Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 13, 1995 TAG: 9502140077
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Well, that took a long time.
Curtis Staples, in only the 22nd game of his college basketball career, hit a school-record nine 3-pointers Sunday as 17th-ranked Virginia defeated Nevada-Las Vegas 75-65.
``I remember somebody telling me before the season that the record was eight,'' said Staples, a 6-foot-3 guard from Roanoke. ``I knew I'd get it before I left the university. I just didn't think it would be this year.''
Richard Morgan, the previous record-holder, was in the crowd Sunday at University Hall. Morgan was 8-of-15 from 3-point range in a 106-83 victory over North Carolina in 1989.
``As long as it stayed in the Roanoke Valley, it was OK with me,'' said Morgan, from Salem. ``When somebody told me with three minutes left that [Staples] had seven, I knew he'd get it. When he got that last one, I stood up and cheered.''
Staples, who made his first six 3-point shots, finished 9-for-12. He got the record with 1 minute, 18 seconds left on a bomb from the left wing, following a cross-court pass from Junior Burrough.
``I was worn out,'' said Staples, who came to Virginia from Oak Hill Academy, where he made 161 3-pointers as a senior. ``I wanted out [of the game], but I knew I needed one more for the record. I was just waiting for that one to go.
``Today, for some reason, I had a feeling I hadn't had in a while that everything I put up was going down. I was in a zone today. I didn't shoot the lights out in warmups, but, when I got in the game, everything was different.''
Staples was 0-for-2 from inside the arc and had to yield game scoring honors to teammate Harold Deane, who made five 3-pointers and matched his college high with 28 points. Staples had 27, also his high.
Deane also contributed seven assists in a little less than 40 minutes. He was ``rested'' for the last 2.6 seconds of the first half after playing all but the last 16.7 seconds Saturday in a 62-44 victory at Clemson.
UVa agreed to play back-to-back games in hopes of attracting a national television audience, but UNLV was banned from appearing on TV until after Sunday's game. Efforts to change the date of the game failed.
``I think our whole team needs to rest,'' UVa assistant coach Tom Perrin said. ``I'm very concerned with Harold playing this many minutes. I told Harold just to go home because he's going to have to go 40 again Wednesday [against Duke].''
It was Perrin who met with the media because head coach Jeff Jones became ill during the night and did not arrive at the arena until minutes before game time. UNLV coach Tim Grgurich, suffering from exhauston, remained in his Charlottesville hotel room.
Grgurich has not been on the bench for the past 12 games, and the Runnin' Rebels also were without their leading scorer, Kebu Stewart, who was back in Las Vegas undergoing treatment for tendinitis in both knees.
Virginia also was without one of its prominent players, junior guard Cory Alexander, who was in street clothes on the UVa bench after suffering a broken ankle Wednesday night.
It was a traumatic week for the Cavaliers, who had been in the air only a few minutes Saturday night when their airplane lost power in one of its engines and was required to return to the Greenville-Spartanburg (S.C.) airport.
The Cavaliers did not return to Charlottesville until nearly midnight - approximately five hours later than scheduled - but overcame some sluggish play early in both halves in improving their record to 16-6.
UVa, ahead 38-32 at the half, never lost its lead despite missing 13 of 15 shots to start the second half. UNLV (9-10) stayed close behind the outside shooting of Patrick Savoy and Clayton Johnson.
Savoy scored 20 points and Johnson added 19 for the Runnin' Rebels, who were 11-of-20 on 3-point shots. Vegas was 10-of-12 on 3-point attempts Saturday night in an 83-74 victory over William and Mary.
Clearly, Virginia needed Staples' 3-pointers, which seemed to energize the team and a crowd listed at 7,048.
``It was a great game individually and as fine a shooting performance as I've been around,'' said Perrin, a member of the UVa staff since 1982. ``We were a half-step slow and we were getting passes tipped that shouldn't have been, but Curtis came through.''
see microfilm for box score
by CNB