Cavaliers use new lineup to beat Heels
By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Apparently, the Cavaliers chose the right path.
The No. 7 Virginia men’s basketball team, using a revamped starting lineup,
downed North Carolina 71-67 in the Dean E. Smith Center on Saturday afternoon to
avoid an 0-3 start to its ACC campaign.
“I think we veered right today. We dodged an 0-3 start. I think we’re on the
right track now and we have to continue going that way,” said UVa guard Roger
Mason Jr., who chided his teammates Tuesday about deciding which path the team
had to pick for the remainder of the season.
Mason scored 18 points, 16 of which came in the second half, and Chris Williams,
scoreless for the first time in his career against Clemson, added 15 points for
the Cavaliers (10-2, 1-2 ACC). It was just Virginia’s second win here at the
Smith Center and accounted for just the fifth time UVa has claimed a victory in
Chapel Hill.
That history, however, was secondary given Virginia’s current state, as
Virginia coach Pete Gillen expressed after the game.
“It was a tremendous win for our program. It was by far our best of the
year,” said Gillen, who made a triumphant leap by the scorer’s table as the
final buzzer sounded.
Gillen opted to start freshman point guard Keith Jenifer and in that process
benched senior guard Adam Hall, who did not start for the first time since last
Jan. 20 against Missouri.
The new roles seemed to have positive impacts for both players.
Jenifer scored nine points, including connecting on his first career 3-pointer,
and dished out three assists in the first half. Hall, who did not enter the game
until the 15:20 mark of the first half, finished with eight points and made two
key 3-pointers in the second half as he showed signs of breaking out of a slump
that saw him miss 13 straight 3-pointers, and 21 of his last 22, dating back to
UVa’s 77-72 win over Auburn on Dec. 8.
“I thought Keith was tremendous. We made the decision a few days ago because
we needed more penetration against the zone,” Gillen said. “You worry about
everything [regarding Hall not starting]. I thought Adam was great. He hit a
couple of big 3s and I thought he handled it wonderfully.”
Virginia led 37-33 at the half but a 17-4 Carolina run midway through the second
half staked the Tar Heels (5-8, 1-3 ACC) to a 50-43 lead with 13:50 remaining.
The Cavaliers, however, responded with a quick 7-0 run over the next
minute-and-a-half and when Mason connected on a 3-pointer off a steal by Hall,
the game was tied at 50 with 12:29 left.
Neither team was able to take much control of the game over the next six
minutes, but Virginia managed to build a four-point advantage when Hall
connected on a trey with 5:46 left to play that made it 63-59 in Virginia’s
favor.
“When I’m open, I’m open and I’m going to shoot it. I just keep working
on my shot,” Hall said.
The Tar Heels, however, fought back to quickly tie at the 63 but again Virginia
pushed the advantage to four courtesy of the glass. First, Mason hit a driving
banker to make it 65-63 with 3:08 to play and then Williams hit an off-the-glass
angled jump shot as the shot clock expired to stake UVa to a 67-63 lead with
1:44 left.
“It was a perfect look, just kidding,” said Williams with a laugh. “The
shot clock was going down and I knew that I just had to create a shot. I knew it
was good when it left my hands. It wasn’t the look we were looking for but it
worked.”
North Carolina’s Kris Lang then had a tip-in with 1:22 left to make it 67-65
to setup of the game’s most pivotal play, in both a positive and possibly
negative way for Virginia.
With the shot clock winding down, Hall launched an errant 3-pointer and in the
process came down awkwardly on his right foot and fell immediately to the floor
in pain. All the while, Carolina sped the ball upcourt looking for the tie. UNC
freshman Jackie Manuel fired a pass to an open Jawad Williams under the basket
but UVa freshman guard Jermaine Harper darted in out of nowhere to make the
steal.
“I knew if it got past me it was a tie game because they had the fastbreak. I
just hustled back and made the play,” Harper said.
