UVa extends conference win streak
By ANDREW JOYNER
Daily Progress staff writer
The No. 10 Virginia men’s basketball team might not be best bet in a sprint,
but in a marathon, well, that is a different story.
The Cavaliers, plagued by poor starts to games all season, had another one
Sunday against Florida State before exploding for 76 points in the game’s
final 26 minutes to notch a 91-74 victory.
Virginia (12-2, 3-2 ACC), which has now won three straight league contests after
beginning their ACC campaign 0-2, was led by a 24-point, seven rebound effort
from senior forward Chris Williams. Roger Mason Jr. and reserve freshman forward
Elton Brown each finished with 16 while Travis Watson recorded his 30th career
double-double with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Watson has now grabbed 32 rebounds
in the Cavaliers last two games.
The Seminoles led 25-17 with 5:44 left before halftime when the Cavaliers
finally seemed to awaken from their sluggish beginning.
The Cavaliers outscored the Seminoles 30-16, including a 13-4 stretch, over that
final 5:44 to take a 45-39 halftime advantage.
“We can’t really keep starting like that if we want to win in the ACC. ...
We have to work on coming out and jumping on the other team,” Williams said.
“I don’t think we’re good enough to just turn it on. I think Florida State
had a lot to do with [the bad start]. ... They played very well early,” UVa
coach Pete Gillen said. “When we went to our bench I think that was the
difference.”
Off that bench came the burly 6-foot-9 Brown, apparently UVa’s newest 3-point
weapon.
Brown, connected on three 3-pointers in the first half and when he connected on
the final of those treys with 2:08 remaining before the half, Virginia had tied
the game at 34.
As Virginia made the run to get back in the game, one usual key ingredient was
noticeably missing: Mason. Mason, who did not practice since Tuesday after
dislocating his right shoulder in the win over Wake Forest, was scoreless in the
game when he went to the bench with 6:38 left before intermission.
Mason did not re-enter the game until the 1:41 mark and promptly made three
3-pointers in the final 1:17 to complete the Virginia surge and give his team
the six-point halftime lead.
“The shoulder is still bothering me a little bit but I just try not to think
about it,” Mason said. “I was anxious to get back in but we went on a run,
which was great, so I just wanted to get in to contribute before the half. I
just wanted to come in and make something happen. I knocked the first one down
and it felt good and I just wanted to get some more.”
Virginia’s start-of-the-game woes did not become a start-of-the-second-half
problem as well. The Cavaliers outscored the Seminoles 15-6 in the half’s
first six and a half minutes, and when Mason connected on a trey with 13:38
remaining, UVa had built a 60-45 advantage.
The Seminoles (9-7, 2-3 ACC) could only manage to get as close as 10 the rest of
the way as they failed to take advantage of a seven-minute stretch when the
Cavaliers did not score a basket from the field. While Virginia was struggling
with its shots from the floor, the situation at the free throw line was quite
different.
Virginia made 24 of its 30 attempts from the stripe in the second half and
finished 37 of 44 from the line compared to just an 8-of-11 effort by the
Seminoles.
“That is amazing. It was a physical game and we were attacking the basket.
They were legitimate calls,” said Gillen, whose team is 57 of 66 from the line
in its last two games.
That disparity, as might be expected, did not sit as well with Florida State
coach Steve Robinson.
“You read the stats. We got 29 field goals and eight 3-pointers. It is going
to be hard to win a basketball game if the other team is getting that many free
throws,” Robinson said.
To take Robinson’s advice, the stats revealed another disparity between the
two teams. Florida State, which entered the game as the ACC’s best team in
terms of rebounding margin, was beaten by the Cavaliers by 40-26 count on the
boards.
“I thought it was a group effort. Travis did a great job of getting the boards
but I thought the other players had a lot of input in that as well,” Robinson
said.
Monte Cummings led the Seminoles with 19 while Delvon Arrington added 16 for
Florida State.
Virginia returns to action when it faces Georgia Tech, a team that beat them
three times last season, on Tuesday night in Atlanta.
Notes. With his four-for-four effort from the line Sunday, Mason is currently the ACC’s all-time leader in terms of free-throw percentage. Mason is shooting 87.3 percent for his career from the stripe. ... Gillen said after the game that senior forward Adam Hall, who is out with a partial tear of the planter fascia tissue in his right foot, is progressing well but the time of his return is uncertain. Gillen added that it is unlikely Hall will play Tuesday at Georgia Tech.
Watson doesn’t let a little thing like size bother him
By JERRY RATCLIFFE
Daily Progress sports editor
Virginia had the game well in hand when the coaches signaled for center Travis
Watson to come and take a seat beside them. Normally, Watson would not resist.
Sunday against Florida State, the ACC’s smallest big man said no.
The junior, listed as 6-foot-8 but more like 6-7, told assistant coach Tommy
Herrion he wanted to stay in and go for 20 rebounds. There is no real
significance in 20 boards other than the fact that Watson has never reached it,
not at Oak Hill Academy where he shattered the school’s rebounding record, nor
at UVa where he has amazed the ACC with his hunger for the ball.
After the game was over and Virginia had improved its record to 12-2, which
includes a three-game winning streak in the conference, Watson had come up well
short of his goal. Still, his 15-rebound, 14-point performance was appreciated
in the Cavaliers’ 91-74 destruction of visiting Florida State.
