ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, February 25, 1996 TAG: 9602260116
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
UVA FINALLY protects a second-half lead and dominates the Demon Deacons 67-49.
At last, a second half to remember.
Virginia let loose two months' worth of frustration Saturday night when it crushed 10th-ranked Wake Forest 67-49 in men's basketball.
It was UVa's first victory over a Top 25 team in nine tries and came after the Cavaliers had allowed the Deacons to trim a 16-point deficit to 25-24 at the half.
``We didn't have much of a halftime lead this time, so maybe we were better off,'' said UVa coach Jeff Jones, whose Cavaliers had squandered leads of 17, eight and 12 points in losing its three previous games.
Results earlier Saturday had dropped Virginia into a seventh-place tie with Florida State and the Cavaliers were in jeopardy of playing in the dreaded play-in game between the No.8 and No.9 seeds at the ACC Tournament.
``We didn't talk about that,'' Jones said. ``What we did talk about was the upset theme of the day: Florida State knocking off North Carolina, George Washington knocking off [Massachusetts] and Clemson beating Maryland.''
Wake Forest had beaten the Cavaliers (12-13, 6-9 ACC) five straight times, including an 81-64 triumph last month in Winston-Salem, N.C., and could have moved into sole possession of first place in the ACC's regular-season race.
``We were completely outplayed by [the Cavaliers] in every phase of the game,'' Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said. ``They deserved everything they got. It was a Virginia night.''
Actually, the Deacons (18-5, 10-4) did outplay UVa in one phase, grabbing 25 offensive rebounds to the Cavaliers' one. However, as Jones pointed out, the Deacons had plenty of opportunities, making only 20 of 69 shots (29 percent).
Virginia, on the other hand, wasn't missing many shots. The Cavaliers shot a season-high 60.5 percent against a Wake team that was leading the ACC and ranked fourth nationally in field-goal percentage defense.
No team before Saturday night had shot better than 44.6 against the Deacons this season and the Cavaliers became the first team in 43 games to shoot better than 50 percent against the Deacs.
Freshman Courtney Alexander, who yielded his starting spot to walk-on senior Maurice Watkins, hit six of nine shots from the field and finished with a team-high 19 points.
Harold Deane had 18 points and Curtis Staples added 13 for the Cavaliers, but the story of the game might have been center Chris Alexander, who, with Watkins, was playing in his final home game.
Chris Alexander, given little help against All-America candidate Tim Duncan, held Duncan to 15 points and eight rebounds. Duncan, seeking his sixth straight double-double against the Cavaliers, was 6-of-20 from the field.
``About 10 minutes into the first half, he had missed a couple shots, they were having trouble getting the ball to him and he just `went off,''' Alexander said. ``He normally has a very quiet demeanor, but he was yelling at his teammates.''
The Deacons burned Virginia in the first meeting by hitting 10-of-20 3-point attempts, including two or more by four different players. Wake was only 3-of-23 on 3-pointers Saturday night.
``This was the first time we went in with the thinking that those other guys weren't going to get a look,'' Jones said. ``We told our guys, `Duncan may go for 40, but he's going to work like heck to get the basketball.'''
UVa built its lead to 40-30 early in the second half, then saw Wake come as close as 48-44. Deane responded with a 3-pointer and Chris Alexander made both shots of a one-and-one, banking in the first shot.
``I was thinking `uh-oh' when it looked like it would be long,'' Alexander said. ``So, I had to crack a smile when it went in. If a shot like that went in, it had to be our night.''
The last gasp for Wake came with 3:40 left, when Rusty LaRue launched a long, errant 3-point attempt with the Deacs down 60-47. During the ensuing timeout, Odom pulled most of his starters.
``That was sad,'' Odom said of LaRue's shot. ``Very sad, a sad day, a sad moment. I felt if [the starters] were going to play like that, they were going to be over there with me. We're not going to play like that.''
And, most nights, Virginia isn't going to play like it did, but Jones had insisted that the team was improving despite its three-game losing streak.
``In some ways, this was a little bit of a tease of what we can do,'' he said. ``I just wish we had done it a little more often.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 86 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. UVa's Maurice Watkins defends Wake Forest's Rickyby CNBPeral (right) on Saturday in Charlottesville. color.