Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 5, 1994 TAG: 9401050037
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Staff report
DATELINE: LAS VEGAS LENGTH: Medium
Defense-minded Virginia held the Runnin' Rebels to the lowest scoring output in the 36-year history of the program in a 59-39 upset.
Only 6,944 were on hand to see UNLV's most lopsided loss at the 18,000-seat Thomas and Mack Center, where the Rebels were 148-8 since 1983.
Their only larger margin of defeat in a home game was in 1958, the first year of the program, when Dixie College beat UNLV 90-53 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
"It was really, really ugly," said Virginia coach Jeff Jones, celebrating his team's first road victory of the season, "but in the hustle areas such as defense, rebounding and coming up with loose balls, I think we played very, very well."
UVa committed a season-high 25 turnovers, but Nevada-Las Vegas, a six-point favorite, made only 22.4 percent of its field-goal attempts (13 of 58), the low against the Cavaliers this season.
"I was very pleased with the win, [but] almost as much with the way we responded in a tough situation, worked hard and eventually wore down UNLV," Jones said.
It was the third consecutive victory for Virginia, which is 6-3 going into Thursday night's Atlantic Coast Conference opener against Florida State (7-1). The Cavaliers posted season highs in field-goal percentage (.488), free-throw percentage (.737), rebound margin (48-30) and blocked shots (nine).
"They're a lot more physical than we were," said UNLV coach Rollie Massimino, who was heckled during the game and engaged in a shouting match with a booster afterward. "We had a few breakdowns and things just multiplied."
Virginia used a 14-1 run to take a 16-5 lead, and the closest UNLV came the rest of the way was 22-18 on a 3-point basket by Jermaine "Sunshine" Smith from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson. A pair of one-and-ones by UVa freshman Harold Deane Jr. put the Cavaliers ahead 26-18 at the half.
After the Rebels (4-3) closed to 26-21 in the second half, Deane sparked another surge by hitting a jump shot, a layup off a steal and a 3-pointer to put Virginia ahead 37-25 with 11 minutes, 20 seconds remaining.
UVa's leading scorer for the fifth consecutive game was junior forward Junior Burrough, who hit nine of 15 shots from the field and finished with 19 points. Burrough, who was shooting 26 percent after four games, has hit 53.5 percent in the past five games and 60.9 in the past three.
Deane, making his eighth start in place of injured point guard Cory Alexander, finished with 13 points in his fourth consecutive double-figure scoring performance. Deane has shot 50 percent from the field (11-of-22) and made all eight of his free throws during UVa's three-game winning streak.
Despite the turnovers, every Cavaliers starter made a positive contribution. Junior forward Jason Williford had nine points and a team-high 11 rebounds, junior center Yuri Barnes had 10 rebounds and a career-high five blocks and senior guard Cornel Parker contained UNLV's high-scoring Reggie Manuel.
Manuel, averaging more than 18 points per game, finished with 14.
"He hit some shots," Jones said of Manuel, "but one, and maybe both, of his 3-pointers came while other people were guarding him."
Manuel was 5-of-9 from the field and his teammates were a combined 8-for-49.
Highly touted freshman Kebu Stewart, ineligible for the first six games of the season, missed 12 of 13 field-goal attempts in his collegiate debut.
by CNB