Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 7, 1993 TAG: 9303070141
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
TERPS CAN'T QUITE CATCH CAVALIERS
VIRGINIA'S 88-74 victory over Maryland earned the Cavaliers the No. 5 seed in the ACC Tournament. UVa will face fourth-seeded Wake Forest on Friday in Charlotte, N.C.\ There wasn't enough time Saturday for Virginia to miss all the free throws it would have taken for Maryland to erase a 20-point deficit.
"It's easy to see that this basketball team is intent on not doing anything easy," said coach Jeff Jones after the Cavaliers handed Maryland its 10th loss in 11 games, 88-74.
It was the final home appearance for UVa's seniors and it looked as if the Cavaliers (18-8 overall, 9-7 ACC) would celebrate early when they took a 50-30 lead with 15:32 left.
Virginia made only 14 of its first 29 free throws, however, and Maryland (11-15, 2-14) cut its deficit to 79-73 on Johnny Rhodes' fifth 3-pointer with 2:02 remaining.
It was 81-74 when Maryland's Kevin McLinton stole an inbounds pass with 1:30 left, but McLinton missed from short range and committed his fifth foul on the rebound.
"I felt we were going to win," said Maryland coach Gary Williams, a bit cranky in his postgame interview. "I felt that way before [the game], during, after, whatever."
Jones finally felt secure with 35 seconds left, when he inserted walk-on Rahsaan "Rock" Mitchell, a senior guard. The crowd had been chanting for Mitchell since the four-minute mark.
With nine seconds remaining, Jones replaced scholarship seniors Ted Jeffries and Doug Smith. Jeffries ran into the upper concourse of University Hall and hugged his mother, one of 66 guests he had at the game.
"I was at the game with my mother when Richard Morgan did it [in 1989]," said Jeffries, who finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. "She told me I better do the same thing when I became a senior. I didn't forget."
Virginia, a preseason choice for sixth in the ACC, finished in fifth place and will meet Wake Forest (19-7, 10-6) at noon Friday in the first round of the tournament. The Deacons beat UVa by two points twice in the regular season.
More important, there seems to be little question now that UVa has clinched an NCAA Tournament bid, which would be the Cavaliers' fourth in five years.
"I won't be as anxious a week from tomorrow [when the bids are announced] as I was last year," said Jones, whose 1991-92 team won the National Invitation Tournament.
The Cavaliers, who failed to shoot 40 percent from the floor in four straight games before this week, made 52.8 percent in the second half Saturday and finished at 47.9 for the game.
Sophomore point guard Cory Alexander led the way with 20 points, although he failed to make a 3-pointer for the first time in 23 games. He did not attempt a 3-pointer for the first time in his 57-game college career.
Another streak continued - Virginia is 17-0 when Alexander makes at least half his shots. However, he was one of five UVa players who missed at least three free throws.
"I like getting fouled; I like getting to the line," said Alexander, who was 4-of-9 before making his last two. "I don't know what was happening out there today, [but] they just weren't going down."
Five UVa players scored in double figures, including sophomore forward Yuri Barnes, who came off the bench for a career-high 15. Jones criticized Barnes and fellow power forward Junior Burrough for dribbling too much Wednesday night in a 72-58 victory over College of Charleston.
"We did work on not dribbling in the paint," Barnes said, "but Charleston is one of those teams that's always trying to strip the ball. It was more of a transition game today."
Burrough finished with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, his fifth double-double of the season. He also had five blocked shots, two better than his previous high.
"Sometimes I wonder if we as coaches - or me specifically - expect too much out of Junior," Jones said. "That's a good performance, but it's not as good as Junior Burrough can play."
Jones picked up the second technical foul of his three-year career when official Dick Paparo took exception to something Jones said with 4:05 left.
"I didn't curse," said Jones, whose beef was with another official, Duke Edsall, who motioned block when he meant to call a charge on UVa's Cornel Parker.
Rhodes, a leading candidate for ACC rookie of the year, had 16 points in the second half to lead all scorers with 23 points. Senior Evers Burns had 13 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out.
Maryland finished in a tie for eighth in the ACC and will meet North Carolina State at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the only first-round ACC Tournament game. The Terps and Wolfpack are making it a tradition after meeting in the first No. 8 vs. No. 9 game last year. \
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASKETBALL