Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 19, 1990 TAG: 9003192538
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Brill
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
It was the only time all afternoon the Virginia sophomore didn't stand tall.
In the final 10:41 of frantic action against taller, stronger Syracuse, Stith gave a performance that should be etched forever in the annals of the NCAA Tournament.
He did everything but personally take UVa on his shoulders to the Louisiana Superdome and the Southeast Regional.
If ever there was an All-America effort, this was it. On and off the floor.
Having seen all of his teammates except John Crotty intimidated for a half, Stith all but carried the school and conference banner by himself.
It was unkind fate that had his last shot blocked by the marvelous Derrick Coleman, because Stith scored 17 of UVa's final 20 points to wind up with 30 in a 63-61 defeat.
The miracle finishes that had enabled the ACC to carry a 9-0 NCAA record into this game didn't continue, which was much more a tribute to what Syracuse did than what Virginia, i.e. Stith, didn't do.
What's more, Stith showed his class by calmly explaining in the interview room that the 6-foot-10 Coleman probably didn't foul him at the finish.
"This is the NCAA Tournament," Stith said. "I don't think you can make a touch call, if there was one."
It would have been easy for Stith to have claimed he was fouled by Coleman, the do-everything Syracuse All-American who was as dominating in the first half as Stith was in the second.
Instead, Stith blamed himself for not knowing who was lurking behind him. After all, there was only a second to play, and the coliseum was in bedlam.
"I think I was a little disoriented on the last play," Stith said. "If I had gotten squared up, it might have been different."
Sorry, Bryant. Nobody's going to let you take any blame after a performance like that.
This wasn't some rinky-dink opponent that plays a vanilla defense. This was veteran Syracuse, tall and talented, able to double up on Stith, Crotty (no points the second half but 11 assists) and Turner.
Because of matchup problems that forced the now-officially retired Terry Holland to change his lineup, UVa operated offensively on three cylinders.
Needing defense and rebounding, Holland had to use Matt Blundin and the seldom-seen senior, Ted Daniel, leaving Anthony Oliver (0-for-5) on the bench.
Syracuse, the perennial heavyweight that has yet to win the NCAA Tournament, is no dummy. Coach Jim Boeheim wasn't going to guard Blundin or Daniel.
The two Virginia big guys - tall only by the Cavs' Lilliputian standards - actually played terrifically. Combined, they made four of five shots and grabbed 12 rebounds. Without them, the Orange would have played ping-pong on the glass.
But that presented Virginia with all sorts of difficulty in running its offense. Even when they fell behind by 15 points (54-39 with 12:23 left), the Cavs couldn't get off quick, clean shots.
Several times, they stretched the 45-second clock to the maximum, with Coleman and whoever else was on the floor able to help out Stevie Thompson and Billy Owens in double-teams.
Turner, who was scoreless in the first half, came out with nine quick points in five minutes to keep UVa within hailing distance.
But that was the only period when Stith, who had 13 points in the first half, was quiet.
In fact, it was 9:19 into the final period when he slid inside for a layup that cut the deficit to 55-43. That was the first of seven field goals he would make in the stretch. Three of them were rainbow 3-pointers. This was the same player who, as a freshman, attempted one 3-point shot - in the Southeast Region blowout loss to Michigan.
After Coleman made two free throws with 28 seconds left to make it 63-58, Stith buried a double-pump three-pointer at 0:15 with the high-leaping Thompson barreling out on him.
Thompson, he of the 42-inch vertical leap, said admiringly, "I don't know how he got that one off. I was afraid they were going to call a foul."
No whistle blew then, or at the end. Holland, completing his distinguished coaching career with the Charlottesville school, did not campaign for a foul on Stith's last try, but matter-of-factly said, "I thought we were fouled several times on the perimeter."
UVa was unable to continue the ACC's amazing streak of sensational comebacks, but nobody can question its grit.
Clemson came from 19 points back and Georgia Tech from 17 down to win Saturday. North Carolina won at the buzzer. Duke was behind by eight late in the second half Sunday.
None, though, was in as dire straits as the Cavs, still 14 in arrears against the nation's No. 6 team with barely a quarter of the game to play.
They got as close as possible. As close as Bryant Superman could take them.
Everybody knew the Cavs had to say goodbye to Holland sometime. This wasn't a championship team.
Appropriate, then, that in his swan song, his team didn't lose. It simply ran out of time before the home folks.
by CNB