Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, December 10, 1993 TAG: 9312100186
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The Cavaliers, who never led by more than four points, got a pair of free throws by freshman Mike Powell with one second remaining to hold off the Eagles 63-61.
"I'd be shocked if they're not in the NCAA Tournament," said UVa coach Jeff Jones, whose team won its third game in a row, the past two after trailing at halftime.
Indeed, Coppin State returns five of the top seven players from a team that finished 22-8 and made the NCAAs last year for the second time in four years.
"I know the implications of beating an ACC team," Eagles' coach Ron "Fang" Mitchell said, "but we've beaten Maryland [in 1989]. We lost 71-70 at Clemson. I'm not into near-misses."
In a game that featured 23 lead changes, Coppin State (4-3) went ahead for the last time, 59-58, on a steal and layup by Marcus Robinson with 51.3 seconds remaining.
UVa answered with a 3-pointer by freshman guard Harold Deane, who had 11 of his team-high 15 points in the second half, including three 3-pointers.
The Cavaliers' backcourt down the stretch was Deane and Powell, who had played sparingly in UVa's first three games while recovering from a bout with meningitis.
After Coppin State had scored on a basket by Steven Stewart with 15.4 seconds left, Powell dribbled to the left of the lane and put up an 8-foot jumper that hit the front of the rim.
The ball bounced straight back to Powell, who was fouled by Sidney Goodman on a call by official Dick Paparo that did not elicit a huge outcry from Coppin State.
"It was just one of those things where we didn't box out and to [the Cavaliers'] credit, their player went to the backboard," Mitchell said. "But, if that's the only thing I've got to complain about ..."
Stewart finished with a game-high 25 points, but the late basket was only his second field goal of the second half, when he had the constant companionship of UVa senior Cornel Parker.
Parker held leading Eagles' scorer Keith Carmichael without a field goal in the first half before switching to Stewart, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound bruiser who is the younger brother of Washington Bullets forward Larry Stewart.
"It was a challenge," Parker said. "I told myself, `He's not going to get his 20 points this half or close to it.' "
Another challenge for Parker, who suffered two fractured facial bones Saturday in UVa's 59-51 victory over Rice, was adjusting to a custom-made mask that arrived Thursday. He frequently discarded the mask in the second half, much to the chagrin of trainer Ethan Saliba.
"We're going to have to address the the on-again, off-again disappearing mask," Jones said. "I can understand the way he feels. He's a warrior. But, if it means we've got to sit him down, that's what we've got to do."
Parker made all four of his shots in the first half and finished 5-for-6, including a 3-pointer with 2:25 left that tied the score after the Eagles had gone ahead 55-52.
Freshmen scored UVa's last eight points, 16 of the last 20 and 19 of the last 25. In addition to Deane and Powell, Jamal Robinson made all three of his shots after going 0-for-9 in the first three games.
After both teams made half their field-goal attempts in the first half, Coppin State dropped to 30.3 percent after intermission and 39.0 for the game. The Cavaliers, coming off a 28.8-percent performance against Rice, improved to 47.2 against the Eagles.
"We were lighting it up," quipped Jones, who dismissed his team's 7-for-14 free-throw shooting with a quick, "We got the two that counted."
Powell, who had made two of four previous free throws and still does not have a field goal for the season, broke into a smile after a passing comment from teammate Junior Burrough.
"We play this game called `knockout,' " Powell said, "and I always seem to beat him. Junior said, `Just like knockout,' and all the pressure was gone."
by CNB