Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, January 23, 1995 TAG: 9501250032
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
``I hope we don't have to go overtime ever again,'' said UVa forward Jason Williford, after the Cavaliers had held off 22nd-ranked Georgia Tech 88-85 in two overtimes Sunday at University Hall.
Virginia, which had squandered a seven-point lead in the first overtime, didn't take the lead for good until Cory Alexander hit a 3-pointer to make it 86-85 with 30.1 seconds remaining in the second extra period.
Harold Deane added a pair of free throws to give 18th-ranked Virginia its seventh consecutive overtime victory and 15th in 17 overtime games since 1987. UVa has won its past five double-overtime games.
On Jan.14, the Cavaliers rallied from a 23-point second-half deficit to defeat Duke 91-88 in double overtime, ``[but] we didn't have the same feeling today,'' said Jeff Jones, UVa's coach. ``We got Georgia Tech back into the game. I thought we were demoralized, and I was concerned at the start of the second overtime. We felt as if we had blown it.''
Nobody could have felt worse than Alexander, who had turnovers on back-to-back possessions after UVa had taken a 78-71 lead in the first overtime. The Yellow Jackets forced a second extra period on Travis Best's 3-pointer - over Alexander - with 1.7 seconds left.
It appeared the Cavaliers were dead when they missed their first five shots of the second overtime, but Alexander took a jab step at Best, then stepped back and hit a 3-pointer to make it 81-81 with 1 minute, 30 seconds remaining.
Georgia Tech was to take the lead one more time, 85-83 on a pair of free throws by Best with 40.8 seconds left, but Alexander quickly came down and hit another 3-pointer off a screen by Williford.
``After the free throws, Cory told me, `Jay, give me a quick one,''' Williford said. ``I just nailed Travis on that screen. I think his knees buckled and everything.''
The verdict wasn't sealed, however, until Best took an off-balance shot from the lane and the ball was tracked down by Deane, who made only two of 12 shots from the field but made one big play after another.
Georgia Tech had a chance to win the game in regulation, but Deane blocked Best's running one-hander from the right of the key. It was only the second block of the year for Deane, a 6-foot-1 sophomore.
At first look, it appeared Best might have been fouled by one or more UVa players, but replays indicated Deane got all ball. ``He made a good play,'' Best said.
The Cavaliers trailed by eight points on several occasions, the last time at 43-35 with 15:09 remaining in regulation, but outscored Georgia Tech 22-8 as the Yellow Jackets went nearly 81/2 minutes without a field goal.
Georgia Tech, which shot 58.3 percent in the first half, made only 34.1 percent of its field-goal attempts in the final 30 minutes. Virginia, on the other hand, shot 32.4 percent in the first half and 46.8 percent thereafter.
``It's an example of patience or perseverance being rewarded,'' Jones said. ``We weren't very good in the first half. Georgia Tech wasn't very good in the first half, either, except for James Forrest. He was phenomenal.''
Forrest had 16 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 29. Best added 20, but was 6-of-18 from the field and missed five of six free throws during one stretch of overtime.
``I felt like they were all going in,'' said Best, shooting 84.1 percent from the line before Saturday. ``Well, maybe one of them didn't feel good, but I didn't feel nervous or anything.''
Said Alexander: ``I was shocked by the free throws, but you see something like that and you wonder if it wasn't meant for us to win the game.''
Alexander, coming off a 2-for-12 shooting night Wednesday in a 79-76 loss at North Carolina, was 10-of-16 against the Yellow Jackets and finished with a team-high 24 points, including four 3-pointers.
The late heroics wouldn't have been necessary if Alexander had protected the ball in the first overtime. After he slipped and Drew Barry took the ball from him, Alexander threw away the resulting inbounds pass.
``Those are two plays I would have taken home with me if we had lost,'' said Alexander, who also had seven assists, all after halftime, ``but I'm still not sure that shouldn't have been a technical [against Barry] on the inbounds. The ball hardly left my hands.''
UVa had four double-figure scorers, including Junior Burrough, who bounced back from a four-point, two-rebound first half to finish with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Curtis Staples added 11 points and Jamal Robinson had a season-high 10.
The Cavaliers, winning for the fifth time in six games, improved their record to 11-4 overall and remained tied for first place in the ACC at 5-1. The Yellow Jackets, who had won nine of their previous 10 games with UVa, are 11-6 and 2-3.
``I'd never been on the floor when we'd beaten them,'' said Alexander, who was injured when UVa beat Georgia Tech 73-72 in overtime last season. ``I knew it; I think [Best] knew it, too.''
by CNB