Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 27, 1992 TAG: 9202270161
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
NO. 32 LIFTS NO. 1 DUKE OVER UVA
On a history-making occasion for two of the ACC's most distinguished basketball players, Duke center Christian Laettner had the kind of game that was easy to remember.Laettner, whose jersey No. 32 was retired before the game, scored 32 points Wednesday night as the top-ranked Blue Devils defeated Virginia 76-67.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski stopped the crowd on its way out of Cameron Indoor Stadium to recognize Bryant Stith, who broke Virginia's career scoring record on a follow shot with 32 seconds left.
Stith added a 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining to finish with 17 points for the game and improve to 2,322 for his career - five more than Jeff Lamp scored for UVa between 1977-81.
"I'm glad he did it here," said Krzyzewski, who presented Stith with the game ball. "In the future, people will say that somebody `played like Bryant Stith.' "
It was the fourth loss in five games for Virginia (12-12 overall, 5-8 ACC), but the Cavaliers were able to cut a 15-point deficit to 64-58 with less than three minutes left.
The backbreaker came with 2:19 remaining when Laettner made a 3-pointer - his fourth of the game - with less than five seconds showing on the 45-second clock.
"I thought Christian was the calming influence," Krzyzewski said. "And, how many big shots can he hit? He rebounded like crazy and played with a passion."
The game marked the return of Duke junior point guard Bobby Hurley, who made his first appearance with 13:56 left in the first half. Hurley had been out since Feb. 5 with a broken foot.
Sophomore Grant Hill had moved to the point in Hurley's absence, playing 40 minutes in four of five games, but suffered a sprained ankle in practice Tuesday and did not play.
"It's been a pretty wacky 24 hours," Krzyzewski said. "I went to bed thinking that Grant might be able to play; then, I get a call finding he's out two to four weeks.
"Bobby comes in and gets X-rayed this morning and, at 11:30, they say it looks really good. They said that playing would help the healing process, so I was just trying to help him get better."
Seldom-used freshman Kenny Blakeney started at point guard for Duke, which made only three of its first 15 shots and twice trailed by five points in the opening minutes.
The Blue Devils, who have been ranked No. 1 for 15 consecutive weeks, did not take the lead until Thomas Hill made a 3-pointer to make it 19-17 with 9:16 left in the half.
Duke used a 18-6 run to go ahead 34-23, but the Cavaliers outscored the Blue Devils 9-0 to end the first half, with freshman Junior Burrough scoring the last five points.
Burrough added 12 points in the second half to finish with a team-high 19. Point guard Cory Alexander, UVa's other freshman starter, scored 11.
Thomas Hill scored 11 points for Duke and Brian Davis added 10. Hurley was 2-of-7 from the field, but had nine assists and one turnover in 26 minutes.
"I wouldn't have thought he was going to play," UVa coach Jeff Jones said, "but then we came over here for our shootaround and [Hurley] was over here shooting, with Coach K's daughter rebounding for him."
Hurley said it was not his intention to be seen by the Cavaliers.
"I was really bored and really anxious," he said. "I hadn't picked up a ball for three weeks except to shoot a little bit the last three days."
Duke, which had not failed to shoot 50 percent at home this season, made 40.6 percent from the field in the first half but rallied to shoot 64.3 percent in the second half and 51.7 (31-of-60) for the game.