Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 18, 1994 TAG: 9402180112
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: DURHAM, N.C. LENGTH: Medium
The Cavaliers, unable to sustain an early flurry Wednesday night against sixth-ranked Duke, face the prospect of visiting second-ranked North Carolina on Saturday without leading scorer Junior Burrough.
"There comes a time when you're not helping the [basketball] team, and tonight I felt like I was a liability," Burrough said after Duke had pummeled the Cavaliers 84-54 on Wednesday in an Atlantic Coast Conference game at Cameron Indoor Stadium. "I don't know where I'm going from here."
Burrough did not start the second half and played only 17 minutes because of a pulled abdominal muscle that has been bothering him since UVa lost at North Carolina State on Feb. 9.
"I thought I had done all I could to eliminate it, to make it go away," said Burrough, who was bothered by a similar injury during the summer at USA Basketball tryouts. "Then, the last couple of games, it's really started to hurt.
"I don't know if it's a lingering thing or not, but I couldn't make those little [inside] moves like I wanted to. I'll tell you this: I won't go out there Saturday with this kind of pain [or] if it doesn't get any better."
The Cavaliers (13-8 overall, 7-5 in the ACC) have played most of the season without 1992-93 scoring leader Cory Alexander, who has not returned to practice more than two weeks after the cast was removed from his broken right ankle. Alexander said Wednesday night he has stopped running because of pain in his right foot.
Duke (18-3, 9-3) knows all about late-season injuries and Wednesday night was without sixth-man Marty Clark, nursing a case of tendinitis. But that's nothing compared with the past two years, when ankle and toe injuries forced Grant Hill to the sideline in February.
"I sat out five months from April till August," Hill said, "and, when they measured our vertical leap in October, I was one of the last ones on the team. Not to make any excuses for my play early in the season, but I feel my best right now."
Hill finished with a game-high 25 points and combined with Antonio Lang and Jeff Capel, both of whom had 20, to outscore UVa as a threesome. Capel had scored two points in each of Duke's previous two games.
Hill scored four points in Duke's first meeting with Virginia and, while the Blue Devils prevailed 66-58, much was made of the defensive job done by UVa's Cornel Parker after Hill shot 2-for-10.
"He told me tonight, `You got me in Charlottesville,' " Parker said. "I thought he would be [inspired] after that. Anybody would be. There was just something different from the last couple of times I played him."
Hill, eager to prove that an injured finger was his problem in Charlottesville, had seven points in less than four minutes.
"I should have had 30," he said with uncharacteristic brashness. "I was feeling it. I wanted it. I didn't want [Parker] to get off. I don't know whether I hit my first shot, but I wanted to let him know I was coming at him. Tonight, I didn't have an excuse."
Virginia made a game of it until Duke, down 22-20, outscored the Cavaliers 25-6 in the last 11 minutes, 6 seconds before halftime. A similar thing happened in the second half, when the Blue Devils went on an 18-4 run to end the game.
"We had 18 offensive rebounds tonight, which is an indication we played hard, but way too many times we came away with no foul [on Duke] or no bucket," said Jeff Jones, UVa's coach. "You do that and it provides transition chances for the opposition. It takes a toll after awhile."
The Blue Devils shot 52.5 percent from the field, their first game over 50 percent in the past seven. UVa shot 28.8 percent for the second game in a row and the third time this season.
"I think it's more of a mind thing," said Parker, who is 1-for-11 in the past two games, with his only field goal on a dunk. "We have some guys who are capable of scoring. It doesn't help when you're always reading about it in the paper or hearing about it [from reporters]."
After hitting its last 12 free throws Saturday in a 52-44 victory over Clemson, Virginia missed seven in a row during the first half Wednesday night. Yuri Barnes finishing 1-for-8, and the Cavaliers were 11-for-24 as a team.
Duke's late spurt saddled Virginia with its third loss of the season by 30 points or more, a first for the program since the Cavaliers had five losses of between 30 and 45 points in 1960-61. Coincidentally, the coach of that 3-23 team, Billy McCann, was recognized at halftime Saturday.
Jason Williford hit four 3-pointers Wednesday to lead the Cavaliers with 14 points, followed by freshman Jamal Robinson with 11 points in a season-high 30 minutes. However, Burrough and second-leading scorer Harold Deane had four and three points, respectively.
"Right now, I'm at my wit's end," said Burrough, whose previous low was one point when he was a freshman in 1991-92. "I'm going to rest [Thursday and today] and I plan to be out there Saturday. But, if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen."
by CNB