ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 20, 1997 TAG: 9702200043
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C.
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Curtis Staples put Virginia in a position Wednesday night where it could make three field goals in the second half and win a basketball game.
Staples staked the Cavaliers to a 19-point halftime lead and they held on for a 55-46 victory in what many viewed as a must-win situation at North Carolina State.
Staples had seven 3-point goals in the first half and finished with 26 points as UVa (16-10 overall, 6-8 ACC) snapped a four-game losing streak by beating the Wolfpack (10-13, 2-12) for the 11th time in 12 games.
``I told the guys, `Even though we weren't great, we did what we had to do and that's win,''' Virginia coach Jeff Jones said. ``Regardless of how we played, winning on the road makes us feel pretty good right now.''
The Wolfpack got as close as four points with more than nine minutes remaining, but could not recover from the first-half barrage by Staples, who made his first six 3-point shots.
``Curtis just had it going,'' Jones said, ``but, as I told him at halftime, every one of those shots he took - with the exception of one, and he made that one, too - was a good shot.
``We were very sharp with our ball movement. The screens were good. He was just on fire and we continually tried to go to him. We didn't run many sets. We just said, `Motion get Curtis.'''
Staples had victimized the Wolfpack for a season-high 27 points when the Cavaliers beat State 56-50 in Charlottesville, but they could not find anyone who could guard him during the first half.
``Usually, I know after my first two shots whether I'm going to be on or not,'' said Staples, a junior from Roanoke, Va. ``I didn't know I had seven [3-pointers] at the half. All I knew was, we were up by 19.''
The Wolfpack made an adjustment at halftime, even switching their big men onto Staples as he came off screens. He was 1-for-3 in the second half, with his only field goal coming on a layup, and the Cavaliers were 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from the field.
State, coming off an upset victory over then-No.2 Wake Forest, shot 52.6 percent from the field. But the Wolfpack missed six of its first seven free-throw attempts in the second half, including five in a row.
The free-throw line was where UVa won the game, thanks in large part to senior point guard Harold Deane, who did not score from the field but went 8-for-8 from the stripe.
That included a pair of one-and-ones, the first with 3:15 left and UVa clinging to a 46-41 lead and the second with 54.4 seconds remaining, with State still hanging around at 48-43.
``He's done it before, we have confidence in him and we want to put the ball in his hands,'' Jones said. ``Towards the end, there were two possessions when other guys had the basketball, they didn't give him the ball and I let them know.''
Deane has been plagued by a bruised lower leg for almost two months, but he seemed to have more movement, possibly a response to hearing that the Cavaliers were a three-point underdog to the ACC's last-place team.
``Coach told us at our pre-game meeting,'' said Deane, who was shooting 80 percent from the line before Wednesday, fourth in the ACC. ``It's one of those things where we knew we weren't favored to win, but I felt we were supposed to win.
``That's why there wasn't much hooping and hollering and going crazy [in the UVa locker room]. Plus, we still have a long way to go as far as getting to the NCAA Tournament.''
Most analysts feel the Cavaliers must win two more games, possibly two more conference games. They entertain Wake Forest on Saturday before ending the regular season against Virginia Tech in Richmond and Maryland at home.
``We felt like we had to win three out of four,'' Deane said. ``Of course, we want to win all of our games, but we feel we know what we need to do to get to the tournament. This would have been a thorn in our side if we had lost.''
There were none of the disputes that had marked recent UVa losses to Duke and Clemson. Frank Scagliotta was a late replacement for Rick Hartzell, who was scheduled to be at N.C. State until he received a one-game suspension following the Duke-Virginia game.
NOTE: please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 linesby CNB