Once Harper made the steal, however, play was stopped as Hall needed to be
helped off the court. He did not return to the game and could miss significant
time with the injury to his right foot.
“We’re very concerned. It could be something serious but we don’t know
yet,” Gillen said.
Added Hall: “My foot’s been bothering me and as soon as I went for the shot
I just heard pop and, like, click.”
Mason, the ACC’s best free-throw shooter entering the game, was a perfect 4
for 4 from the line in the final 41 seconds to seal the win for UVa. Of course,
UNC coach Matt Doherty acknowledged it was not his players’ best decision to
foul Mason at the end of the game.
“We didn’t want to foul Mason, that was clear,” Doherty said. “I hate to
talk about inexperience, but there were some plays of inexperience down the
stretch.”
Conversely, Gillen was more than pleased to see Mason at the stripe with the
game in the balance.
“He’s a great free-throw shooter. That does not mean that great free-throw
shooters don’t miss but I was pretty confident with him going to the line,”
Gillen said.
With everything on the line,
Gillen wins coaching duel
By JERRY RATCLIFFE
Daily Progress sports editor
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.
It isn’t easy for a coach to throw the pressure of an entire season into
one game in early January. But for both Virginia and North Carolina,
Saturday’s Dean Dome battle was a matter of survival.
So, it was no surprise that Pete Gillen and Matt Doherty read the law of the
jungle to their respective basketball teams before they took the court before
20,000 fans, a national television audience and Dick Vitale.
Gillen’s Cavaliers couldn’t afford to go 0-3 in the ACC. Doherty’s Tar
Heels, struggling through the worst season in memory at the basketball-rich
school, were almost making their last stand. The Carolina coach had watched the
tapes of Virginia’s losses to N.C. State and Clemson. He knew the Wahoos were
reeling, struggling against the zone defense and could be had if his team could
rally around the possibility.
Doherty had challenged his team, their heart, their toughness. He dared them to
win.
Gillen’s job was just as difficult. Not only did he have to deal with UVa’s
mental state after two deflating losses that will certainly knock the Cavs out
of the nation’s top 10 in the next poll, but had to find a solution to beat a
zone defense.
Traditional thinking says, beat your opponent in transition, hit the open
jumpers. Easier said than done.
With only two players in the lineup showing an ability to shoot from the
perimeter — Roger Mason Jr. and Chris Williams — and Mason struggling to get
shots because he carried the burden of running the offense from his point guard
position, Gillen had to find another way.
One way was to start freshman backup point guard Keith Jenifer, slide Mason over
to his natural shooting guard position, which meant senior Adam Hall, normally
the off-guard, had to sit. Not the whole game mind you, but at least at the
start.
Another way was to try to outsize Carolina by playing Travis Watson and Elton
Brown inside at the same time but that made getting more offensive movement
against the Heels’ zone, even more laborious. Nix plan B.
Jenifer played well — not great, but well — for the second straight game and
Mason got a little help as four other players hit at least one 3-pointer as the
Cavaliers pulled off the “must win” with a gutty, 71-67 victory at Carolina.
A little defense didn’t hurt either as freshman Jermaine Harper made the play
of the game with a steal late in the contest that broke up a potential 2-on-1
UNC break that could have knotted the game with 41 seconds to go.
While solving the zone is a season-long work in progress, the Cavs showed some
improvement. Though tentative, Jenifer helped with his quickness and ability to
penetrate, which took some pressure off Mason, who was lingering around the
arch.
The zone has made the 3-point area almost a no-man’s land for Virginia since
ACC play began last week. UVa was a nightmarish 2 for 25 from the bonusphere at
Clemson and wasn’t much better against N.C. State.
“Hands Up, Harry,” is how Gillen jokingly referred to the defense a couple
of weeks ago when his own team used the strategy in a rare departure from its
man-to-man philosophy. But the last week hasn’t been a laughing matter.
