THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701090531
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG DOUGHTY, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: TALLAHASSEE, FLA. LENGTH: 76 lines
Virginia only wishes it could play everywhere the way it does at the Tallahasssee-Leon County Civic Center.
The Cavaliers made it four wins in six trips to Florida State, including three in a row, by beating the Seminoles 64-61 Wednesday night.
Sophomore guard Courtney Alexander, emerging from coach Jeff Jones' doghouse, hit 12 of 20 shots from the field and finished with a game-high 26 points as the Cavaliers claimed their first ACC victory of the season.
``There may have been games when I've shot a higher percentage, but tonight there was a whole lot more at stake,'' said Alexander, who was bothered by cramps during the last five minutes. ``That's a very good team we played tonight.''
Junior forward Norman Nolan grabbed a shot missed by teammate Harold Deane and dunked with 41.1 seconds remaining to give U.Va. the cushion it would need to withstand a furious FSU comeback.
``That was a huge play for us,'' Jones said. ``I can't visualize exactly how he ended up with the basketball, but he definitely took the ball up strong, and that may have been the biggest play of the game for us.''
The Seminoles (9-2, 1-2 ACC) had two shots on the ensuing possession and grabbed the rebound following the second miss, but James Collins dribbled the ball off one of his feet.
Virginia (10-4, 1-2) entered the game as an eight-point underdog and trailed 6-0 to start the game before a crowd of 9,452. There were 20 lead changes, the last when Curtis Staples hit a layup to put the Cavaliers on top 58-56 with 5:26 left.
Alexander, in his first start since Dec. 18, missed a shot on Virginia's second possession of the game and then made his next seven shots in helping the Cavaliers take a 27-22 lead with 4:05 remaining in the first half.
The Seminoles quickly reversed that on back-to-back 3-pointers by LaMarr Greer and Collins. Then, Kerry Thompson's third 3-pointer put Florida State ahead 33-31 after the 13th lead change of the half.
Thompson, who had made three 3-pointers before Wednesday night and had attempted only six, had nine points to share team scoring honors with Collins at the half. Alexander had 16 for Virginia and no one else had more than four.
``He had it going and at times he can do that,'' Jones said. ``Courtney came through a bunch of times and hit some difficult shots. I think James Collins played some excellent defense on him. That's what you need - for somebody to step up.''
It was the first time this season that the Cavaliers had used a starting lineup of Deane and Staples at guard, Alexander and Nolan at forward and freshman Colin Ducharme at center.
Other than Ducharme, however, it was the same lineup that started the first seven games for Virginia. When Alexander suffered a sprained ankle against Liberty, Jones made three changes, including Ducharme for 7-foot-4 Chase Metheney.
Metheney received extensive playing time in the first half Wednesday, presumably due to the absence of freshman Craig McAndrew. McAndrew suffered a pulled hamstring Saturday in a 78-62 loss to Maryland and did not make the trip.
Metheney was effective defensively and as a passer out of the high post, but picked up three quick fouls in the second half before fouling out with 7:44 left. He was replaced by freshman Kris Hunter, making his first appearance in four games.
Hunter scored five points in the space of 35 minutes, causing Florida State coach Pat Kennedy to call a 20-second timeout after the Cavaliers had gone ahead 54-51. Hunter, from Florida A&M High School in Tallahassee, had scored six points all season before Wednesday night.
``The last week has been very difficult,'' Jones said. ``We were fortunate to have so many guys contribute and to see their faces in the locker room was very rewarding.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Florida State's James Collins, left, drives to the basket against
Virginia's Harold Deane, right, and Jamal Robinson.