ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601110031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
HAROLD DEANE HITS for 26 points as the Cavaliers beat N.C. State 73-69.
It was as if Harold Deane had obtained a copy of North Carolina State's scouting report.
Everything Wolfpack coach Les Robinson told his team about Deane came true Saturday afternoon.
Deane, mired in the worst shooting slump of his career, had a game-high 26 points as the Cavaliers prevailed 73-69 at University Hall.
Fellow guard Curtis Staples scored all of his 11 points in the final 11:12 as Virginia raised its record to 6-4 overall and 1-1 in the ACC.
``I talked about 'em like they were the two greatest shooters that ever played and I didn't want [our players] thinking anything less,'' Robinson said.
Deane was shooting 29.7 percent from the field after UVa's first nine games and Staples was at 32.3. Deane was 12-of-60 from 3-point range.
``If [the State players] knew that, they didn't hear it from me,'' Robinson said. ``We did not discuss their shooting percentages. I told them where Deane was ranked in Blue Ribbon [a preseason college basketball publication], and may have even exaggerated a little bit.''
Deane made his first shot - a 3-pointer - and the Cavaliers went 4-for-4 to open the game, but the good start was wasted when N.C. State took a 54-48 lead before a UVa timeout with 11:31 remaining.
``We were all like, `Damn, how did we get down by six?''' said UVa center and co-captain Chris Alexander. ``Everybody was looking at the scoreboard as we went to the bench and you could sense we were on the verge of panic.''
Staples was long overdue by that point, having missed his first seven shots. However, if Staples has learned anything this season, it's that his shot can start dropping at any moment.
``Coming out of the timeout, I felt I needed to make a shot,'' said Staples, scoreless in the first half of his past three games. ``Coach [Jeff Jones] didn't tell us to run a play during the timeout, but it was wide open.''
Staples' 3-point basket made it 54-51 with 11:12 remaining. Then, with 6:24 remaining, he hit another 3-pointer to put the Cavaliers ahead 60-57. They never trailed again.
After the Wolfpack tied the score 60-60, Jamal Robinson made a free throw for UVa with 4:40 remaining and Deane hit a 3-pointer to make it 64-60 with 4:01 left.
``They showed their toughness,'' Jones said. ``They were taking good shots and they had the guts to keep putting it up. They had the confidence to know that eventually they'd go in.''
Deane also contributed six rebounds, three blocks and three assists with only one turnover. He went 8-of-16 from the floor - the first time this season he has made as many as half his shots.
``That's the type of game I expect out of myself every time out,'' said Deane, who finished second in the preseason voting for ACC player of the year. ``We'll never silence everybody, but nobody's expectations are as high as our own.''
The Cavaliers also got 16 points and 15 rebounds from sophomore Norman Nolan, who played 35 minutes and was singled out by Jones for his work against Wolfpack center Todd Fuller.
Alexander and backup center Chase Metheney got in early foul trouble against Fuller, a 6-foot-11, 264-pounder who was leading the ACC in scoring (22.8) and ranked second in rebounding (10.5).
Fuller, an Academic All-American, finished with 29 points and 17 rebounds and did all he could to prevent State's eighth loss to UVa in nine games.
The Wolfpack outrebounded UVa 50-38, with 23 of the rebounds coming at the offensive end, and had six turnovers. However, State shot 32.5 percent from the field and was 4-of-28 from beyond the arc.
``They're certainly not going to have to replace the nets at the goals we shot at,'' said Robinson, who, in six years at N.C. State, has never won at University Hall.
Virginia shot 42.1 percent from the field - not good for most teams, but decent by the Cavaliers' standards (39.8 percent before Saturday). UVa had only seven turnovers.
``The main thing that we did was try to get the kids to relax,'' said Jones, concerned about the team's state of mind after an ACC-opening 69-64 loss to Florida State on Wednesday.
``I told them I wanted to see smiles. I wanted to see high-fives. I wanted them to enjoy themselves. They already were playing as hard as they can.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 88 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Virginia's Harold Deane puts up a shot over Northby CNBCarolina State's Danny Strong on Saturday at University Hall.
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