“We were desperate,” said Gillen, who now owns half of UVa’s four
victories in Chapel Hill in a series that predates World War I. “We still
weren’t making perimeter shots but we scratched and clawed. It wasn’t
pretty, but ...”
Gillen said that the fact North Carolina is a mere 5-8 didn’t detract one bit
from pulling out a win here.
“I didn’t even want to play ‘What ifs,’ if we lost,” said Mason, who
again struggled from the perimeter but led Virginia with 18 points on the
strength of a 9-for-10 performance from the free-throw line. “I didn’t want
to come to Chapel Hill and lose. Anytime you win on the road in the ACC,
you’ve done something right.”
In the end, Mason did everything right and Carolina did everything wrong.
Trailing 67-65 with 41 seconds to play, and UVa putting the ball inbounds, the
Heels’ Jackie Manuel fouled Mason away from the ball, sending the ACC’s best
free-throw shooter to the line for a one-and-one. Mason sank both.
After UNC’s Kris Lang scored on the other end, Doherty called a timeout with
30 seconds left and ordered his team that under no circumstances were they to
foul Mason. The Heels could have double- or triple-teamed and forced Mason to
pass. Instead, Manuel fouled the UVa guard again with 21 seconds showing.
“Hey, maybe they ordered their guys not to foul Mason at any cost, but we
ordered Mason to not pass the ball, either,” UVa assistant coach Tommy Herrion
said.
They didn’t really have to tell anything to Mason. He is a guy who wants the
ball in his hands in just this kind of situation.
“Even though I didn’t shoot well from the perimeter again (he was 1 for 8
from behind the arch for the second straight game), I looked at going to the
line as a way to redeem myself,” said Mason, a 90 percent free-throw shooter
coming into the game.
Again, he nailed them for a 71-67 lead that led to UVa’s first ACC win and the
10th victory this season.
Talk about redemption. Every time Mason caught the ball during the game,
Carolina’s zone shifted to his side and someone called out “shooter,”
which limited his ability to get good looks at the basket. He decided to become
more aggressive the second half and took more difficult shots without much more
success ... until the free throws.
A lost art in modern hoops civilization, Mason works hard to perfect his
free-throw shooting methods. He lives to be fouled. Before leaving the gym every
day, Mason makes himself hit 30 consecutive free throws no matter how long it
takes. It is a little habit he started as a freshman when he was struggling with
his overall shooting.
Now, it is a lethal weapon, one that kept Virginia from the darkness of the
ACC’s dungeon.
“This was a giant win, a character win,” said Gillen, who is still trying to
size up this team. “I don’t know if we’ll be as good as last year’s team
... there’s a chance.”
Only if Pete & Co. continue to solve the zone puzzle because that’s all
the Cavaliers are going to see for quite some time. Mason can only go to the
line so many times.
Cavs swipe win on road
Roger Mason Jr. gets 16 of his 18 points in the second half as UVa hands UNC its fifth home loss.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - If somebody had told Pete Gillen that his Virginia basketball team would go 1-2 in its first three conference games, he would not have envisioned this scenario:
After losing to the teams picked to finish seventh and ninth in the ACC, the Cavaliers won at North Carolina for the fifth time in 62 games, 71-67.
"I can't say exactly which of the three games I would have picked," Gillen said Saturday, "but I don't think it would have been at Carolina. It's not easy to win here."
Gillen has done it twice in four tries and he did it this time as the favorite, a role in which the Cavaliers had not thrived in back-to-back losses to North Carolina State and Clemson.
"This was by far the best win we've had this season," Gillen said after the Cavaliers outlasted unranked Carolina, which tied a school record with its fifth home loss of the season.
The Tar Heels' 5-8 record (1-3 ACC) is their worst after 13 games since 1951.
"They're always Carolina," UVa senior Chris Williams said. "They're always going to find some way to get to the [NCAA] Tournament. It's the name on their jersey. They have a lot of pride in that and they're going to do everything they can to protect it.
