Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 5, 1995 TAG: 9502060087
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
UVa, given a reprieve when Bob Sura missed the second of two free throws with 20 seconds left in regulation, blitzed Florida State in the extra period for a 76-63 triumph at University Hall.
It was the eighth straight overtime victory and 16th in the past 18 overtime games for 15th-ranked Virginia, which improved its record to 13-6 overall and 6-3 in the ACC.
``I've changed my mind,'' said UVa senior Jason Williford, who recently claimed he never wanted to play another overtime game. ``I kind of prefer overtime now. They can all go overtime as long as we keep winning.''
The players in UVa's fourth-year class never have lost an overtime game, but, until Saturday, they never had beaten Florida State twice in one season. The Cavaliers beat FSU 81-75 the first week of January.
``I don't know why we make it so hard,'' UVa coach Jeff Jones said, ``and I say that only half-jokingly. We can be a pretty good basketball team at times and at times we can be pretty lousy. In the first half, we were pretty lousy.''
Florida State (10-8, 3-6) used a 10-0 run to take a 17-8 lead midway through the first half and went into halftime leading 35-28. UVa was fortunate to be that close after shooting 31 percent (8-of-26) from the field.
The Seminoles missed their first 10 shots of the second half and UVa had a 40-35 lead when the Cavaliers experienced the longest and most ill-fated possession series in memory.
UVa was called for six personal fouls without the ball ever crossing midcourt, then four cups cascaded down to the floor. Official Dick Paparo immediately whistled a technical foul on the UVa fans.
``For a second, I thought I'd have to break the other [arm],'' said Jones, wearing a cast on his broken right arm after smashing a blackboard Wednesday night at Maryland.
Jones argued that there should have been a warning, but Sura went to the line and made three of four free throws. The Seminoles retained possession and Sura quickly converted a layup to make it 40-40.
``I asked Mr. Paparo and he said [the technical] is automatic,'' Jones said. ``That's fine. I don't condone what the fans did, but I do know I was hit twice by debris at Maryland and nothing was called.''
Florida State finally started to make some shots and extended its lead to 56-51 before Virginia guard Curtis Staples, a freshman from Roanoke, hit a 3-pointer with 5 minutes, 26 seconds left.
``When I see them go to a zone like that, I start smiling,'' said Staples, who finished with 14 points, including four 3-pointers. ``I'm saying under my breath, `You don't want to do that.'''
The Seminoles did not give up the lead until 2:26 remained, when UVa senior Junior Burrough hit both ends of a one-and-one to put the Cavaliers on top 59-58.
Burrough finished with a season-high 26 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, including 19 points and 12 rebounds after halftime. That followed a 25-point, nine-rebound night at Maryland.
``You guys [in the media] made a big deal about Joe Smith's performance,'' said Jones, referring to a 29-point, 21-rebound game by Maryland's center. ``This is the same kind of performance ... a big-time, doing-it-when-you-need-it-most [game].''
Burrough might have gotten UVa's first 20-point, 20-rebound game since 1983 if not for Williford, who finished with 13 rebounds - 12 after halftime, including five in overtime.
Sura had team highs of 15 points and 13 rebounds before fouling out with 1:53 left in overtime, but he was only 5-of-18 from the field and missed his last six shots.
``We didn't score a basket in the first seven minutes of the second half or the last five minutes [of regulation],'' Florida State coach Pat Kennedy said. ``To go 12 [minutes] of 20 without scoring - that's where the game was lost.''
Sura had difficulty shaking Harold Deane, who took over when small forwards Williford and Jamal Robinson each picked up two early fouls while trying to contain Sura.
The Cavaliers were the picture of precision in the overtime, scoring on eight of nine possessions, but the game might not have gotten that far if Sura had made his second free throw after tying the score at 59 in regulation.
``Corey Louis [of FSU] was standing next to me,'' Staples said, ``and I told him, `He's going to miss one.' Corey said, `No, he's making 'em both.' I think Sura heard us.''
Virginia had lost three of four ACC games before Saturday and was in need of a momentum boost.
``I was tired of hearing that we had lost three of four,'' Jones said. ``I think you have to look at the context of some of the wins and losses. This was a critical game because it was at home and because it was winnable.''
see microfilm for box score
Keywords:
BASKETBALL
by CNB