ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 31, 1996 TAG: 9612310123
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
When he reached the 30-point mark Monday night, little did Curtis Staples know that another milestone was within his reach.
One more rebound and Staples would have had his first collegiate ``double-double.''
``Nobody told me till after the game,'' said Staples, who finished with 30 points and nine rebounds in Virginia's 76-66 victory over Delaware. ``I had no idea I had that many rebounds.''
Staples' previous scoring high came two years ago, when, as a freshman, he set a school record with nine 3-point field goals and finished with 27 points against Nevada-Las Vegas.
``All I can remember is coming off screens and shooting, shooting, shooting,'' said Staples, a 6-foot-3 guard from Roanoke. ``Tonight, I felt better because I played more of a complete game.''
Staples was 7-of-15 on 3-pointers, but he also mixed in a couple of drives, particularly when Delaware sent 6-9 Peca Arsic to the wing to get a hand in his face.
``To be honest with you, I haven't been working on [putting the ball on the floor] too much,'' Staples said. ``My dad told me it was time to bring it out. He said, "You're a junior now. If you don't do it now, you may never do it.''
The added dimension enabled Staples, who had attempted 13 free throws in UVa's first nine games, to go 10-of-13 from the line Saturday in a 95-47 win over Radford. He had 20 points and now has scored 20 or more in back-to-back games for the second time in his college career.
``Obviously, he hit some threes and was the recipient of some nice passes,'' UVa coach Jeff Jones said. ``Even better was seeing Curtis getting beyond the initial defender, pulling up and hitting the mid-range jumper.''
None of Staples' baskets was bigger than a pair of 3-pointers after Delaware had trimmed a 17-point deficit to 54-46 with almost 91/2 minutes remaining. Staples scored point No.30 with 7:10 left and took one shot the rest of the way.
``When I worked for coach Abe Lemons, he used to say, `If you ain't got guards, you ain't got [blank],''' Delaware coach Mike Brey said. ``When you have a perimeter game like Virginia's, you have a chance to win this league.
``We didn't do a good job on Staples all the time. Four or five of those [3-pointers] are on me. We were in a zone just to change the tempo, but we haven't practiced it all that much.''
Senior point guard Harold Deane had 18 points for Virginia (8-3), including four 3-point baskets, and Courtney Alexander came off the bench to score 15 in his first game since suffering a sprained ankle Dec.18.
``I felt like I had been off a year,'' said Alexander, who had 12 points in the first half and gave the Cavaliers a lift after they missed 10 of their first 11 shots. ``It's taken longer than I anticipated.''
Freshman center Craig McAndrew made his return after a seven-game suspension but played only two minutes. The NCAA required that he sit out 25 percent of UVa's games after playing for a semi-pro team in his native Australia.
It was not a good night for any of the UVa big men. Norman Nolan was 1-of-10 from the field, Colin Ducharme missed both of his field-goal attempts and 7-4 Chase Metheney did not play.
Greg Smith, a 6-7 senior from Ashland who was not recruited by UVa, finished with game highs of 24 points and 16 rebounds. The Blue Hens outrebounded Virginia 49-40, holding the Cavaliers to a pair of offensive rebounds on 21 first-half misses.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Virginia's Courtney Alexander (left) drives pastby CNBDelaware's Tyrone Perry during the first half in Charlottesville on
Monday.