"You hear the name 'Carolina' and it's like 'Duke' or 'UCLA.' Winning here is like winning in the NBA."
In a game that featured 17 lead changes and 10 ties, seventh-ranked Virginia (10-2, 1-2) took the lead for good, 65-63, when junior Roger Mason Jr. hit a short bank shot from a tough angle with 3:09 remaining.
Mason made four free throws in the final minute, including a one-and-one with 41.1 seconds remaining and the Cavaliers nursing a 67-65 lead. He scored 16 of his game-high 18 points in the second half.
"You can't get nervous," said Mason, who led the ACC in free-throw percentage and set a school record last year by shooting 88.4 percent from the free-throw line. "I don't, and I'm glad I don't."
Mason's percentage actually dropped from 90.6 to 90.5 percent Saturday on a 9-for-10 afternoon.
"We didn't want to foul Mason; that was clear," Carolina coach Matt Doherty said. "I hate to talk about inexperience, but there were some plays of inexperience down the stretch. I am trying to be delicate in saying that, but it was a mistake. We were not trying to foul Mason."
Freshman forward Jackie Manuel twice fouled Mason in the final minute and had a critical turnover after the Cavaliers' Adam Hall had missed a 3-point attempt with approximately 45 seconds left.
Hall heard his right foot "pop" on the play and was writhing on the floor as Carolina headed downcourt. Manuel spotted fellow freshman Jawad Williams ahead of the pack, but his long bounce pass was intercepted by UVa freshman Jermaine Harper.
"I heard the whistle blow and I thought, 'Oh, no, I stepped on the baseline,'" Harper said. "I knew I was pretty close, but then I figured out that they were just stopping the clock because Adam was hurt."
"I was just hoping he would get a piece of the ball," Mason said. "I told him afterwards, 'That was the play of the game.'"
Harper had hit a 3-pointer with 8:54 left that had given Virginia its first lead in more than seven minutes. He was one of several freshmen who played key roles in the Cavaliers' victory.
One of them, Keith Jenifer, started at point guard and contributed nine points and three assists with one turnover as UVa took a 37-33 halftime lead. He did not score in the second half, when he played 10 of his 24 minutes.
Hall, who had started 24 consecutive games over two seasons, was the eighth UVa player to get in the game but ended a 1-for-22 drought on 3-pointers by hitting two in the second half. His second 3-point field goal, with 5:41 left, stretched the Cavaliers' lead to 63-59.
He also contributed four steals and three assists, but there was some fear that he incurred ligament damage that might sideline him for the Cavaliers' game Tuesday night with visiting Wake Forest, if not longer.
Mason, who entered the week as the ACC leader in 3-point field-goal percentage, was 1-for-8 on 3s for the second game in a row. However, the rest of the team was 6-for-12, with a total of five players hitting from behind the line.
"At 1-2 in the league, we're not where we want to be," Mason said, "but I didn't want to play 'what ifs,' if we had lost."
VIRGINIA'S 'BIGGEST WIN OF THE YEAR'
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - So what if this is the worst team in years to wear North Carolina's baby blue? Virginia had won only once in 15 games at the Dean Smith Center. The Cavaliers will savor any win over the Tar Heels, thank you very much.
"It's still special," senior forward Chris Williams said after seventh-ranked U.Va. climbed out of the ACC cellar with a hard-fought 71-67 victory yesterday.
"It's Carolina, and it's always going to be Carolina. They have all the history."
After consecutive losses, to N.C. State and Clemson, Virginia coach Pete Gillen shook up his lineup, starting freshman point guard Keith Jenifer, moving Roger Mason Jr. to shooting guard and benching senior Adam Hall.
"No reaction," Hall said when asked about his demotion. "He's the coach. We're the players."
The changes paid off for the Cavaliers (1-2, 10-2). Jenifer matched his career high with nine points - all in the first half - and Hall broke out of a prolonged shooting slump, hitting two 3-pointers before injuring his right foot in the final minute. He'd missed his previous 13 shots from beyond the arc.
