THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 27, 1995 TAG: 9503270119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DOUG DOUGHTY, LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: KANSAS CITY, MO. LENGTH: Long : 110 lines
Nolan Richardson calls it ``the breaking point.'' For Virginia, it came with 10 minutes left in the Midwest Region championship game.
Like a marathoner at the base of Heartbreak Hill, the Cavaliers couldn't keep pace with Arkansas down the stretch Sunday afternoon and fell, 68-61, at Kemper Arena.
The Razorbacks (31-6) kept alive their hopes for a second consecutive men's basketball championship and will meet North Carolina (28-5) in the NCAA semifinals Saturday. Virginia (25-7) was left to ponder an opportunity that got away.
``We felt we could play with anybody in the country, and Arkansas was no different,'' U.Va. senior Jason Williford said. ``I feel the same way about that now as I did before the game.''
The Cavaliers, ahead, 35-29, at one stage of the second half, led, 39-38, before Davor Rimac hit a 3-pointer with 10:12 remaining that represented the 11th - and final - lead change of the game.
A follow shot by Junior Burrough got the Cavaliers as close as 51-48 with 4:28 remaining, but Arkansas made Virginia pay for some desperation fouling by hitting 13 of 14 free throws.
``It's pretty painful right now for everybody,'' said an emotional Jeff Jones, the Cavaliers' coach. ``These guys have an awful lot to be proud of, and I want them to remember that, (but) it's going to take a while.''
Burrough closed out a remarkable season-ending stretch with game highs of 22 points and 16 rebounds, but the Cavaliers shot a season-low 33.9 percent as a team.
That was not enough to doom the Cavaliers against an Arkansas team that shot 39.7 percent, but Virginia went through a stretch in the second half when it converted only three of nine free throws.
``That's it,'' said Williford, who made his first shot in four separate trips to the free-throw line, only to miss the second each time. ``If we make our free throws, we win the ballgame.''
The main culprit was sophomore guard Harold Deane, shooting 80.5 percent from the line before Saturday. Deane, visibly fatigued, missed four of five free throws during the period when the Razorbacks started to pull away.
``I think Harold is a great player,'' Razorbacks point guard Corey Beck said. ``Now, I've got a lot of respect for him. But, playing a team like Arkansas you cannot play that much time (38 minutes). You've got to get some rest.''
``In the first half, we kind of played their style of ball. In the second half we picked it up. You could see that a lot of their guys weren't jumping as high or moving as fast, and we took advantage.''
Jones brought Deane to the bench with 7:59 left and didn't send him back until 5:47 remained, but the rest didn't help. Deane finished 4 of 16 from the field, including 1 of 9 on 3-pointers.
``You're supposed to make plays when you're tired; you're supposed to make free throws when you're tired,'' said Deane, who was 3 of 7 from the line. ``We're not going to use that as an excuse.''
Nor did the Cavaliers blame the crowd, although the Kemper Arena crowd was filled with Razorback fans who apparently had purchased tickets from losing semifinalists Kansas and Memphis.
``If tickets become available for Razorback fans, open the doors, baby, they coming,'' Richardson said. ``I don't care where it is. Today, it sounded like Bud Walton Arena (in Fayetteville, Ark.) at times.''
Virginia, which had played in unfriendly environments against Miami of Ohio in Dayton, Ohio, and Kansas on Friday night in Kemper Arena, was successful in taking the crowd out of the game early on Sunday.
After the first of two free throws by Yuri Barnes, the Cavaliers led, 9-4, with 10:45 remaining in the first half, and the Razorbacks had four field goals in the first 11 1/2 minutes.
``It was funny seeing it because it certainly wasn't typical Arkansas basketball,'' junior Scotty Thurman said. ``It was a lot of cold shooting and it wasn't just us; they were cold, too.''
If the Cavaliers lacked scoring balance, so did the Razorbacks. Only Corliss Williamson, who had 21 points, and Thurman, who added 17, had more than two field goals. Starting guards Beck and Clint McDaniel combined for 11 points, seven at the line.
Virginia freshman guard Curtis Staples had 16 points, including four 3-pointers. However, he admitted that U.Va. could have used another scoring threat.
``We missed (injured) Cory Alexander more today than probably any other game this season,'' Staples said. ``Not only could he have helped Harold with the ball-handling, but that would have been somebody else they had to guard on the perimeter.''
Arkansas is known for its presses and traps, but the Razorbacks' halfcourt defense gave Virginia a few open looks until the the fullcourt game started to take its toll.
``We tried to wear (Deane) down,'' Richardson said. ``We tried to wear 'em all down. It looked like they were just on the edge, (and) I kept telling our guys, `Breaking point, breaking point.' ''
It was a situation the Razorbacks have experienced frequently during a season in which they have won three games by one point and six by two points. The margin Sunday was the most lopsided in their four NCAA tournament games.
``Last year, it seemed to come a lot easier,'' Williamson said. ``This year has been a lot bumpier, but we've kept on going, like a four-wheel drive, and now we are at the top of the mountain. Or, almost to the top.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Virginia's Jason Williford sits on the floor during the final
minutes of the Cavaliers' 68-61 loss to Arkansas.
LAWRENCE JACKSON/Staff [color photo]
Arkansas' Lee Wilson, left, battles with Jason Williford, center,
and Junior Burrough of Virginia for a rebound. The Cavaliers' Harold
Deane looks on. The Razorbacks outrebounded U.Va., 41-39 for the
game.
by CNB