ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 1, 1996 TAG: 9612020115
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FAIRFAX
Just over 48 hours after completing a transoceanic flight from Hawaii, Virginia had the look of a men's basketball team suffering from jet lag Saturday.
Coach Jeff Jones had another word for it: ``Court Authority-itis.''
The Cavaliers, who have had problems holding big leads since the preseason, made it interesting before defeating George Mason 106-93 at the Patriot Center.
``I was never worried,'' said UVa co-captain Jamal Robinson, who had 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds off the bench.
``Liar,'' retorted Jones, provoking a chuckle from Robinson and a small group of reporters in an otherwise deserted locker room.
The Patriots, who trailed by 27 points with 16:45 left, cut the deficit to 86-82 with 4:23 to go and were very much alive when Nate Langley fouled Harold Deane on a 3-point attempt with 1:48 left.
Deane, who grinned as Langley complimented him on an acting job, hit two of three free-throw attempts to make it 94-86 and the Cavaliers (3-1) never led by fewer than eight points again.
``Do you think I really wanted to give him three shots?'' asked Langley, who finished with a game-high 27 points. ``I jumped right in front of him and he came down on me.
``It was a lot of acting on his part. This is our home court. We don't get any home-court calls. That shouldn't have gone against us. It was great defense. I didn't foul him.''
George Mason coach Paul Westhead called it ``a good effort on the part of Langley,'' but said the turning point was on Virginia's four previous possessions, when they made three 3-pointers.
The Cavaliers had gone 9:44 without a field goal before Courtney Alexander hit a 3-pointer to interrupt a 24-5 George Mason run. They failed to score on their next series; then Curtis Staples and Alexander hit back-to-back 3-pointers.
``It was right there,'' said Westhead of the upset that would have given a much-needed boost to a GMU program that has experienced three straight losing seasons. ``You better make those 22-footers or we're going to get an offensive look. Scoring wasn't a problem for us.''
The Cavaliers, who had not scored 100 points since beating the Patriots 128-98 in 1995, led 55-43 at the half and hit their first seven shots of the second half.
``Between George Mason and ourselves, we found a way to keep everybody entertained,'' Jones said. ``As coaches, we certainly could have accepted a cruise down the last 10 minutes, but we've done this before.''
Jones saw it happen Tuesday, when the Cavaliers led 17th-ranked Massachusetts by 20 points but had to hold off a late onslaught before winning 75-68. Court Authority had staged a similar comeback in a preseason game.
Robinson, shaking his head over shooting an air ball on a free-throw attempt, said George Mason's run-and-gun style might have brought out jet lag. But, he wasn't complaining.
``They've slowed it down a lot just since we played them the last time,'' he said, ``but, for me, it's a lot of fun to play this way. That was my style of play before I got here.''
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB