Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 7, 1993 TAG: 9301070178
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
BIG GAME FOR CAVS, ALEXANDER
CORY ALEXANDER scored 23 points to help No. 25 Virginia defeat No. 23 Florida State 80-76 in the ACC opener for both teams. The Cavaliers have won 12 straight, the third-longest winning streak in the country behind UNLV (29) and Duke (23).\ Sophomore guard Cory Alexander was the difference at both ends of the court Wednesday night as unbeaten Virginia captured its most impressived victory of the early season.Alexander had 18 of his game-high 23 points in the second half and shut down held Florida State's high-scoring Sam Cassell as 25th-ranked UVa prevailed 80-76.
Cassell, coming off three straight 30-point performances, finished 4-of-17 from the field and had one field goal in the second half.
Alexander, whose shot at the end of regulartion set up UVa's upset of the Seminoles last year in Tallahassee, Fla., hit the big basket again Wednesday when he drilled a 3-pointer to break a 74-74 tie with 1:00 remaining.
"The two guys who really stepped up for us were Cory and Ted Jeffries," UVa coach Jeff Jones said. "Ted played a number of minutes (39) and did all the little things, plus hit a lot of key baskets."
Jeffries hit seven of 10 shots from the field finished with 18 points, his career high in ACC play, while holding the Seminoles' Douglas Edwards to 14 points.
"We held them to 38-percent shooting from the field, but they hit nine 3-pointers to our three," Florida State coach Pat Kennedy. "That's a big difference in a four-point game."
The first ACC game of the season for both teams helped attract a near-full house, the first in seven UVa home games at University Hall, frequently sold out but seldom packed.
UVa's relatively unimposing early season schedule was contrasted with 23rd-ranked Florida State's. The Seminoles came to town with an 8-4 record, including losses to Indiana and UCLA.
The Cavaliers were one of eight unbeaten teams in Division I before Wednesday night and their 12-game winning streak was third-longest in the country behind Nevada-Las Vegas, 29 games, and Duke, 23.
The game marked the season's debut of Florida State guard Charlie Ward, who only five days earlier was quarterbacking the Seminoles to victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
Ward, who had made 39 of 40 free throws Sunday in a shootaround, made his first appearance with 11:12 remaining in the first half but had no points or assists at the break.
It was Virginia that held a 38-34 lead at the half, thanks to tenacious man-to-man defense that limited the Seminoles to 14-of-35 (40 percent) shooting from the field.
Sophomore forward Junior Burrough, despite missing his first seven shots from the field, had eight points in the first half, including a turnaround that gave UVa its biggest lead of the half, 30-20, with 7:43 left.
After picking up his second foul with 6:37 left, Burrough sat down for the remainder of the half and the Cavaliers struggled to keep their lead, making three field goals the rest of the way.
Coach Jeff Jones had questioned his team's intensity in some recent outings, but the Cavaliers crashed the boards for 11 offensive rebounds in the first half, getting four shots on two different possessions.
A 3-pointer by Cornel Parker put UVa on top 38-30 with 2:16 left, but the end of the half resembled the 1992 game between the teams, when FSU erased most of an eight-point first-half deficit before winning 64-63.
Florida State's secret weapon turned out to be freshman Derrick Carroll, making his first start. Carroll, a 6-6, 225-pounder, hit a 3-pointer off the opening tap and led the Seminoles with nine points at the half.
Parker led UVa with nine points and seven rebounds at the half, with four of the boards coming on the offensive end. The Cavaliers shot 36.6 percent from the field, missing eight of their last nine shots.
The drought continued in the second half. The Cavaliers missed their first seven shots, four by Burrough, who had unusual problems getting off his shot against the Seminoles' shotblockers, Edwards and Rodney Dobard.
Dobards' basket with 18:15 left in the game gave Florida State its first lead since early in the first half, 39-38. When Burrough picked up his third and fourth fouls, the latter with 12:14 left, it appeared Virginia was in big trouble.