Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 19, 1990 TAG: 9003192598
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Long
After the Cavaliers had mounted a furious comeback from a 15-point deficit, Holland saw his UVa career come to an end when Syracuse center Derrick Coleman blocked a short jumper by Bryant Stith.
The Orangemen overcame 30 points by Stith, including 17 in the final 10:42, and held on for a 63-61 victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at the Richmond Coliseum.
"I thought we played as well as we could play for a long time," said coach Jim Boeheim, whose Orangemen were seeded second in the Southeast Regional. "I can find little fault with anything we did for the first 30 minutes."
The Orangemen (26-6) scored the first nine points of the game and led 53-39 after a baseline jumper by Steven Thompson with 12:52 remaining. However, they had only two field goals over the rest of the game.
Syracuse's lead grew to 54-39 before Virginia started its comeback, which coincided with Stith's return after a cooling-off period on the bench. Stith had not scored in the first 9:18 of the second half.
"The coaches just sat down and told me to relax [and] that I was trying too hard," said Stith, a 6-foot-5 sophomore. "When I went back in, it was with the attitude that nobody could stop me."
Stith had seven points in the final 1:40, including a dazzling double-pump 3-pointer that cut the deficit to two points with 15 seconds left. That was as close as Virginia had been since the first minute of the game.
After Billy Owens missed a one-and-bonus opportunity with 14 seconds left, it was Stith who soared for the rebound and got the ball to point guard John Crotty, who had 11 of his 12 assists in the second half.
Crotty pushed the ball downcourt and spotted Kenny Turner on the left wing, behind the 3-point arc. Turner started to shoot but, with Thompson running at him, fed Stith on the left block.
"I think I was a little disoriented," Stith said. "I didn't know who was behind me or exactly how much time was remaining."
Coleman rejected Stith's turnaround, and before the Cavaliers could regain control, the horn had sounded. Stith pounded the floor with his fists, then did a backward somersault.
"It was really so close," Stith said. "I just wish that we could have relived that 10 seconds. I would have faced up, pump faked and tried to get up under Coleman and get the foul."
Although the UVa bench raised a momentary protest, Stith did not cry foul after the game and Coleman said he had no question it was a clean block.
"You'd have to be worried about the foul, but I didn't touch him," Coleman, a 6-10 senior, said. "At that point in the game, you've got to put it all on the line."
Coleman put everything on the line in the first half as well, when he had a hand in 12 of Syracuse's 16 field goals. He had 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds as the Orangemen went to the locker room ahead 41-28.
Coleman barely missed a triple-double with 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, although the Cavaliers did a better job of containing him in the second half.
"Syracuse presents a lot of problems for any team," Holland said, "but in the first half, I was disappointed we were not able to keep them off the boards. That kept us from beating them down the floor for easy baskets."
Seventh-seeded Virginia (20-12) had outrebounded its last four opponents by 35, but Syracuse had a 35-28 margin Sunday. Owens, who had 16 points, contributed eight rebounds.
The Orangemen shot only 34.8 percent in the second half, however, as Boeheim struggled to find a happy medium between offensive and defensive players. Virginia missed its first eight shots of the game but had a higher percentage from the field (43.2) than the Orangemen (42.9).
"Talk about the last 10 seconds; I'd want the first 10 minutes back," said Turner, who was 0-for-4 from the field in the first half. "I can only imagine how much different it would have been if it had been 9-9 instead of 9-0."
There was some talk among the media that Turner could have gotten off his 3-pointer in the closing seconds, but he expressed no regrets.
"It wasn't open," Turner said. "If it was, I would have shot it. Bryant scored nearly half of our points. He was our go-to guy."
Although the Cavaliers had used up their alloted four timeouts, Holland said he would not have called a timeout even if one had been available.
UVa center Jeff Daniel said, "I don't think we could ask for a better position than to have the ball in Bryant's hands down on the block with five seconds remaining."
The Cavaliers experienced a range of emotions once the game was over. They had lost the game, their season was over and Holland had coached his last game at UVa.
"It hasn't hit me yet," said Holland, who will become the athletic director at Davidson, his alma mater. "I think I'm still a little too keyed up from this one. I'd just like to go back out and play the last 10 seconds."
Except for Daniel and Mark Cooke, who is injured and did not dress, all of the players return. The fate of the assistant coaches is uncertain, and scout Tom Perrin wondered if he should clean out his desk.
"It was hard not to get a little teary-eyed," Daniel said. "It's always tough when you've lost your last game of the season, but this was more than that. This was the end of an era."
\ VIRGINIA MPFGFTRAFPT Turner 394-100-08129Stith 3811-213-420330Jefferies 191-22-41004Oliver 180-50-022200Crotty 404-112-2212010Blundin 262-20-06144Daniel 182-30-06214Totals 20024-557-1028181261
\ SYRACUSE MPFGFTRAFPT Owens 407-182-3 81116Scott 214-70-02029Coleman 404-810-12109319Edwards 282-50-02305Thompson 407-160-062314Johnson 120-10-02000Ellis 190-10-03030Totals 20024-5612-1535151263 Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: Virginia28-33-61 Syracuse41-22-63
Three-point goals - Virginia: Turner 1-4, Stith 5-7, Crotty 0-2, Kirby 0-1, Totals 6-14. Syracuse Owens 0-4, Scott 1-4, Coleman 1-2, Edwards 1-2, Totals 3-12.
Turnovers - Virginia 8 (Stith, Crotty 3); Syracuse 7 (Coleman 3). Blocked shots - Virginia 1 (Oliver 1); Syracuse 2 (Coleman 2). Steals - Virginia 6 (Oliver 4); Syracuse 2 (Owens, Ellis).
Technical fouls - None. Officials - Dibler, Rucker, Holmes. Attendance - 11,051.
by CNB