Hall finished with eight points, four assists and three steals. His status for Tuesday night's game against 19th-ranked Wake Forest isn't clear, but Gillen said he feared Hall's injury was serious.
"We're very worried about him right now," said Gillen, whose team also won at the Dean Dome in 1999-2000.
At least the Cavaliers no longer have to worry about an 0-3 start in conference play. They didn't look especially sharp, particularly against UNC's zone defense, but dominated the final three minutes to earn what Gillen called "by far our biggest win of the year."
Mason, who led U.Va. with 18 points, agreed. "I did not want to come to Chapel Hill and lose, period," he said.
The Heels (1-3, 5-8) have dropped three straight games - all to ranked opponents - but their losses to Wake and Maryland were blowouts. This one wasn't decided until U.Va. guards Jermaine Harper and Mason took over in the final minute.
With Virginia hanging on to 67-65 lead, Hall missed an awkward 3-point attempt as the shot clock ran out. UNC rebounded and started a fast break. Freshman guard Jackie Manuel, spotting classmate Jawad Williams ahead of him, threw a bounce pass that seemed certain to lead to a game-tying basket. But Harper, a freshman reserve, raced in to steal the ball.
"Jermaine is lightning," Gillen said. "Freshmen sometimes don't know they're on TV. I guess he didn't know he was supposed to make a big play like that. But he's quick on quick, and that was a giant steal. . . . That's the big play in the game, besides Roger's free throws."
Ah, yes, Mason's free throws. On an afternoon when he missed 9 of 13 field goal attempts, including 7 of 8 from beyond the arc, the 6-5 junior made 9 of 10 foul shots. Mason was 4 for 4 in the final 41.1 seconds.
"That's where I wanted to be," said Mason, the ACC's best from the line. "For the game, I didn't shoot as well as I would have liked, but I had a chance to redeem myself by going to the free-throw line and helping my team win that way."
The Cavaliers led by four at the break, but the Tar Heels blew past them early in the second half to take a 48-40 lead. Virginia battled back to a 50-50 tie, but an inside game led by 6-11 senior Kris Lang (18 points) kept Carolina a step ahead. Harper finally drilled a 3-pointer to put the Cavs up 57-56, but they didn't take the lead for good until Mason scored on a drive with 3:08 left.
On Virginia's next possession, Williams banked in an off-balance runner as the shot clock expired for a four-point lead. That capped a gutty performance by a much-decorated player who, against Clemson, had failed to score for the first time as a collegian. Against Carolina, Williams totaled 15 points, six rebounds and two steals.
"Just like a pitcher coming into a game," he said. "You might have given up a home run the night before, but you've just got to put it behind you."
With game on the line, U.Va. prevails with Mason on the line
Swish.
This is what desperate-U.Va.-visits-tailspinning-North Carolina came down to yesterday.
Roger Mason, 15 feet from the basket, hitting nothing but net.
Size up this 71-67 must-win decision for the Cavs, and you will detect no weighted disparities in the box score. The Cavs had 24 field goals. So did UNC. Neither outfit set marksmanship records. Rebounds and turnovers were pretty much a wash. The Tar Heels had one more 3-pointer.
U.Va. had one more Roger Mason.
He was 9 for 10 from the line yesterday and flawless in the closing 41.1 seconds. That's what finally tilted this matchup U.Va.'s way. A rookie guard makes a bonehead pass when the Tar Heels can tie or take the lead, Mason gets fouled and nails two shots to push the advantage to four. The Tar Heels retaliate with a basket, Mason gets whacked again and drains two more shots to finish the scoring.
Sounds simple enough.
But you should try it sometime.
"He was great at the line," U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said of Mason. "But I've seen great free throw shooters miss it, you know. Nobody's perfect. It's not a guarantee. He's not a machine. But he's pretty good."
