Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 13, 1994 TAG: 9401130223
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CLEMSON, S.C. LENGTH: Medium
UVa, a four-point underdog, never let Clemson center Sharone Wright establish control Wednesday night and won its sixth basketball game in a row, 64-57, before 9,000 at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Freshman guard Harold Deane scored 19 points and junior center Yuri Barnes added 17 - career highs for both players - as the Cavaliers ran their record to 9-3 overall and 3-0 in the ACC.
They play host to unbeaten Duke at 4 p.m. Saturday.
"We knew what people were saying," said UVa forward Cornel Parker, referring to a stretch that included three road games, plus Duke and North Carolina at home. "There are still a lot of non-believers."
The Cavaliers shot only 35.2 percent but held Clemson (8-5, 0-2) to 37.3-percent accuracy and forced 23 turnovers. Many were the result of trying to force the ball to Wright, who had seven turnovers himself.
"Before anybody asks what the key to our success guarding Sharone was, maybe the old saying, `It's better to be lucky than good' applies," UVa coach Jeff Jones said.
Wright, who had been averaging 17.5 points, finished with 13 and had only three field goals, the last on a dunk with 33.4 seconds left and UVa leading 61-52.
Each team was without its top returning scorer from 1992-93, Devin Gray for Clemson and Cory Alexander for Virginia. Gray sprained an ankle Monday night in the Tigers' 88-71 victory over Mercer.
Alexander remains on crutches more than six weeks after breaking his right ankle. He is scheduled for a second round of X-rays Jan. 25, but doubts persist whether he will return this season.
Junior Burrough, UVa's other high-profile junior, was missing in action for the first 8 1/2 minutes and missing from the court after picking up his second foul with 11:34 remaining in the first half.
The Cavaliers, who trailed by eight points on three occasions, rallied behind the unlikely combination of Deane and Barnes, who had a virus for two days before the game.
"He felt the same way before one of his best games last year, against Massachusetts in the NCAA Tournament, so maybe we need to keep him sick," Jones said.
Deane and Barnes scored all 22 of UVa's points during one stretch and it was Deane's 3-pointer, his second in succession, that tied the score at 25 with 4:28 left in the first half.
Two free throws by Parker put the Cavaliers on top 31-29 with 1:49 left. Barnes hit a 15-foot jumper and added a free throw to give Virginia a 34-30 halftime lead.
Barnes, who set a career high Sunday with 15 points in a 79-58 victory over North Carolina State, matched that figure by the half against the Tigers. Deane added 12 points, all in the span of 4:44.
Junior-college transfer Rayfield Ragland, starting in place of Gray, had nine points in the first 10 1/2 minutes, only to finish with 12. Bruce Martin added 11 off the bench.
Barnes had responsibility for Wright as long as Burrough was in the game. When Burrough went out, Chris Alexander and Shawn Wilson took turns on Wright, combining for seven fouls in 17 minutes.
"It was like a boxing match out there," Wright said. "They put Wilson on me and he was hitting all over the place. He hit me on the cheek one time and it really hurt."
Barnes, plagued by fouls early in the season, was not charged with a personal.
"Maybe the refs saw how short I am and felt sorry for me," said Barnes, who gave up 3 inches to Wright, who is 6-11. "It felt like I was on him for a lifetime, but I've been going against him for three years in college and, before that, in high school [all-star games]. So, maybe I've learned something."
Poor free-throw shooting proved costly for Virginia during a 3-3 start, but the Cavaliers made 23 of 28 free throws Wednesday night, including 16 of the last 19.
UVa's only field goal in the last 5 1/2 minutes was a big one, a 16-foot turnaround by Barnes with the shot clock running down and UVa leading 53-47 with 3:06 left.
"I'd have taken it whether the clock was running down or not," Barnes said. "I was open. That's a shot Coach [Jones] wants me to take and it's something I need to hit."
by CNB