ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 10, 1995 TAG: 9512120013
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
VIRGINIA SNAPS a two-game losing streak, despite shooting 31.5 percent from the field.
What Virginia needed more than anything Saturday was a victory.
Never mind that the Cavaliers shot 31.5 percent from the field. They made enough free throws to beat Richmond 67-52 and avert a three-game losing streak.
``I would have liked to have played well and won,'' said Jeff Jones, the UVa men's basketball coach. ``I don't know that I would always feel that way, but you have to look at the situation.''
The Cavaliers (3-2) had dropped back-to-back games for the first time since the 1993-94 season and were making their first appearance of the year on an opponent's home floor.
It was UVa's first trip to the Robins Center, which opened in 1972, and the first time the Cavaliers have played the Spiders on the University of Richmond campus in more than 35 years.
``There are four different championships we'd like to win: the NCAA Tournament, the ACC Tournament, the ACC regular season and the Virginia state championship,'' Jones said. ``They don't give a trophy for it, but we want it, nonetheless.''
It was the first of four consecutive games against in-state opposition for the Cavaliers, who relied on a couple of Virginians for their offense. Harold Deane scored 27 points and backcourt partner Curtis Staples added 18, season highs for both players.
Deane continued to struggle from the field, but he made 16 of 19 free throws, including 12 of 15 during a 20-point second half. On several occasions, he appeared to be smiling at the free-throw line.
``I'm probably shooting about 85 percent [actually 84.4] from the free-throw line and, if somebody's going to foul me, I'll gladly take the points,'' said Deane, a junior from Ettrick, about 20 miles south of Richmond.
The Cavaliers' first basket of the game resulted from a screen set by Norman Nolan, enabling Staples to hit a 3-pointer, and he had four 3-point baskets for the game. Staples was a combined 3-of-17 from beyond the arc in UVa's previous two games.
``I think it was a pivotal game for me because of the way I've been playing,'' said Staples, a sophomore from Roanoke. ``Everybody knows that hasn't been me out there for the last few games. I shoot the ball a lot better than I've been showing.''
Staples also shut down Richmond's leading scorer, Darryl Oliver, who had two field goals - only one out of the Spiders' half-court set. Richmond had two field goals in the last 14 minutes and shot 29.3 percent for the game.
One of the big reasons for that was UVa senior Chris Alexander, who was credited with eight blocked shots - most by a UVa player since Ralph Sampson in 1982 - and had at least three other deflections.
``Chris really, really fought and battled in there,'' Jones said. ``You can look at the concrete facts [of] how many points he takes away, but there's also the intimidation factor. Plus, it got our guys going.''
Alexander also had a career-high 14 rebounds, although he was one of several UVa players with forgettable offensive performances. Alexander stuffed two follow shots into the bottom of the rim, freshman Scott Johnson missed a one-footer and even Deane blew a fast-break layup.
``I saw that we shot 48 percent in the first half and I thought, `We can bring that down,''' said Jones jokingly after a 17.2 percent second-half performance. ``We had to fight like crazy to come away with a win.''
Jones said he felt Deane became distracted at the end of the first half, when his shot wouldn't fall, he committed several careless turnovers and he became visibly upset with the officials after a second foul call.
``I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, which is both good and bad,'' said Deane, who was charged with eight turnovers. ``I know I'm much better than I've been playing. Everybody knows that. It's definitely been frustrating.''
Deane was 1-for-12 from the field Tuesday night, when No.15 UVa fell 61-48 to Vanderbilt in Charlottesville. After that, nobody was looking past the Spiders, 5-5 in their past 10 home games against ACC teams.
``We did feel a sense of urgency,'' Alexander said. ``We don't have another game [until Dec.21] and to live with another loss - or three losses in a row - would have been really tough.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 82 linesby CNB