ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, January 3, 1997 TAG: 9701030098
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
VIRGINIA MAY HAVE WON the basketball game, but the mysterious benching of Courtney Alexander was the story of a strange night.
The sideshow was more interesting than the main feature Thursday night at University Hall.
There were players screaming at players, fans screaming at coaches and the nation's 231st-ranked team nearly handing Virginia a rare non-conference loss at home.
It took eight free throws from Harold Deane in the final 49.5 seconds for the Cavaliers to pull out a 67-61 victory over Loyola of Maryland, coached by ex-UVa assistant Brian Ellerbe.
Injury-plagued Loyola, which had lost five games in a row, had eight players in uniform but led Virginia 28-26 at the half and was as close as 58-54 with less than a minute remaining.
The Cavaliers' largest lead, 50-38, followed a basket by Courtney Alexander. It was the only field goal of the night for Alexander, who sat on the bench for the last 8:01.
``Coach's decision,'' UVa coach Jeff Jones said tersely. ``I don't have any comment on that. He didn't play [down the stretch]. It was my decision; it's as simple as that.''
Alexander, the team's leading scorer, returned to action Monday night after missing three games with a sprained left ankle. However, Jones said there was nothing wrong with Alexander's ankle against Loyola.
Alexander showered, dressed and left the premises before the media arrived at the UVa locker room. Although the fans pleaded with Jones to put Alexander back in the game, the UVa players seemed to be siding with the staff.
``I don't understand what's wrong with him,'' said senior Jamal Robinson, the Cavaliers' captain. ``He plays his minutes, he takes his shots, he scores his points. What else does he want?''
Alexander, who had been starting until his injury, did not make his first entrance Thursday night until 12:54 remained in the half. By the 11:16 mark, Jones had pulled him, after an apparent defensive lapse.
``That's just because he wasn't into the game,'' Robinson continued. ``Coach saw that. Other people saw that. If it's [not] starting that's bothering him, well, damn!''
Robinson has been in and out of the starting lineup more than anybody during his career. He has played point guard and he has even played the post, as he did in the closing minutes Thursday night, and learned to live with it.
``I'm going to find out what the hell's going on,'' said Robinson, when asked what role he would fill over the next 24 hours. ``I'm not going to mess with him tonight, though.
``We try not to pay attention to these little things that he does. That's fine. But, you can't go out there and win games without giving 100 percent. He didn't give that today.''
No one could fault the effort of the UVa seniors, Robinson and Deane. Robinson finished with nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds and had two key defensive stops late against Mike Powell.
Powell, who played for Virginia as a freshman in 1993-94, hit a pair of 3-pointers after the Cavaliers upped their lead to 63-54 and finished with a team-high 18 points.
``It felt funny at first, walking to the other bench, but I got over it,'' Powell said. ``It felt like old times going up against Jamal and Harold, guys who I came in here with.''
Junior guard Curtis Staples led the Cavaliers with 19 points, including five 3-point field goals.
The Greyhounds (2-7) changed to a diamond-and-one zone defense to put the clamps on Staples. Offensively, Ellerbe had Loyola hold the ball until the last 10 seconds of virtually every possession.
``We didn't design it to play for Virginia,'' said Ellerbe, whose team was No. 231 in the most recent USA Today computer rankings. `` Our team has just been so depleted with injuries, we felt this was our best chance to win.''
With the victory, Virginia improved its record to 9-3, marking the earliest point in a season that UVa has had nine victories since 1983, when it started 10-0. It isn't the win total that has the Cavaliers concerned, however.
``I just know, for us to be a good basketball team, everybody has to be on the same page,'' Staples said. ``We really do need [Alexander], but if he's going to have an `attitude' out there, it's going to be tough for us.''
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