ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 26, 1996 TAG: 9602260124
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
UVA WANTS TO AVOID the dreaded play-in game at the ACC Tournament.
Not even Virginia realized all of the ramifications of a 67-49 upset of tenth-ranked Wake Forest.
The Cavaliers, with splits in their series with Florida State and Clemson, did not have the edge in any tie-breakers until Saturday night.
UVa can still make the much-dreaded play-in game between the No. 8 and 9 seeds in the ACC Tournament, but one of the tie-breakers is the teams' showing against the top teams in the conference.
The Cavaliers had not beaten one of the top three teams in the ACC standings before trouncing the Deacons, who could have taken sole possession of first place with a sixth straight win over UVa.
``It's a big motivating factor,'' said UVa sophomore Curtis Staples, who said assistant Anthony Solomon explained the 8-9 situation before the game. ``That's where pride sets in. We feel like we're a better team than that.''
The Cavaliers (12-13 overall, 6-9 ACC) had squandered sizable leads in losing their three previous games, but they shot 72.2 percent in the second half and 60.5 percent for the game, their high since the 1992-93 season.
Of the six UVa players who took shots, none made fewer than half of his attempts. The Cavaliers came into the game shooting 40.6 percent, the worst figure in the ACC by far.
Wake Forest (18-5, 10-4) was first in the ACC and fourth in Division I in field-goal percentage defense, but it was the Cavaliers who distinguished themselves at that end. The Deacons, who had hit 55.8 percent in an earlier, 81-64 win over the Cavaliers, shot 29 percent Saturday night.
Oft-maligned Virginia center Chris Alexander showed again why he is one of the ACC's best defensive players by holding All-American Tim Duncan to 15 points on 6-of-20 shooting.
``I certainly give [Alexander] a lot of credit for it,'' Deacons coach Dave Odom said. ``Not only did [Duncan] struggle at the offensive end, but I thought he struggled worse at the defensive end.
``We've had excellent preparation for maybe the last 21/2 weeks. The last two days, I couldn't have been more pleased. As to why we played that poorly, I can't answer. I thought our back court showed no leadership at all.''
Virginia jumped to a 20-4 lead before Wake cut the deficit to 25-24 at the half. However, freshman Courtney Alexander scored five straight points to start the second half and the Cavaliers' momentum was restored.
Alexander finished with a team-high 19 points, the sixth time in the last seven games that he has scored 19 or more. Alexander is shooting 53 percent from the field, 57.1 on 3-pointers and 83.3 on free throws over that span.
``Courtney Alexander certainly gave them a spark at the beginning of the second half,'' Odom said. ``He's very quick on his feet; he's very quick off his feet. We didn't defend him all night long.''
UVa point guard Harold Deane scored 18 points and limited his Wake counterpart, Tony Rutland, to a single field goal. Deane and Staples each played 40 minutes for the third game in a row.
The Cavaliers have been short-handed since the suspension of freshmen Scott Johnson and Darryl Presley, who watched in street clothes from the bench Saturday night, but they were able to overcome some early foul problems.
Jamal Robinson, in his second game back after an ankle injury, played only eight minutes. Redshirt freshman Chase Metheney played four minutes and had no points or rebounds, but did commit four fouls.
Nobody can deny the Cavaliers are playing better, although they must beat Maryland in their regular-season finale and then win two ACC Tournament games to have a winning record. UVa has led at some point in the second half in its last nine games.
``We hadn't beaten a ranked team opponent all year and, for me personally, we hadn't beaten Wake Forest since I'd been here,'' Staples said. ``It's a good feeling to come out and control a game like this.''
LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines KEYWORDS: BASKETBALLby CNB