Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 27, 1993 TAG: 9303270216
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. LENGTH: Medium
Cincinnati pounded the boards for 24 offensive rebounds and beat the Cavaliers into submission 71-54 to reach the final eight in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Virginia led 44-43 until Erik Martin scored on a stickback - appropriately - that gave seventh-ranked Cincinnati (27-4) the lead for good with 10:25 remaining.
It was the beginning of a 14-2 run for the Bearcats, who held off Virginia until All-America guard Nick Van Exel found his touch and scored 11 points in the final 8:56.
Van Exel, who missed 13 of his first 16 shots, finished with 19 points to tie teammate Corie Blount for game scoring honors. Martin had 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
Sophomore forward Junior Burrough led Virginia (21-10) with 15 points and eight rebounds. Cory Alexander, who had led UVa in scoring in its previous seven games, finished 3-for-14 from the field.
"I definitely felt it was going to go down to the wire," Alexander said. "We were a little overanxious, I think, because we wanted to put them away so bad."
Nevertheless, it came down to rebounding. Cincinnati's 48-32 rebounding margin was the largest this year against a UVa team that ranked third in the ACC in rebounding margin.
"We do that all year," Cincinnati coach Bob Huggins said. "Nothing changes. It's the same from November 1st. If you don't rebound, you're not going to win."
It was the first loss in five games at the Meadowlands for Virginia, which won the 1984 East Regional at the Byrne Arena, but entered Friday night's contest as an eight-point underdog.
Analysts Dick Vitale and P.J. Carlesimo had predicted an upset Thursday night on ESPN, prompting chants of "Where's Dick Vitale, where's Dick Vitale" from the Bearcat cheering section.
Much had been made of Cincinnati's vaunted press, but the Cavaliers had few problems bringing the ball upcourt. Many of Virginia's 21 turnovers, particularly in the first half, resulted from careless errors in the halfcourt.
The Bearcats led comfortably at the half, 31-24, despite making only 35.1 percent of their shots from the field. Cincinnati, which had expressed concerns about UVa's size, had 15 offensive rebounds in the first half alone.
Cincinnati threatened to blow the game open early when Van Exel hit his first two shots, including a 3-pointer, and went on top 7-0 before the Cavaliers scored.
Virginia responded with an 8-0 run and led briefly after a Jason Williford basket in transition and the Cavaliers later enjoyed a 10-9 lead ater a Ted Jeffries layup with 14:20 left.
An 11-2 spurt put the Bearcats ahead 20-12 and they twice were to lead by nine points closer to halftime. Cincinnati had nine first-half turnovers, the same as Virginia, or it might have been closer.
Blount, a 6-foot-10 senior, led all scorers with nine points in the first half and had seven of Cincinnati's 27 rebounds. Van Exel had eight points despite missing nine of his last 10 shots.
Virginia, outrebounded 27-18, shot 33.3 percent in the first half. Burrough was 3-for-9 and missed a one-and-one with 3:00 left, when the Cavaliers had a chance to cut the deficit to five.
It took no time for Virginia to get back in the game once the second half started. The Cavaliers went on top 34-33 with 16:37 left and led on three other occasions, the last at 44-43 following an Alexander 3-pointer with 11:21 remaining.
The Cavaliers chronic free-throw shooting problems came back to haunt them when Alexander and Burrough both missed one-and-ones. Two 3-pointers by Van Exel, the second after an offensive rebound, enabled the Bearcats to go ahead 57-46.
UVa closed to 60-52 and had a chance to cut the deficit on a three-on-one break, but Doug Smith's pass to the wing was intercepted by Van Exel, who fed Erik Martin for a breakaway dunk.
The Cavaliers, who made 11 of 15 shots to start the second half, missed 10 of their last 11. The Bearcats scored the last nine points of the game. \
see microfilm for box score
by CNB