Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 8, 1991 TAG: 9102080233
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Long
Sixth-ranked Duke played its famous denial defense - defense that was missing on a trip to Virginia - and came away with an 86-74 ACC victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
"We've been playing really well without revenge being a factor," said Krzyzewski, whose Blue Devils were upset by UVa 81-64 in Charlottesville, Va. "We really tried to downplay that. In fact, we made a point of saying revenge should not be a motivation."
The Blue Devils struggled offensively in the first half but held the 11th-ranked Cavaliers to two field goals in the first 9:15. UVa, which had shot 50 percent or better in five straight games, hit 36 percent in the first half.
To compound matters, Virginia committed eight turnovers in the first 7:52 and fell behind 19-8. The Cavaliers staged a mini-run in closing to 24-19, but Duke led comfortably at halftime, 37-28.
It was an ugly offensive exhibition by both teams. Virginia had three air balls in the first half, including an air ball on a free throw by sophomore center Ted Jeffries.
Duke had an even greater assortment of weird shots. The Blue Devils had two air balls, two missed dunks and a missed breakaway layup.
Nevertheless, Duke (19-4 overall, 7-2 in the ACC) extended its lead over second-place Virginia and North Carolina to 1 1/2 games in the league standings.
Virginia (17-5, 5-3) faces the unenviable task of visiting ninth-ranked North Carolina on Saturday at Chapel Hill, N.C. The Cavaliers travel to Wake Forest on Sunday.
Anthony Oliver, who scored 21 points for the Cavaliers in the first meeting with Duke, has a broken hand and did not make the trip to North Carolina.
"We certainly could have used his 21 points tonight," Virginia coach Jeff Jones said. "I felt we were trying hard, but we couldn't pass, we couldn't dribble and we didn't get many shots in the first half."
Grant Hill, whose nose was broken during a practice Krzyzewski called upon the Blue Devils' return from the first game, had 10 points in the first half after scoring a total of six in Charlottesville.
"The key is you only want to question your team's character a few times a season," Krzyzewski said. "I felt once would be enough.
"We were all bad that night. I didn't have a good plan. We were too passive. But we've changed a lot since the first time we saw Virginia."
The Cavaliers, whose 13 first-half turnovers offset a surprising 25-15 rebounding advantage, saw their hopes fade when Bryant Stith picked up two quick fouls to start the second half, including his fourth with 18:20 left.
Kenny Turner took over in his absence, scoring 13 points in the first 8:51 of the second half, pulling the Cavaliers to 57-47 when Stith returned with 11:09 remaining.
Virginia twice got as close as six points and had a chance to pull even closer when Turner was fouled on a 3-point shot with 8:07 left and UVa down 61-54. Turner, visibly fatigued, made only the last of three free throws.
"I was able to get my wind back as I was standing there at the line," Turner said, "but for the 30-seconds-to-a-minute stretch before I was fouled, I was extremely tired."
As the game wore on, Duke began to throw the ball inside with increasing frequency to 6-foot-11 Christian Laettner, who had scored 27 points against Virginia in the first game and had 12 of Duke's first 25 points to start the second half.
The clincher may have come when, with Virginia trailing 62-56, journeyman Greg Koubek drove the wing and hit a three-point play, then drilled a 3-point shot to make it 68-56 with 6:57 left.
"Those two plays were huge," Krzyzewski said. "Virginia had seized the momentum and we needed to score."
The Blue Devils finished with five players in double figures, led by Laettner with 22. Turner led all scorers with a career-high 28 points, 21 in the second half.
"We shouldn't have allowed him to play here during the summer," Krzyzewski said. "He must feel pretty comfortable here now."
Turner, who worked for IBM in Raleigh during the summer, estimated that he drove over to Duke about six or seven times to play in pick-up games at Cameron.
"It's a nice place to play," Turner said, "but I've never won here and I've never won at North Carolina. We can feel good about the way we hung in there tonight, but the more you lose the more the pressure mounts."
VIRGINIA MPFGFTRAFPT Turner 369-188-1091328Stith 266-143-371416Jeffries 272-21-25015Crotty 374-135-636413Parker 181-34-85216Blundin 251-50-05022Katstra 40-00-00030Smith 242-30-03104Kirby 30-10-01010Totals 20025-5921-2939111974 DUKE MPFGFTRAFPT Koubek 184-73-330212Hill 286-114-444316Laettner 297-127-1050422McCaffrey 292-60-01314Hurley 331-60-11742Hill 264-57-832316Lang 80-20-00120Davis 194-92-291310Palmer 92-20-00014Clark 10-00-00010Totals 20030-6023-2829182486 Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: Virginia 28-46-74 Duke 37-49-86
Three-point goals - Virginia: Turner 2-7, Stith 1-4, Crotty 0-2, Totals 3-13. Duke: Koubek 1-2, Laettner 1-1, McCaffrey 0-1, Hurley 0-2, Hill 1-1, Totals 3-7.
Turnovers - Virginia 16 (Crotty 4); Duke 9 (McCaffrey, Hurley 3). Blocked shots - Virginia 2 (Turner 2); Duke 3 (Hill, Lang, Palmer). Steals - Virginia 4 (Stith 2); Duke 11 (Laettner 3).
Technical fouls - None. Officials - Wirtz, Rose, Rote. Attendance - 9,314.
by CNB