Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 10, 1991 TAG: 9102100073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHAPEL HILL, N.C. LENGTH: Long
The 11th-ranked Cavaliers lost their second basketball game in three days when ninth-ranked North Carolina coasted to a 77-58 victory Saturday at the Smith Center.
The road trip ends today when UVa (17-6 overall, 5-4 in the ACC) visits Wake Forest at 4 p.m. The Deacons (13-7, 4-4) are coming off an 86-74 victory at home Saturday over Georgia Tech.
"I don't know how in the world Virginia got the three road games back-to-back," North Carolina coach Dean Smith said. "Maybe that's [former coach] Terry Holland's parting shot. . . . I am kidding."
Like Virginia, North Carolina had three games in four days, but that was because an earlier game was postponed by the outbreak of war in the Persian Gulf. Plus, two of Carolina's games were at home.
On its tentative schedule, UVa was to have played road games Jan. 26 at Wake Forest and Jan. 27 at Notre Dame. Instead of traveling from Winston-Salem, N.C., to South Bend, Ind., UVa coach Jeff Jones agreed to play three straight games in North Carolina.
"We've lost to Duke and North Carolina, two very good teams, on their home floor," Jones said. "There are going to be a lot of people who are going to lose at both gyms, so it's hard to get too upset."
The Cavaliers looked tired - as did Carolina to a lesser extent - but Jones wasn't sure exactly why.
"I didn't anticipate the fatigue factor being as great as it seemed to be," he said. "We had guys huffing and puffing right from the beginning. The way the game was played, it took more and more out of our players."
UVa forward Kenny Turner, who seemed weary Thursday night despite scoring 28 points in an 86-74 loss to Duke, hit two of his first three shots Saturday, then went scoreless over the last 37 minutes.
It was a virtual repeat of the Duke game, in which the Cavaliers shot 36 percent and committed 13 turnovers in the first half. Against Carolina, they shot 35.7 percent in the first half and had 12 turnovers.
UVa scoring leader Bryant Stith, uncharacteristically, got in foul trouble in both games. He picked up his fourth foul with 18:20 remaining to play against Duke and with 16:28 left Saturday.
"I think, when we came on this road trip, we didn't have much of a chance at all," said Stith, who had one field-goal attempt in the second half. "I'm not going to elaborate on that."
It was fairly obvious that Stith was talking about the officiating. At 30, Jones is the youngest coach in ACC history, and some have questioned whether his youth and polite nature put him at any disadvantage with officials.
"I think that's something that needs to be discussed [with the ACC office]," he said. "If we didn't have a gag rule, I'd love to respond to that."
League supervisor of officials Fred Barakat distributed a memo this week warning coaches that their bench conduct will be scrutinized more closely. But, Jones did not come close to a technical foul.
"What good would it have done to get a technical?" Jones asked. "It wouldn't have made me feel any better."
The closest Jones came to a technical was at Notre Dame, where he tore off his coat and pitched it at the bench after a late-game goaltending call on UVa. The Cavaliers came back to win, 68-67.
"That didn't work," Jones said of his coat-tossing episode. "Stith worked at Notre Dame. I didn't want the technical. I `lost' it, but that wasn't for effect."
For the second game in a row, the Cavaliers staged a comeback in Stith's absence, cutting a 49-29 deficit to 52-44 with a lineup that included Matt Blundin, Ted Jeffries, Cornel Parker, Terry Kirby and Doug Smith. None averages more than 4.4 points.
Parker scored all 15 of his points in the second half and led the Cavaliers in scoring. Stith finished with 14 points, only two after halftime, and John Crotty had 11 in his second straight 4-for-13 shooting game.
Kirby, the All-ACC football player, played a season-high 17 minutes, "and, in looking back, we probably didn't play him enough [three minutes] at Duke," Jones said. "That was a mistake."
Jones said he didn't find Saturday's loss alarming, particularly since the Cavaliers have lost 10 straight games at North Carolina, the last five at the Smith Center. UVa is 2-46 in Chapel Hill, N.C., since 1919.
Junior guard Hubert Davis scored 19 points and contributed six assists, as opposed to zero turnovers, to lead the Tar Heels (6-3, 17-4), who remained 1 1/2 games behind Duke in the regular-season race.
"It's funny how everybody talks about the league race," Smith said, "and then, when the tournament comes around, nobody pays much attention to it."
VIRGINIA MPFGFTRAFPT Stith 276-132-250414Turner 312-110-04434Jeffries 291-42-46334Parker 264-66-841415Crotty 294-132-211211Kirby 172-70-00125Smith 101-20-00112Blundin 201-11-26123Wilson 40-10-01010Katstra 50-00-00100Floriani 10-00-00000Stewart 10-10-01000Totals 20021-5913-1832132258 N. CAROLINA MPFGFTRAFPT Fox 274-63-450314Lynch 212-91-37315Chilcutt 296-80-072112Davis 245-75-636119Rice 290-34-60314Rodl 140-30-00210Reese 103-42-24009Montross 143-50-16146Rozier 111-41-11023Phelps 110-00-00410Salvador 141-21-21003Sullivan 40-00-00000Cherry 11-10-00002Wenstrom 10-00-00000Totals 20026-5217-2536211577 Rebounds include team rebounds Score by periods: Virginia 26-32-58 North Carolina 42-35-77
Three-point goals - Virginia: Stith 0-1, Turner 0-5, Parker 1-1, Crotty 1-2, Kirby 1-3, Smith 0-1, Totals 3-6. North Carolina: Fox 3-4, Davis 4-6, Rice 0-3, Rodl 0-1, Reese 1-1, Totals 8-15.
Turnovers - Virginia 18 (Parker, Crotty 4); North Carolina 15 (Fox 4). Blocked shots - Virginia 1 (Parker); North Carolina 5 (Montross, Rozier). Steals - Virginia 8 (Parker, Crotty 2); North Carolina 9 (Fox, Phelps 3).
Technical fouls - None. Officials - Paparo, Lembo, Edsall. Attendance - 21,572.
by CNB