Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 14, 1992 TAG: 9202140222
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
CAVALIERS MISS OUT ON VICTORY
There wasn't a soul at University Hall who thought Florida State was going to beat Virginia in regulation Thursday night.Not with two seconds remaining. Not with the Cavaliers' Bryant Stith going to the free-throw line.
Never mind that Florida State led 64-63. Stith, leading the ACC in free-throw percentage, had two free throws after being fouled in the act of shooting.
"What are the odds of an 86 percent free-throw shooter missing twice?" Florida State basketball coach Pat Kennedy asked. "I suspected we were going to lose."
Kennedy no doubt would have accepted overtime, but instead the Seminoles escaped with their sixth ACC road victory - in regulation, no less - as Stith missed both shots.
"It's the first time I've ever missed free throws like this at the end of a game," Stith said. "I thought we had the victory. I was very confident at the line.
"If I could relive that moment, I wouldn't change anything. I love the pressure. If I had it to do over, I would not hesitate. That's my role."
Stith had missed his free throw in a bonus situation with 4:28 left, and the odds of an 86 percent shooter missing three free throws in a row are 335-to-1. The odds of two straight misses are 48-to-1.
The Seminoles called time out after Stith was fouled by Cassell, but that was mostly to go over the various last-second possibilities, not to rattle Stith.
"Before we came back on the floor, I said, `The game is over; Bryant has done it again,' " UVa junior Ted Jeffries said. "If you look at his history, Bryant Stith has won plenty of games like this in a lot of different ways."
The Cavaliers led by eight points in the first half and led 47-40 with a little more than 15 minutes left, but Florida State went on top 55-54 with 9:17 to go.
It was Stith who gave Virginia its last lead, 62-61, with 3:40 remaining, but the Cavaliers did not score again until Junior Burrough sank a free throw with 13 seconds left.
That closed the deficit to 63-62, but Burrough did not hit the rim with his bonus free throw. Florida State took possession after the air ball, but Charlie Ward missed the first shot in a bonus situation with 12 seconds left.
UVa coach Jeff Jones elected not to call a timeout and got the matchup he wanted with Stith, listed at 6 feet 5, posting up 6-3 Sam Cassell on the right. Cassell fouled on the shot.
"You couldn't ask for a whole lot better situation," Jones said, "but those free throws were just a continuation of what happened throughout the second half.
"We probably had more easy shots in this game than any other game this year. We were literally shooting 5-footers all night. We had opportunity after opportunity."
It was the seventh game Virginia has lost in which it has led in the second half. The Cavaliers are 11-9 overall and 4-5 in the ACC.
Florida State is ranked 23rd by The Associated Press, but the Seminoles (17-6, 9-4) were a five-point underdog despite their 5-1 ACC road record before Thursday.
"You look at these games and wonder how you pull them out sometimes," Kennedy said. "When something like this happens, you just count your blessings and go on to the next game."
The Seminoles, who lost 77-68 in overtime to Virginia in Tallahassee, Fla., overcame a 4-of-16 shooting effort by Cassell, the team's leading scorer, who finished with 10 points.
Chuck Graham, a questionable participant because of a sprained ankle, came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 18 points.
Freshman Bob Sura added 13 points, including a steal and layup with 58 seconds left that gave FSU the lead at 63-62. Sura added a free throw with 22 seconds left.
Another freshman, Burrough, had game highs of 19 points and 10 rebounds for UVa, with much of the damage coming before he sprained an ankle with 9:16 left.
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