Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 22, 1993 TAG: 9303220024
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SYRACUSE, N.Y. LENGTH: Long
CAVALIERS CLOCK MINUTEMEN
VIRGINIA looked as if it had bagged Massachusetts in the first half, but it took some gutsy play in the second half by UVa's sophomores to nail down the East Region victory and a trip to the Sweet 16.\ Something about postseason play seems to agree with the sophomores on Virginia's men's basketball team.
The Cavaliers, winners of the National Invitation Tournament last year, made it seven straight postseason victories with a 71-56 victory Sunday over Massachusetts at the Carrier Dome.
Unranked Virginia, the lowest seed of six ACC teams in the NCAA Tournament, advanced to the final 16 for the first time since 1989 and will meet Cincinnati in the East Region semifinals Friday in East Rutherford, N.J.
The Bearcats (26-4) routed New Mexico State 92-55 in a game that was as lopsided for 40 minutes as Virginia-Massachusetts was for a half. The Cavaliers (21-9) led 36-19 at the half and built their margin to 19 points before 12th- ranked UMass (24-7) went on a 24-10 run that cut the deficit to 46-43 with more than eight minutes remaining.
A three-point play by sophomore forward Jason Williford gave Virginia some room to breathe, and the Cavaliers went on an 8-0 spurt that left the Minutemen gasping.
"When you've worked so hard to come back like that, sometimes you don't have anything left," UMass coach John Calipari said. "But that's a team [Virginia] that's been through the wars. "They were more physical than us, and that's our game. They were scrappier than us, and that's our game. A lot of teams have overlooked us. They just beat our brains in."
Although he was pleased with his team's comeback, resulting mostly from hustle on the offensive boards, Calipari was furious that Virginia so consistently beat the Minutemen down the floor.
"Our guy and their guy would be next to each other," Calipari said. "Then, the next thing I knew, their guy would be down at the other end and our guy wouldn't be past the key.
"We had no fire, no passion, no enthusiasm. They ran the floor. We jogged. We only had two players who stood out, Tony Barbee and Mike Williams. Other than that, our guys didn't come to play."
UMass center Harper Williams, player of the year in the Atlantic 10 Conference, was 2-of-12 from the field and finished with a season-low five points and 11 rebounds.
"Harper didn't even look like he wanted to be here," Calipari said. "We were trying to run plays to get the ball down on the block, but our guy wouldn't go in there."
It marked the second straight time that Virginia center Ted Jeffries shut down a conference player of the year. He held Manhattan's Keith Bullock under his averages for points and rebounds Friday in a 78-66 victory over the Jaspers.
"I guess that's another notch in the belt," said Jeffries, a 6-foot-9, 245-pound senior. "Once early, Williams tried to clear me out with an elbow and I just held my ground. I think he knew then it was going to be a long afternoon."
Williams spent the remainder of the game tip-toeing around the 3-point line and the Minutemen were reduced to shooting from outside. They shot 31.8 percent (21-of-66) from the field.
Virginia, which had four field goals in the first 11 minutes of the second half, finished at 49 percent (25-of-51). Much of that was attributable to a near-flawless first half in which the Cavaliers were 14-of-24 (58.3 percent).
"I was listening to the reporters interviewing Calipari and a lot of the questions were about how flat Massachusetts was," UVa coach Jeff Jones said. "I thought a lot of that was us. It was our best half of basketball of the year."
Sophomore guard Cory Alexander had 17 points to lead the Cavaliers in scoring for the seventh game in a row, but the Cavaliers showed uncommon balance. Jeffries and Williford each had 14 points, with Williford setting a career high.
"Jason, our most inexperienced player in the regular rotation, may have set the tone with his aggressiveness," Jones said. "He's growing up. It's taken some patience on his part and some patience on our part."
It was a stickback by Williford that capped a 16-2 run that put Virginia ahead 59-45, but his biggest basket was definitely the earlier stickback after Cornel Parker missed in the lane.
That put UVa ahead 49-43. After an ill-advised jumper by back-up big man Kennard Robinson, the Minutemen fouled Jeffries, who made both ends of a one-and-one with 6:52 left.
"I've been pretty atrocious from the free-throw line; I don't think that's any secret," said Jeffries, who was 1-of-6 from the line over the previous three games. "You just do what you can to put it out of your mind."
The Cavaliers made five of their first 13 free throws in the second half and went 18-of-31 (58.1 percent) for the game. NOTE: A limited number of
tickets are available for the East Region semifinals in East Rutherford, N.J. on Friday night. Game tims has not been set. The $58 ticket books, good for both sessions, can be oedered at the Virginia athletic ticket office or by calling 800-542-8821.
\ see microfilm for box score