Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, January 12, 1995 TAG: 9501130045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Unfortunately for 18th-ranked Clemson's first-year coach, it was the UVa team that treated Barnes quite rudely.
The Cavaliers showed no mercy on Barnes and his unbeaten Clemson basketball team, hammering the Tigers 61-37 at University Hall.
It was the lowest point total for a Clemson team since 1970, when South Carolina beat the Tigers 34-33 in the ACC Tournament.
``I think we knew, coming in, that there would be nights like this,'' said Barnes, who accepted an offer to become the Cavaliers' coach in 1990 but changed his mind and stayed at Providence. ``We weren't in this game.''
The Tigers celebrated Barnes' conference debut by beating Duke 75-70 in Durham, N.C., but they made only 12 of 50 shots from the field Wednesday night in dropping to 10-1 overall and 1-1 in the ACC.
Clemson needed to make two of its last four shots to keep from breaking the record for the lowest field-goal percentage in school history, set last season when the Tigers shot 23.8 percent in a 52-44 loss at Virginia.
``It's always an ugly game when we play Clemson, but this was different,'' said UVa forward Junior Burrough. ``Fortunately for us, Sharone Wright and Devin Gray weren't around to pound on us.''
In the absence of Wright, now with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers after passing up his final year of college eligibility, and Gray, declared academically ineligible after the first semester, Clemson did not have a starter taller than 6-foot-7.
The Tigers invariably would let the 35-second shot clock slip into single digits before beginning a move to the basket and, more often than not, their shots were forced. In the first 24 minutes, Clemson got two field goals in its half-court offense.
``We did a lot of breakdown drills the last two days that had to be boring and must have made it difficult to concentrate,'' Jones said, ``but, if nothing else, we were rewarded for our defensive patience.''
Virginia wasn't too shabby at the offensive end, either. The Cavaliers made 23 of 45 shots from the field, marking the first time in 38 games that they've shot 50 percent or better against an ACC opponent.
UVa had a scare when sophomore guard Harold Deane had to be helped from the court and did not return after suffering an ankle injury with 15 minutes, 7 seconds remaining in the first half, but nobody seemed terribly concerned.
``The trainer [Ethan Saliba] told me that he didn't think it would be a good idea for Harold to go back in the game,'' Jones said, ``but the fact we were even considering it makes me think Harold could be OK in a couple of days.''
The Cavaliers hardly missed Deane against the Tigers because freshman guard Curtis Staples came off the bench to hit his first four shots - all 3-point attempts. At one point late in the first half, Staples had outscored Clemson 12-10.
``When Harold went down, my first instinct was to worry if he was all right,'' said Staples, who is 13-of-23 on 3-point attempts in the past five games. ``The second thing that came to mind was, `Better get yourself ready.'
``At the beginning of the year, when I came off the bench, it was easy to get rattled. If I missed my first shot, I got my head down. I'm a lot more comfortable now.''
UVa's leading scorer was senior guard Cory Alexander, who had 13 of his game-high 16 points in the second half as New York Knicks scout Scotty Sterling looked on. Alexander did not come out of the game until Jones inserted five walk-ons with 33 seconds left.
``I thought Cory did a good job of stepping up, especially in light of the fact that Harold was out and he had to play essentially 40 minutes,'' Jones said.
Burrough had 12 points and nine rebounds for UVa, which also got a season-high 10 points, six rebounds and three assists from senior Jason Williford, who had been struggling.
The Cavaliers improved their record to 9-3 with their third victory in a row and remained atop the ACC standings at 3-0. However, any excitement was tempered by the realization that Duke lurks Saturday afternoon in Durham.
see microfilm for box score
by CNB