ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 12, 1997 TAG: 9702120106
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: DOUG DOUGHTY STAFF WRITER
Virginia men's basketball coach Jeff Jones found it difficult to accept the outcome and, to some extent, so did Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
``We've been fortunate enough to win a lot of games,'' said Krzyzewski after the Blue Devils' 62-61 victory at University Hall. ``I don't want to win because of any shenanigans.''
Point guard Steve Wojciechowski provided the winning margin when he waited for five minutes as coaches and officials deliberated and then coolly drained two free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining.
The Cavaliers had taken the lead, 61-60, when Norman Nolan hit the second of two free-throw attempts with 5.6 seconds left. At that point, it was UVa's intention to insert Willie Dersch, who was sitting at the scorer's table.
The officials never stopped the clock, however. Nolan took a step toward the sideline and several of his teammates stood in place before taking off in pursuit of Wojciechowski.
``I couldn't hear the horn,'' Jones said. ``Quite honestly, that's irrelevant. [Official] Rick Hartzell asked Willie Dersch to come into the game. Willie said, `I'm for the shooter.'
``That was before the first free throw. So, obviously they knew there was someone there, whether the horn sounded or not. Basically, the officials blamed the clock operator.''
Jones had hoped that the officials would start the play over. However, they ruled that it was not a correctable error and looked at a television replay to see how much time remained.
Instead of the 2.2 seconds that showed when Wojciechowski originally was fouled by Curtis Staples, it was determined that the clock started late and that there was less than a second remaining.
``We feel fortunate to win,'' Krzyzewski said, ``but we did make a winning play. Whatever the controversy was, Steve Wojociechowski made a great play.''
It was the fifth straight win and the ninth in 10 games for Duke (20-5 overall, 9-3 ACC). It moved the Blue Devils into a virtual tie with idle Wake Forest atop the conference standings.
Virginia (15-9, 5-7) lost its third game in a row and its first at home since Dec.7. The Cavaliers had won 10 straight games at University Hall, one of the longest home winning streaks in the country.
Nolan had 16 points to lead all scorers, but his first missed free-throw attempt proved crucial. The Cavaliers made only nine of 19 free-throw tries, including two of nine to start the second half.
Roshown McLeod and Ricky Price shared Duke scoring honors with 13 points apiece. The Blue Devils shot only 35 percent from the field and were outrebounded 45-36.
Virginia, showing increased intensity after a pair of road losses, allowed few uncontested shots and the Blue Devils managed to shoot only 25.7 percent (9-of-35) from the field in the first half.
The only reason Duke was as close as 31-25 at the half was the Cavaliers' sloppy ball-handling. UVa had 12 turnovers at the half, including four by senior Jamal Robinson.
Virginia grabbed an early 16-10 lead, but failed to score on its next nine possessions, which included six turnovers and two air balls. An 8-0 run put the Blue Devils on top 18-16.
The Cavaliers came back to take the lead 24-22 on a dunk by Nolan, his third of the half. Nolan, reportedly battling a case of the flu, led all scorers at the half with 10 points.
Courtney Alexander, making his first start since Jan.22, contributed eight first-half points. Alexander, who has been plagued by a sprained left ankle, was only 5-of-18 from the field for the game.
On the injury front, Duke was without 6-foot-10 senior Greg Newton, who experienced back spasms Monday at practice and did not accompany the Blue Devils on the trip.
Newton is second on the team in scoring (12.3) and first in rebounding (7.0), but has played sparingly in recent games while the Blue Devils have gone to a smaller lineup.
Virginia also went ``small'' on several occasions, inserting sophomore Monte Marcaccini at small forward. Marcaccini played two minutes Saturday at North Carolina but had five points and a season-high 12 rebounds in the first Duke game.
NOTE: Please see microfilm for scores.
LENGTH: Medium: 80 linesby CNB