Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, December 1, 1994 TAG: 9412010091
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
That's the kind of season it's been so far for 23rd-ranked Virginia.
When the Cavaliers finally awakened, they did so with a fury, scoring 62 points in the second half and routing North Carolina A&T 94-50.
The second-half output exceeded Virginia's total in 10 games during the 1993-94 season and had coach Jeff Jones smiling again after a halftime harangue.
``It was not good,'' said Jones, whose team led 32-30 at the half. ``It was embarrassing - not to be down or to have it that close, but to be playing the way we were.
``One of the things we discussed was, if [our] guys want to wear the Virginia jersey, there have been a lot of teams before this one that have done a lot more with a lot less.''
There were less than 19 minutes remaining when VMI transfer Jamel Gray hit a 3-pointer to put the Aggies ahead 35-34, but after that it was no contest as UVa went on a 15-0 run and scored on 22 of its next 25 possessions.
It was a near-flawless second-half performance by the Cavaliers, who did not commit a turnover until less than five minutes remained and shot 69.7 percent (57.9 percent for the game).
``Coach [Jones] said we had better get our act together because it was beginning to look like Ohio U. all over,'' said freshman Curtis Staples, referring to UVa's second-round loss in the Preseason NIT.
Staples did his part in the comeback, as did veterans Junior Burrough and Cory Alexander. Burrough finished with a game-high 24 points and Alexander tied a school record with 14 assists.
``It was a real confidence booster for me because I had started out real slow,'' said Staples, who was 4-of-6 on 3-pointers. ``I feel like you're going to see the real Curtis Staples now.''
Staples, from Roanoke, played as many minutes (24) as he had in UVa's first two games combined and seemed to relax as the game progressed. He scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, when he also had three steals.
``I had always started before and it was an adjustment coming off the bench,'' he said. ``I felt like I had to contribute right away or coach [Jones] was going to take me out. It was a matter of settling down.''
After making only six of 42 3-point shots in the first two games, UVa was 9-of-14 against the Aggies.
``We felt coming into the game that we had to make them shoot threes and tonight they hit them,'' A&T coach Roy Thomas said. ``You make some shots and your defense gets better, your rebounding gets better, everything gets better.''
The Cavaliers did little right in the first half, when they shot 41.7 percent from the field, committed 10 turnovers and were outrebounded 17-15 by an Aggies team so short that it did not contest the opening tap.
North Carolina A&T reached the NCAA Tournament last year, when it finished 16-14, but the Aggies lost Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference rookie of the year Joe Bunn, who followed previous coach Jeff Capel to Old Dominion.
``I'm the third coach in three years and it's hard to take [what was] a fast club and make them play slow,'' Thomas said. ``I wish we could bottle that first half and take it back to Greensboro with us.''
John Floyd, not expected to play because of a broken hand, came off to score 12 points to lead the Aggies (1-1). Top returning scorer Phillip Allen, who suffered a bruised tailbone in A&T's opener, was limited to four points.
Jones was able to go to his bench early and got at least 13 minutes for 11 players. He knew Alexander had tied John Crotty's assist record, but pulled him for good with 4:53 remaining.
Jones had said before the season that Alexander, Staples and Harold Deane had ``the green light,'' on 3-pointers. After the first game, he said Wednesday, it was more like a pale shade of green.
``Aw, that's just for the young guys,'' Alexander said.
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.