Here's how good: 87.1. That's Mason's percentage from the line over his 2½ seasons at Virginia. He's at the 90.5 level this year. Everyone else who suits up in orange and blue is an aggregate 62.3. This is why Gillen reminded his players during stretch-run huddles to get the ball in Mason's hands.
This is why Mason not only doesn't shy from screw-tightening pressure, he craves it.
"I definitely do," Mason said. "We do drills in practice where you shoot free throws. If you miss them, you run. That's when I want to be shooting. I want the ball when there's something on the line."
There was more at stake than wind sprints yesterday. Lose to a UNC entry coming off setbacks against Wake Forest and Maryland by a combined eight touchdowns, and the Cavs tumble to 0-3 in the ACC and maybe start kissing the NCAAs goodbye. Lose, and they rekindle road-worrier memories of the past two seasons, when they went 9-7 back-to-back in the league but only 5-11 away from Charlottesville.
Win, and they steady the ship. Not that the Cavs were particularly impressive, mind you. Their press again yielded too many baskets and open looks. They didn't attack UNC's zone with anything that resembled precision. But they got clutch plays when they counted most from seniors Adam Hall and Chris Williams. And those killing free throws from Mason that had UNC coach Matt Doherty pointing fingers if not swearing out warrants.
"We didn't want to foul Mason," Doherty said. "That was clear. I hate to talk about inexperience, but there were some plays of inexperience down the stretch. I am trying to be delicate in saying that, but it is a mistake. We were not trying to foul Mason."
You'd be advised to look elsewhere, too, unless you don't have a Plan B. Mason is 2 for 16 from 3-point range over the past two games ("I'm not worried about that at all," he said with a shrug), but there's no carryover at the line. Why's the kid so good? Gillen thinks he knows.
"Two things," Gillen said. "No. 1, good technique. And No. 2, a big heart. Roger's got a great heart. He wants to be there. He wants to take the big shot."
A guy named Steve House set Mason on this course. House was an assistant coach at Good Counsel High in Wheaton, Md., when Mason was coming along. He stressed the importance of shooting free throws. Mason bought into the concept. Now the kid stays after practice every day and won't leave the gym till he makes 30 in a row. He figures the investment will only pay dividends.
"I can go to the free-throw line and help my team win," he said.
Precisely.
Heels in it till buzzer, but late mistakes hurt
By BARRY SVRLUGA, Staff Writer
CHAPEL HILL - North Carolina
trailed by just a basket Saturday afternoon at the Smith Center, something of a
victory in itself for a team that had been humiliated twice in just a week's
time.
Coach Matt Doherty gathered his guys together and explained quite explicitly:
Virginia, the Tar Heels' opponent, would try to get the ball to Roger Mason Jr.,
their junior guard. Mason, Doherty told them, is an excellent free-throw
shooter, the ACC's best at 90.6 percent.
"We didn't want to foul Mason," Doherty said. "That was
clear."
But even before the Cavaliers could inbound the ball, Carolina guard Jackie
Manuel did it. He and Mason were tussling, and the whistle blew: foul on Manuel.
A possession later, Manuel was unable to get in position when Mason had the ball
on the sideline. Tweet. Another foul.
Thus, it was another day of frustration for the Heels, who watched Mason
stride to the line and bury four straight freebies in the final 41 seconds of a
71-67 Virginia win. Carolina played harder than it had in an embarrassing 84-62
loss to Wake Forest a week before, played better than it had in a ridiculous
112-79 loss Wednesday at Maryland.
But those brainlocks are still there, and the Heels are 5-8 overall and 1-3
in the ACC because of it.
"We can't beat ourselves with mental mistakes," Doherty said.
"At times, I feel like we have to really play well to be in position to
win."
Indeed, it seems as if the Heels must run each play perfectly, must perform
at their highest level just to stay in games. They are unable to overcome small
errors, and it cost them Saturday. Seventh-ranked Virginia (10-2, 1-2) was able
to leave the Smith Center having broken its two-game losing streak not only
because Mason scored 18 points and Chris Williams added 15 but also because the
Heels -- with victory there in front of them -- couldn't avoid those minor
mistakes that become major in the closing minutes.
