THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 28, 1995 TAG: 9511280436
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FRANK VEHORN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
William and Mary coach Charlie Woolum had no illusions Monday night when the Tribe took an early 9-2 lead over 15th-ranked Virginia.
``I've been around long enough that I knew we weren't going to blow them out,'' quipped Woolum, who is beginning his 21st season as head coach, 19 of them at Bucknell.
He was proved right as the Cavaliers (2-0) got going behind the playmaking and defense of junior guard Harold Deane to defeat the Tribe 87-58.
It was the Cavaliers' 33rd consecutive victory on their home court against an in-state team and left the Tribe with a 0-2 record.
``Deane just took over the game,'' Woolum said. ``He started getting into the seams of our zone and just took us apart.''
After the Cavaliers made only one of their first 12 shots, Deane hit a 3-point goal at 13:16 in the first half. Another 3-pointer three minutes later gave Virginia its first lead, 12-11, and his third trey at 8:57 put the Cavaliers ahead to stay.
Deane had only one other goal, a two-pointer, the rest of the way, but he continued to play an aggressive floor game while others piled up the points.
``We weren't attacking like we should have been in the first 10 minutes,'' Deane said. ``We were too tentative while they came out aggressive. It took as a while, but we finally got it going.''
Curtis Staples added 16 points despite a subpar shooting performance in which he made only 3 of 12 3-point attempts.
Staples blamed his slow start, which includes a lackluster performance in last Friday's win over Tennessee-Martin, on looking ahead to Wednesday night's game against No. 2 Kansas.
``I've been too excited about that game and haven't concentrated on the games we've played,'' he said.
The Cavaliers received surprising contributions from sophomore forward Nolan Norman (13 points, 10 rebounds) and redshirt freshman center Chase Metheney (12 rebounds, six blocked shots).
Actually, it was when Metheney entered the game that the Cavaliers began to turning it into a romp.
``He (Metheney) is a big fellow,'' Woolum said, ``and at 7-foot-4 he is going to be a big factor. He was at least a half-foot taller than anyone we had. But, basically, we got beat by a better team. Virginia is a very poised bunch, and Deane isn't going to let them lose.''
Randy Bracy, the Tribe's freshman point guard, had six assists, but made only 1 of 14 field goal attempts.
``He (Bracy) is going to be a very good player for us, but this was only his second college game and he was up against one of the best backcourts in the nation,'' Woolum said.
The Tribe got 19 points from senior Matt Verkey, who failed to score in Saturday's season-opening 76-72 loss to Loyola of Maryland.
Virginia coach Jeff Jones described the victory as ``very workmanlike.''
``What I saw was not always pretty, but I thought I saw us grow up a little bit, too,'' he said.
Jones also thought Metheney was a factor in the Cavaliers' breakaway midway through the first half.
``He blocked some shots and got some tough rebounds in traffic to let us get our transition game going,'' Jones said. ``We also got a handle on the game defensively at that point, too, and that was the biggest difference.''
The Cavaliers' last home loss to an in-state team was to Old Dominion 65-61 on Dec. 2, 1978. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Tribe's Matt Verkey, left, runs into a roadblock in Virginia's
Curtis Staples. Verkey led William and Mary with 19 points.
by CNB