Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, January 7, 1994 TAG: 9401070169
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
The roll continued Thursday night at University Hall as UVa stomped Florida State 84-64 in the ACC opener for both men's basketball teams.
"At one point we were 3-3 and it was a really bad time for this basketball team," UVa forward Junior Burrough said, "but everybody stuck together and we came out with some key victories."
Virginia came into Thursday night's game on a three-game winning streak, including upset victories over Minnesota and Nevada-Las Vegas, but the Seminoles (7-1) had won five in a row.
No sooner had Florida State scored the first two baskets of the second half to go ahead 35-34 than the game was over. UVa scored 10 points in a span of 1 minute, 14 seconds and outscored FSU 25-5 in the space of 7:51.
"Virginia did a great job with their defense and, when you're creating offense with your defense, it makes a difference in a lot of statistics," said Pat Kennedy, the Seminoles' coach.
Nobody was more dominating defensively than UVa senior Cornel Parker, assigned to cover Florida State's Bob Sura, leading scorer in the ACC with a 24.3-point average. Sura went 3-for-10 on field-goal attempts, finishing with nine points.
"Cornel Parker is the best defensive player in the league, I think," Kennedy said. "I feel most of the people in the league think the same way. He's great once you catch the basketball."
Sura was just the latest in a series of players Parker has shut down, joining Old Dominion's Petey Sessoms, Minnesota's Voshon Lenard and UNLV's Reggie Manuel. Only Manuel scored in double figures, and he hit two 3-pointers against other defenders.
"Without [Sura's] 24 points, I thought we would have a really good shot," Parker said. "I wanted to make sure he didn't get into the 20s. Sura is one of the most difficult players to guard because he's always moving. He got his first two [points] when I thought I had him boxed out."
A stick-back represented Sura's only field goal in the first half, when he put up three points. He hit two jump shots in the second half but became so frustrated that he drew a technical foul with 8:14 left.
Chuck Graham, who was on academic suspension for the first semester, had a team-high 14 points for the Seminoles, who shot 39 percent and committed 18 turnovers.
The Cavaliers shot 46.7 percent and cut their turnovers from a season-high 25 Monday night in a 59-39 victory over UNLV to a season-low seven. Freshman point guard Harold Deane had 13 points, five assists and no turnovers in 34 minutes.
"I thought Harold Deane was outstanding," said Jeff Jones, UVa's coach. "He did a very fine job defensively. He ran the team. He didn't get rattled."
Everything went right for Virginia in the second half, when the Cavaliers shot 53.8 percent and scored 50 points, but they owed their 34-31 halftime lead to Jason Williford.
The junior forward scored 11 of UVa's first 15 points, including three 3-pointers, and had 16 by halftime. He finished with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals.
"When we needed him to come up big, Jason kept us in there and got us off to a positive start," Jones said. "We didn't plan on coming out and shooting 3-pointers; Jason's shots came when we reversed the ball."
It helped that Florida State came out in a diamond-and-one defense, with Graham on Burrough. It left the wings unprotected and Williford had little choice but to let loose.
"I was open three times on the wing and I knew I had to take the shot," said Williford, who has made eight of his 10 3-pointers against William and Mary and FSU. "If I hit that first one, I just seem to get it going."
Jones said a tough early-season schedule had benefited the Cavaliers, who no longer can afford to wait on injured point guard Cory Alexander, out at least two more weeks with a broken foot.
"There's no question that was [an adjustment]," Jones said. "You lose a guy like that all of a sudden and it's not fair to say, `Harold Deane, pick up where Cory left off.' We've had to have adjustments from a lot of people."
by CNB