Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 2, 1992 TAG: 9202020133
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: RALEIGH, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
CAVS HOLD OFF STATE WOLFPACK RALLY COMES UP SHORT
After blowing a 20-point lead last year at Reynolds Coliseum, Virginia wasn't comfortable Saturday with a 24-point spread.Nobody remembered last year's experience more vividly than UVa's Bryant Stith, who made every effort to ensure that history did not repeat itself.
North Carolina State was able to cut the deficit to five points with less than eight minutes remaining, but came no closer as Virginia claimed its second ACC road win of the basketball season, 80-69.
Stith scored a season-high 30 points - his first 30-point game since Feb. 2, 1991 - as Virginia raised its overall record to 10-8 and ACC mark to 4-4.
"There for a while, it looked a lot like last year's game [with State] to a lot of folks," UVa coach Jeff Jones said. "You can include me in that group."
The Cavaliers led State 47-32 at the half last year at Reynolds and increased the margin to 20 points, but State rallied for an 83-76 triumph behind Rodney Monroe's 32 points.
Monroe wasn't around Saturday, but State, which trailed 41-17 in the first half, definitely had the momentum when Kevin Thompson stepped to the free-throw line for two shots with 7:26 left and his team trailing 55-50.
After Thompson missed the first free throw, State's Mark Davis committed a lane violation on the second and the crowd was quieted. A 5-0 run gave the Cavaliers a 10-point cushion.
State cut the deficit to 63-58 on a pair of free throws by Davis with 5:07 left, but Stith responded with a 3-pointer from the right wing and scored nine points in the final 4:45.
"I think I'm in a groove now and my teammates are getting me the ball," said Stith, whose previous season high came Wednesday night, when he had 29 points in UVa's 82-75 victory over Maryland.
With his 30 points Saturday, Stith tied former Georgia Tech star Mark Price for 10th place on the ACC career scoring list with 2,193 points - 32 behind No. 9 Ralph Sampson of Virginia.
Nobody did a better job of getting the ball to Stith than freshman point guard Cory Alexander, coming off the self-described low point of his season - two points against Maryland.
Alexander had 14 points in the first half Saturday and finished with career highs for points (22) and assists (eight). He also contributed six rebounds and two blocked shots in 34 minutes.
"I felt like myself out there today," said Alexander, a high-school All-American last year at Oak Hill Academy. "They've been on me about penetrating and pushing the ball upcourt and being aggressive."
Jones said he had not seen any signs that Alexander was ready for a superior performance, but he wasn't surprised.
"He's been resilient," Jones said. "If he struggles or doesn't play well in one game - or even for one half - he's been good about bouncing back."
Alexander, shooting 37 percent for the season, made seven of 13 shots from the field. The Cavaliers shot 49.1 percent as a team - their best on the road this season.
State shot 36.4 percent from the field, including a 4-of-15 effort by Tom Gugliotta, second in the ACC in scoring with a 23.1-point average. Gugliotta, who finished with 13, had as many points (three) as fouls at the half.
"He's just in a little slump," State coach Les Robinson said. "If he was on a really solid team, the slump wouldn't be as big a factor. I'm sure there are other guys in slumps who you don't notice because of the teams they're on."
It was the fourth straight loss for the Wolfpack, who only 10 days earlier routed North Carolina 99-88 on the same court. The previous losses were by 22, 14 and 13 points.
"As far as the NCAA Tournament, in every preseason magazine and preseason, they said, `No chance,' " Robinson said. "Today, it's sort of looking that way, but you never know. I hope this was rock-bottom."
On the same night State stunned North Carolina, Virginia fell to lowly Clemson 51-48. Yet, the Cavaliers seem to have found some offensive punch, scoring in the 80s for the first time in consecutive games this season.
Their next game will be Wednesday night, when they meet Virginia Tech at the Roanoke Civic Center. It is the last non-conference game on UVa's schedule.
"We've gotten this far by taking one game at a time, and don't count on us overlooking Virginia Tech," Stith said. "We're going to come out very intense and very prepared and treat this like they're part of the ACC."