, Clemson. The Tigers were picked for ninth in the ACC before the season.
``I knew who we had to play and where we had to play 'em,'' Alexander said. ``Getting these two wins was important, but we definitely need a win at home to propel us into the big guns, Duke and [North] Carolina.''
by CNB