ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 12, 1997 TAG: 9701140016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
You won't find anybody at Virginia feeling pity for slumping North Carolina.
The Cavaliers, losers of 12 of their past 15 games to the Tar Heels, jumped on 13th-ranked Carolina in the first half Saturday night and held on for a 75-63 victory at University Hall.
The fans serenaded Carolina with chants of ``oh-and-three, oh-and-three'' as the Tar Heels opened the men's basketball season with three conference losses for the first time in 44 seasons of ACC play.
``All that was being written and said - from Dick Vitale to Chris Fowler all day today on ESPN - focused on Carolina being 0-2 and the possibility of [the Tar Heels] going to 0-3,'' said Jeff Jones, UVa's head coach. ``We took that as an insult.
``It seemed that those people who were playing that angle felt that North Carolina would be challenging for the ACC title. And they didn't feel that we would. We used that as motivation for ourselves.''
Seven days earlier, following a 78-62 loss at Maryland, Virginia had been winless in the conference. After back-to-back upsets, starting with a 64-61 triumph Wednesday at Florida State, UVa is 11-4 overall and 2-2 in the ACC.
``You never know how you're going to respond to the external pressure or criticism,'' Jones said. ``It clearly was there. We sat down and talked and said, `There's not a whole lot of people jumping on our bandwagon. There's a heck of a lot more of them jumping off.'''
The first full house of the season at University Hall was a sign that maybe the Cavaliers had gotten their fans' attention. But then, Carolina traditionally has been the best draw at Virginia or any other ACC venue.
The Tar Heels, beaten by Arizona in their opener, had won nine games in a row before falling to Wake Forest 81-57. That was the first of three losses in eight days for UNC, which blew a 22-point lead Wednesday to visiting Maryland.
``It happens,'' Jones said of the Tar Heels' 0-3 start in the ACC. ``It's way, way, way too early to start throwing shovels of dirt on them. They've got some very talented players and, obviously, Coach [Dean] Smith has a little bit of experience.''
Carolina (9-4, 0-3) trailed 53-37 with less than eight minutes remaining, but closed to 66-60. However, Harold Deane spotted freshman Colin Ducharme for a breakaway dunk that restored UVa's cushion.
``I feel better about our team right now than at any time this season,'' Smith said. ``That might sound surprising to some people, but I feel good about the way we played in the second half.
``We've improved. I hope we're all top-50 teams [in the ACC]. Virginia's a top-20 team. We're not.''
That isn't reflected in the rankings, and Virginia knows it must go to Wake Forest and Duke this week, but the Cavaliers definitely feel better about themselves - particularly their inside game.
Junior forward Norman Nolan, whose dunk in the closing minute helped seal the verdict against Florida State, made eight of 10 free throws Saturday night and finished with game highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds.
``I felt that was my breakthrough game,'' said Nolan, speaking of Wednesday night, when he had 12 points and eight rebounds. ``It was the first time in five or six games that I felt I attacked the basket.''
Nolan was a match for All-ACC forward Antawn Jamison, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, only one at the defensive end. Jamison had 16 points and 20 rebounds in Carolina's 67-53 victory at U-Hall last season.
A sure sign that things were going Virginia's way came on the last possession of the first half, when a play designed for Courtney Alexander to drive the lane resulted in a 3-point field goal by Jamal Robinson - his first of the season.
Usually, Deane would have been in the game, but the Cavaliers' point guard had picked up his second foul with 29.8 seconds remaining. He was one of four UVa players with two fouls at the half.
Three post players had two fouls, including Ducharme, who picked up his second personal with 15:01 to go before halftime and did not play for the remainder of the half.
Ducharme was replaced by 7-foot-4 Chase Metheney, who immediately blocked two Carolina shots. Metheney subsequently swished a foul-line jumper and converted a three-point play after grabbing an offensive rebound.
The Cavaliers led 17-15 with a little less than seven minutes remaining, before going on a 14-2 run that featured three 3-point field goals by Curtis Staples. The former Patrick Henry High School guard had 11 points as the Cavaliers went to the locker room ahead 35-20.
Carolina put the clamps on Staples in the second half, limiting him to a single field goal. However, Alexander scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half and Deane had 10 of his 11 for Virginia, which shot 48.1 percent from the field overall.
Ademola Okulaja had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Carolina. Vince Carter, who did not play in Carolina's 85-75 loss to Maryland, was the first man off the bench for the Tar Heels, but frequently rubbed his injured right side and played only 10 minutes. His two free throws were the only points Carolina got from its bench. see microfilm for box score
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP Virginia's Craig McAndrew (54) battles Northby CNBCarolina's Serge Zwikker for a rebound during Saturday night's ACC
game.