ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996 TAG: 9601220103
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ATLANTA
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
In its bid for a fifth consecutive victory over Georgia Tech, it was Virginia's basketball team that most resembled a Rambling Wreck on Saturday.
Georgia Tech built a 23-point halftime lead and celebrated the re-opening of Alexander Memorial Coliseum at McDonald's Center with a 90-70 victory before a sellout crowd of 9,675.
Georgia Tech has been playing at a variety of sites during the $13 million renovation of its arena, which now boasts golden arches to either side of midcourt and its own fast-food restaurant.
The Yellow Jackets were mostly intent on devouring the Cavaliers, whose record dropped to 7-7 overall and 2-4 in the ACC following their third loss in the past four games.
It hardly was a contest after the opening minutes. Georgia Tech (11-8, 4-1) trailed 8-5 early, then went on a 10-0 run and outscored UVa 36-16 in taking a 44-21 halftime lead.
A comeback led by freshman Courtney Alexander got the Cavaliers as close as 78-67 with 2:17 remaining, but Georgia Tech sealed the verdict by making its last 10 free throws.
``We fought back,'' UVa guard Harold Deane said. ``The effort was there, but the bottom line is, `Did we win or did we lose?' We've got to put it all together, like a puzzle, and right now there are a lot of pieces missing.''
Nobody is searching any harder than Deane, who missed all eight of his shots from the field Saturday. Deane, who was averaging nearly 24 points after UVa's first four ACC games, was 3-of-22 from the field for the week.
``When your shot's not going, it's tougher,'' said Deane, who had 16 points in two games, including 10 Wednesday in a 67-53 loss to North Carolina. ``When your shot's going, they have to play you and it's easier to get the ball to the open man.''
Georgia Tech point guard Stephon Marbury clearly got the best of the matchup, finishing with a team-high 24 points. UVa coach Jeff Jones repeatedly made substitutions in the first half in which he urged perimeter players ``to stay with Marbury.''
``When Harold Deane got in foul trouble, that's when I started to attack,'' said Marbury, who outscored Deane 16-2 in the first half. ``It's like a snake. When you cut the head off, it's over with.''
Virginia shot 47.1 percent in the second half - up from 29.6 in the first 20 minutes - and closed to 52-35 by the first television timeout, with 14:35 remaining.
It still was a 17-point game with 11:58 left, when a Yellow Jackets pass was seemingly whizzing out of bounds before hitting official Larry Rose. Georgia Tech recovered near midcourt, and freshman Gary Saunders subsequently drilled a 3-pointer.
``That kind of describes the way things are going for us,'' said UVa sophomore Curtis Staples. ``We're looking at possibly cutting the [margin] to 15 or less, and next thing you know, it's back to 20.''
Staples finished with a season-high 20 points, including 17 in the second half. Alexander had 22 of his career-high 26 points after intermission, including 18 in the last 12:21.
``The second half was more of an open-court scramble,'' Jones said. ``He has the ability to create baskets, but it is a team game. We're still trying to blend him in with the rest of the guys.''
It was apparent Virginia wanted to establish its inside game after power forward Norman Nolan took only three shots against North Carolina. Nolan finished with 10 points Saturday, his first double-figure scoring game in the past four.
``We were pleased the way we were playing in the first five or six minutes,'' Jones said. ``We were taking our time with the offense, which had been a problem. We were keeping Georgia Tech out of transition, which is something we had aimed to do.
``But when Georgia Tech went triangle-and-two for the first time [against Deane and Staples], we didn't react very well. It was all downhill from there. They gave us an opportunity and, basically, at our offensive end we self-destructed.''
The 23-point halftime deficit was the largest the Cavaliers had faced all season. The last time they had trailed by more than 23 was in November 1993, when Connecticut led UVa 44-15 at the half.
``We were concerned at halftime, which is an understatement,'' Jones said. ``It wasn't just the margin, but, in looking at the faces or actually the tops of our guys' heads, we didn't know what was going to happen in the second half.
``Pretty much all of them had their heads down. About the only thing we said was that the second half was going to say a lot about our basketball team. If there's anything positive to come out of this game, and I'm not sure there is, that would be it.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Harold Deane (left) of Virginia puts defensiveby CNBpressure on Georgia Tech guard Stephon Marbury on Saturday in
Atlanta. 2. Courtney Alexander of Virginia looks for an open
teammate while being pressured by Georgia Tech defenders Drew
Barry (10) and Matt Harpring (left) on Saturday in Atlanta. color.