THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 12, 1995 TAG: 9501120515
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Clemson's mystical journey to a national ranking and the distinction of being one of two unbeaten Division I teams came to a screeching halt Wednesday night in University Hall.
Virginia (9-3, 3-0 ACC) made the Tigers (10-1, 1-1) look like the team they were supposed to be - a very bad one - while claiming its third straight ACC victory, 61-37, and holding on to first place in the league standings.
The Cavaliers, looking to climb back into the national rankings, used an aggressive in-your-face defense and a long-distance offense to beat their first ranked opponent of the season.
Clemson, which leaped to a No. 18 ranking on the strength of last week's win over Duke, scored a game-opening layup but got only four other field goals the remainder of the first half.
Virginia led, 25-13, at intermission.
``We knew there would be a night when we wouldn't shoot very well and we'd be in trouble,'' said Clemson coach Rick Barnes.
``Virginia did a good job defensively, and you have to give it credit.''
The Tigers hit 20 percent from the field in the first half, and warmed up only slightly in the second half to finish with at 24 percent.
That was the second-worst shooting performance in Clemson history, behind only its 23.8 percent showing in the same building last year.
Virginia, meanwhile, had one of its better shooting performances (51.1) of the season, which included nine 3-pointers.
Freshman Curtis Staples, who came off the bench early in the first half when point guard Harold Deane sprained an ankle, hit four straight 3-pointers before intermission.
Deane did not return to the game, but team officials said that the injury does not appear to be serious and that he should be ready for the Duke game on Saturday in Durham, N.C.
With Deane on the bench, Cory Alexander logged 39 minutes at the point position and had one of his better games.
Alexander, who missed last season because of a broken ankle, topped Virginia with 16 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
``Curtis gave us a big lift when he came into the game, and I felt that I made the most of the scoring opportunities I had,'' Alexander said.
Virginia coach Jeff Jones had warned his players that their patience would be tested defensively by the deliberate Tigers.
``I have to credit the players for doing exactly what we wanted them to do,'' Jones said.
``Clemson tries to run the clock down, but they didn't get a lot of looks in the first 30 seconds of each possession, and when we clamped down in the last five seconds they didn't get many looks at all.''
The victory was the sixth straight for Virginia over Clemson, and the Cavaliers have won 15 of the last 17 games between the two in Charlottesville.
This is the third consecutive year Virginia has leaped out to a 3-0 start in the conference.
``We know that you don't get any prizes for being 3-0,'' Jones said. ``We are getting tougher, but we have to continue to improve.'' by CNB