Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, March 15, 1991 TAG: 9103150352
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: SALT LAKE CITY LENGTH: Long
UVa made its second trip to the Huntsman Center on Thursday night and for the second time ended its season at the hands of a Western Athletic Conference opponent in the first round of the NCAA West Regional.
Brigham Young broke open a close game midway through the second half and routed favored Virginia 61-48 despite a game-high 20 points by the Cavaliers' John Crotty.
UVa shot a season-low 27.7 percent from the field and many of the Cavaliers' shots did not even reach the basket as 7-foot-6 Brigham Young freshman Shawn Bradley was credited with 10 blocked shots.
"Any time we scored an inside basket, it was a major accomplishment," Virginia coach Jeff Jones said. "Make no mistake about it, Brigham Young is a very physical basketball team, as physical, say, as North Carolina."
Gary Trost came off the bench to score a team-high 13 points, all in the second half, as the Cougars raised their record to 21-12 before a partisan crowd of their followers from Provo, 40 miles to the south.
Four years earlier, an even rowdier Wyoming contingent had rooted its Cowboys past the Cavaliers 64-60. After slow early ticket sales, a crowd of 14,776 was on hand Thursday night.
The game followed a familiar pattern for the Cavaliers (21-12), who lost eight of their past 12, four after blowing second-half leads of five to 20 points.
Crotty was 8-of-18 from the field and the rest of the team was 10-of-47. Senior forward Kenny Turner missed his last 13 shots, five of them 3-pointers, to finish 3-of-17.
"We gave a great defensive effort," Jones said, "but you can't win if you can't put the ball in the basket. It seems the more energy you expend defensively, the harder it makes it to score.
"We missed some open shots early and I think that put more pressure on us to hit our shots later. Of course, Bradley was a factor. It sure seemed like he had 10 blocks to me."
Despite their vows to take the ball to Bradley, the Cavaliers made just eight of 31 shots from the field in the first half and had to rely on defense to stay in the game.
"Most teams we've played say to themselves that Shawn isn't out there and try to get him in foul trouble," BYU coach Roger Reid said. "But he's there. He's 7-6. He doesn't go away.
"I like it when they go at him. I've seen him have better games. They kept [Ted] Jeffries outside and he's really not a threat out there. So, we had Shawn in there to defend the paint."
Virginia led 22-19 at the half because it was able to force 11 turnovers and pound the backboards, outrebounding the Cougars 19-16 over the first 20 minutes.
It was reminiscent of the WAC championship game between BYU and Utah, won by the Cougars 51-49 in overtime in a game that was 15-15 at the half.
Bradley didn't have to block shots to make his presence felt. Turner, who was alone underneath the basket at the end of the half, threw the ball over the basket.
"I don't think we were in awe of [Bradley]," Bryant Stith said, "but he has the unique ability to block shots without leaving his feet. He was like a one-man zone and didn't leave the basket under any circumstances."
Stith, a first-team All-ACC selection, suffered a continuation of the shooting slump that has plagued him for the past three weeks. He was 4-of-13 Thursday and 27-of-82 (32.9 percent) over the past five games.
Virginia enjoyed its largest lead at 24-19 on a layup by Crotty to start the second half, but, while the Cavaliers continued to struggle offensively, Brigham Young came out of its coma.
The Cougars took the lead, 30-29, on a stickback by Trost with 13:42 left and outscored the Cavaliers 15-4 over a 7 1/2-minute stretch to go ahead 41-33.
UVa's frustration was evident when the Cavaliers committed six fouls in a 2:07 stretch, the last by Anthony Oliver, who fouled out with 7:39 left.
The only thing Virginia did well was hold onto the ball. The Cavaliers had eight turnovers - none by Crotty - to the Cougars' 18.
"We came in with a lot of confidence," Crotty said. "We thought our experience would be a factor, but it never got close enough at the end where it could be a factor."
Crotty's 18-foot jumper cut an 11-point deficit to 51-44 with 3:23 left, but the Cougars made 10 straight free throws and finished the game 21-of-25 from the line.
The Cougars shot 60 percent from the field in the second half and 51.4 percent for the game. Steve Schreiner scored 12 points and Scott Moon had 10, all in the second half.
Only four players had field goals for Virginia, which needed a free throw from Cornel Parker to have five players score. It was UVa's lowest point total in 98 games dating to the 1988 season.
"We were on defense, it seemed, for three quarters of the game," Jones said. "BYU scored a couple in a row and we started playing like we were way behind when there was plenty of time left." see microfilm for box score
by CNB