DATE: Monday, March 3, 1997                 TAG: 9703030168

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY ED MILLER, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   65 lines

U.VA. WINS, WAITS, HOPES FOR NCAA BID CAVS RALLY FROM 10-POINT 2ND HALF DEFICIT TO BEAT MARYLAND IN A ``MUST WIN'' GAME.

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Down 10 with about 15 minutes to play Sunday, Virginia began playing as if its NCAA tournament life depended on it.

Which, of course, it did.

The Cavaliers (18-11, 7-9 ACC) won't know until next Sunday whether their 81-74 win over No. 16 Maryland at University Hall was enough to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. It's very likely that it was.

What the Cavaliers did know was this: A loss Sunday would have all-but killed their at-large hopes. Virginia would have needed to win the ACC tournament - or at least reach the final game - to get a bid.

``To say there wasn't pressure would be an outright lie,'' Virginia coach Jeff Jones said. ``It was an emotional game because of the NCAA and how badly the team wanted to get back there, and because of the seniors. This is about as emotional as it's been for me.''

And for senior guard Harold Deane, one of three Cavaliers playing his final game at University Hall. Deane, hobbled by a bad right shin and bothered by a stomach virus, scored 18 points and handed out eight assists in 37 minutes. He was one of five Cavaliers in double figures.

``People will always remember you for your last game,'' Deane said. ``And I think I played a good, solid game.''

Deane saw his career flashing before his eyes when, with 14:50 left, Maryland's LaRon Profit converted a 3-point play to give the Terrapins (20-9, 9-7) a 50-40 lead.

``I knew if we didn't make a run in the next two minutes, we were really putting ourselves in a deep hole,'' Deane said.

Virginia got a lift from an unlikely source: freshman Willie Dersch. Inserted into the game with 14:50 to go, Dersch quickly fed freshman Colin Ducharme for a layup. He then put in a shot over Maryland star Keith Booth. In 13 minutes of play, Dersch tallied four points, four rebounds and two assists.

``We kept looking for a lift, and when Willie went in, he gave it to us,'' Jones said.

The Cavaliers also got a lift when Jones switched defenses, from man-to-man to zone. Maryland, which shot 52 percent in the first half, shot just 35 percent in the second.

``The zone at least slowed them down and made them try something different,'' Jones said.

Maryland had its chances against the zone, but guard Sarunas Jasikevicius, the team's best shooter, missed several open 3-pointers.

Maryland coach Gary Williams said some of the shots came too quickly, and that the Terrapins probably should have tried harder to get the ball inside.

Virginia did just that in the second half, punching the ball in to the 6-foot-8 Ducharme (15 points) and 6-8 Norman Nolan (13). Guard Curtis Staples added some timely outside shooting, hitting three of his four 3-pointers in the second half.

Staples and Courtney Alexander hit back-to-back treys in a 15-1 run that gave Virginia a 69-61 lead with 3:08 left. The Cavaliers hit 10-of-15 free throws down the stretch to win it.

``I was watching ESPN the other day, and they said we were on the (NCAA) bubble,'' Deane said. ``They said what all these other teams had to do to get in, but they didn't mention us.''

The consensus among observers was that Virginia had to finish at least 7-9 in the conference to receive a bid. The Cavaliers played the nation's fourth-toughest schedule, according to Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) rankings.

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