Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 3, 1992 TAG: 9201030141
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
DUKE TURNS BACK VIRGINIA 68-62
Bobby Hurley, who had missed all eight of his previous 3-point shots, hit when it counted Thursday night as No. 1-ranked Duke held off Virginia 68-62.The Blue Devils led by two points when Hurley made a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left, one second before the 45-second clock expired.
Hurley, who finished with 11 points, scored Duke's last seven points as the reigning national college basketball champion improved their record to 7-0. UVa (4-5) lost for the fourth time in five games.
Duke center Christian Laettner led the Blue Devils with 17 points, followed by Grant Hill with 16. Bryant Stith had 17 for Virginia and freshman Cory Alexander added 13.
Virginia led once, on a Stith 3-pointer that made it 44-43 with 15:54 left. That was followed by three UVa turnovers in the next four possessions.
The Blue Devils proceeded to outscore the Cavaliers 10-0 before Stith made another 3-pointer with 12:07 left. Alexander's 3-pointer cut it to 53-50.
Stith picked up his fourth foul and went to the sideline with 10:51 remaining. Laettner also left the game after he picked up his fourth foul with 9:38 left.
Laettner returned with 6:13 left and was the only player from either team to score during a three-minute stretch. He tipped in Hurley's missed 3-pointer to make it 61-55 with 3:15 left.
Hurley, who needed four 3-pointers to become Duke's all-time leader from that category, finished 1-of-9 from behind the line. He was 2-of-12 on all field-goal attempts.
The pregame introductions had to be a shock for Virginia, which, in its first game at home since Nov. 29, was greeted by a half-empty arena with an inordinate number of Duke fans in attendance.
The first few minutes were played in something of a scrimmage-like atmosphere until the Cavaliers aroused the late-arriving crowd by cutting an early 17-11 deficit to 21-19 with 12:10 remaining in the half.
Duke increased its advantage to 27-19 after a Hurley jumper, but the Blue Devils were unable to pull away. The score was tied once, 37-37 on a 3-pointer by Cornel Parker with 1:56 remaining in the half.
Duke entered the contest with a 12-game winning streak; but, in an odds-makers' concession to the home-court advantage, was only a three-point favorite to a Virginia team that lost four of six games in December.
One reason the Blue Devils were unable to pull away was the early play of Stith, coming off a subpar performance in the Times-Dispatch Invitational, where he scored 14 points in an 80-74 loss to Richmond in the championship game.
Stith scored 11 of Virginia's first 23 points despite the constant pressure of Duke's denying defense. The Blue Devils forced the Cavaliers into 11 first-half turnovers.
Duke shot 57.7 percent from the field in the first half but committed 12 turnovers, one reason the Blue Devils went to the locker room with a slim 41-37 halftime lead.
Laettner, the 1991 ACC player of the year, had the attention of two or three UVa players at all times but led both teams with 13 points at the half.