"We had the game in our hands," freshman guard Melvin Scott said.
"But we let it slip away because of those little mistakes. I think we kind
of handed it to them."
Virginia was only too happy to take it.
"I think it was our best win of the year," Cavs coach Pete Gillen
said. "They played their brains out; we played as hard as we can play. It
wasn't pretty, but it was a hard-fought league win."
Doherty, at least, could say his team was in the fight this time. Down four
at halftime, UNC went on a 15-1 run -- sparked by surprise starter Brian
Morrison's three 3-pointers -- early in the second half, and the Heels had a
48-40 lead.
But four straight turnovers allowed the Cavs right back in it, and the
wrestling match that would decide the game was on. Carolina, challenged this
week by Doherty to play harder and tougher, did so. And when freshman forward
Jawad Williams made a steal and drove for a difficult layup, the Heels were tied
at 63-63. The announced crowd of 20,079 was on its feet with just less than four
minutes remaining.
"We felt like we had it," said Williams, who scored 13 points.
"We felt if we could just make some plays down the stretch, we'd win
it."
But after Mason scored again to put Virginia up two, Kris Lang -- who led
Carolina with 18 points -- was fouled. He had a chance to tie. He missed them
both.
"I have trouble shooting free throws, plain and simple," said Lang,
now at 66.7 percent for the year. "It's not fatigue. There's no excuses. I
just didn't hit the shots."
Yet Carolina still trailed by just two with a minute left, and Virginia's
Adam Hall threw up a 3-pointer that never even threatened the rim. The Heels
started the break. This was the chance. Be smart, get a good shot, knock it
down, and it's all tied up.
Manuel had the ball on the right sideline, moving toward midcourt. He saw
Jawad Williams break down the left side. So he fired a bounce pass --a
three-quarter--court bounce pass --through traffic.
"I thought if I put a little more oomph on it," Manuel said,
"it could have got there."
Instead, Virginia guard Jermaine Harper got there. An easy steal, one of 12
Virginia had on the day.
"I don't like pointing out players' mistakes, but that was a
mistake," Doherty said. "You can't throw that pass at that time.
You've got to be certain. We're down two, and you have a chance to tie the game
at a critical point, and that's certainly a mistake."
The Heels made their next mistake by putting Mason at the line, and it was
over.
"This was huge for us," Mason said. "We were 0-2 in the
league; our backs were against the wall. I think getting this win gets something
off our back."
It is squarely on the back of Carolina. The week ahead includes road games
against Florida State and Connecticut. To win, the Heels' energy level must
return, but the mistakes must go away.
"The challenge now is the emotional investment we made, we didn't get
rewarded [for]," Doherty said. "Do we have the intestinal fortitude,
the toughness, to come back with the same kind of energy and bring it next week?
"That's the challenge, and I told the team: 'There's no guarantees.'
"
UVa men barely beat North Carolina, snap two-game skid
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - After starting the Atlantic Coast Conference season
with two regrettable losses, Virginia guard Roger Mason Jr. said his team was at
a fork in the road.
"Now we're starting to find our way home," Mason said Saturday, after the Cavaliers gutted out a 71-67 victory over North Carolina on the road, just the fifth time Virginia ever has won in Chapel Hill.
Virginia coach Pete Gillen called it a "tremendous" win, the team's best of the season, particularly vital coming off a home defeat by North Carolina State a week ago and a road upset by Clemson Tuesday, the combined effect of which had sent the No. 7 Cavaliers' fans reeling, wondering if their lofty preseason goals were still reasonable with No. 19 Wake Forest looming Tuesday at home.
With just under a minute left and Virginia ahead 67-65, the questions were put to rest, at least for now. Tar Heels freshman Jackie Manuel attempted to force a long pass to Jawad Williams under the basket, but freshman Jermaine Harper slapped it away and retained the ball. Mason sank four free throws over the next 20 seconds to seal the game.
"We didn't want to foul Mason," North Carolina coach Matt Doherty said. "That was clear. I hate to talk about inexperience" - Doherty uses just one junior and two seniors - "but there were some plays of inexperience down the stretch. I am trying to be delicate in saying that, but it is a mistake. We were not trying to foul Mason."
It was just the second victory by Virginia (10-2, 1-2 ACC) in the Smith Center (in 17 tries). And while it came against an atypically weak version of the Tar Heels (5-8, 1-3) - which suffered their third consecutive defeat and equaled the school record for home losses at five - "it's still special," said Virginia forward Chris Williams.
This UNC squad did open its season with home losses to the likes of Davidson and Hampton.
"It's still Carolina," Williams said. "It's always going to be Carolina. They have all the history. Look up and see all the banners," referring to the rafters crowded by three national championships, a host of ACC titles and the 40-odd retired jerseys.
Virginia was confronted by its old nemesis, a 2-3 zone defense, and persevered by attacking it relentlessly, playing faster and better than it had this year. Gillen inserted freshman point guard Keith Jenifer into the lineup in place of senior Adam Hall, switching Mason back to shooting guard.
Jenifer responded by fearlessly penetrating into the heart of the Tar Heels' defense, time after time, collecting nine points-all in the first half-and four assists in 24 minutes, catalyzing Virginia's attack. The Cavaliers were more aggressive than they have been against any of their prior major-conference opponents, a credit to Jenifer's precocious play and a revival of Hall and Williams, both slumping entering the game.
The memory of the Cavaliers' passivity against the Clemson zone Tuesday (and their resultant 2-for-25 shooting from 3-point range) was fresh in their minds.
"That's why we won tonight," Mason said. "We didn't settle for jumpers."
After missing all three of his first-half shots, Mason turned aggressive in the second, scoring 16 of his 18 points. He made 4 of 13 shots from the field but compensated with 9-for-10 free-throw shooting.
The Cavaliers pressed more often and more effectively than they had all year, using it to overcome a second-half lapse that nearly cost them the game. After Virginia led 37-33 at halftime and scored the first basket of the second half off a Mason bank shot, North Carolina went on a 17-4 run behind a trio of Brian Morrison 3-pointers that gave it a 50-43 lead with 13:50 left.
The Tar Heels began going to Lang, who scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half. Lang scored 11 points during a six-minute stretch to keep the Tar Heels in the game, but did not score between a short hook at the 8:24 mark and a tip-in with 1:22 left.
That was enough of a window for the Cavaliers to retake the lead. Hall, who picked up his fourth foul with 14 minutes left but played until a foot injury forced him to leave with 41 seconds remaining, made a 3-pointer to spark Virginia. Virginia tied the game at 50 on a Mason 3-pointer with 12:30 remaining, and took a 63-59 lead on another Hall 3-pointer with 5:46 left.
Hall, who had made 1 of his previous 22 3-point attempts entering the game, responded to his demotion by playing through it. He finished with eight points and four steals, making 3 of 7 shots, all despite a nagging right foot injury that "popped" during a shot attempt in the final minute. The extent the damage is unknown.
"I had no reaction to it," Hall said of his benching. He entered the game nine minutes in, the third man off the bench behind Harper and Brown, who had come in four minutes earlier. Gillen cited Hall's play afterwards, along with that of Williams, who recovered from the first scoreless game of his career against Clemson with 15 points on 5-for-10 shooting.
"You need your veterans to make big plays," Gillen said. "Especially on the road."
Curry, a record-setting quarterback who hasn't made a public declaration about his Tar Heels basketball future, is close to signing with an agent to prepare for a career in professional football, John Bunting said Friday.
Later Friday, Tar Heels basketball coach Matt Doherty told reporters Curry has decided not to play basketball.
North Carolina has the powder blues