It was his ninth double-double of the season, the 30th of his career, which is
tops among all active ACC players. Still, 20 rebounds appear to be this Ahab’s
elusive white whale.
“I thought I could get close to it in this game,” said Watson, who has
pulled down 32 rebounds in he last two ACC outings. “I go for it every night
and hopefully, some night I’m going to do it.”
There is no doubt in Coach Pete Gillen’s mind that Watson will reach the
plateau before he’s through, but 15 on this night was extremely valuable
against a very athletic FSU team that led the ACC in rebounding margin coming
into the game.
“Travis has one of the best set of hands on a big man in the country,” said
Gillen. “That’s a big plus against so many athletes like Florida State has,
such as Trevor Harvey and others.”
But the Cavs simply killed the Seminoles on the boards, 40-26. Watson was one
rebound shy of having as many boards as FSU’s entire starting lineup for the
game.
Watson has had an amazing year so far and opponents have definitely put a big
target on him in their game plans as a result.
“I guess I’ve gained some respect down there as a post player because a lot
of times I get double-teamed,” said the UVa big man. “Against a zone, it’s
hard to get the ball because everybody’s down in there and I usually am trying
to fight two people off. But I take that as a compliment — getting
double-teamed — because I guess other teams respect my game.”
Because so many opponents have played zone against the Wahoos, any damage Watson
can do inside is important. But even he knows that the only way to get teams out
of zones is for the Cavs to shoot their way out and when someone like
“Downtown Elton Brown” starts drilling treys, it can only help. Brown, who
is a freshman wide body down in the post with Watson, stunned the crowd by
hitting all three of his attempts from bonusphere in the win.
But Watson will let Brown do all the bombing away. Watson would rather get under
the boards and bang. That’s where the junior is most comfortable, making
opponents most uncomfortable.
“I like to bang, body on body, two big guys going at it,” said Watson.
“Getting physical is part of my game. Sometimes it’s not as bad as it looks
under there ... sometimes it’s worse. I’m not going to say I’m the best
banger out there but I think I can compete with a lot of people.”
The shortest starting center in the league the past two seasons, Watson made
second team All-ACC last season after being named to the all-rookie team as a
freshman. He led the conference with 100 offensive rebounds last season and
second in overall rebounds.
Only Watson and Ralph Sampson pulled down 500 or more rebounds their first two
years in the program. Sampson had nine inches on Watson but that height
differential means nothing to Watson.
“Height doesn’t really matter,” said Watson. “A lot of guys are taller
than me. But I try to get into them, into their chest, so if I put up a hook,
it’s impossible to block. It’s really to my advantage to be shorter
sometimes because I can get lower than somebody who’s bigger and if they put
the ball close to the floor, there’s no way they’re going to pull it up
because I’ll already have it.”
That was the case against the Seminoles when the 255-pound Watson was giving up
quite a bit of size to FSU center Nigel Dixon, who weighs in at 331 pounds.
But rebounding is more about heart than size.
“Nobody taught me how to rebound,” said Watson. “It’s a natural thing.
It’s a simple drill: put your body on somebody and go get the ball. A lot of
it is just wanting the ball.”
With a wide wingspan and an uncanny ability to jump quickly (something he
attributes to staying on his toes rather than jumping flatfooted), Watson can
often jump twice before bigger men will get off the floor once.
“A lot of rebounding is just knowing the angle the ball is going to come off
the board,” he said. “A lot of people don’t use their bodies or try to box
out. I usually have boxed them out before they even started thinking about it.
By then, it’s over.”
No wonder that Gillen and opposing coaches rave about the undersized center.
Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser said of Watson: “I love him, I simply love him.
He’s a warrior who plays so hard. Every coach would love to have a guy like
that.”
Gillen marvels at his center’s toughness. So far this year, Watson has been
bothered mostly by some cramps in his right leg, which pales in comparison to
last year’s series of injuries that included: bruised ribs, a hip-pointer,
shoulder injury, knee injury and an assortment of smaller, nagging problems.
That left Gillen wondered if the team was going to run out of lucky charms as
far as Watson being able to play.
But Watson found a way. He couldn’t practice but would always answer the bell
at game time and put on another astonishing performance.
“It was God’s will that I was out there last year,” said Watson. “I
couldn’t have been out there without it. I like to play, so whatever I had to
do for my team, I did it. I figured if I was out there, I might have been a
little help. Sometimes when I got out there, my adrenaline would start pumping
and I didn’t feel any pain. I guess I have a high threshold for that.”
While his role has been important thus far, that importance will grow over the
next two weeks when the Cavaliers hit the road for games at Georgia Tech and
particularly at Duke, places where UVa hasn’t exactly kept its poise in recent
years.
That’s where Watson can make the biggest difference, not just with his
physical presence but his leadership. Teams that get rattled can’t win. Watson
isn’t easily rattled.
6-9 freshman Brown gives U.Va. a
trey-mendous lift CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Of all the players who could have emerged as the
additional 3-point shooting threat Virginia badly needs, freshman Elton Brown
seemed one of the least likely. Brown is 6-foot-9 and 265 pounds. Thus far in his brief career he has scored
most of his points by catching the ball 2 or 3 feet from the basket, turning,
and powering a shot over a smaller opponent.
But on Sunday, in Virginia's 91-74 win over Florida State, Brown showed that
beneath his hulking exterior, there's a shooting guard yearning to get out.
With the Cavaliers in an offensive funk -- stalled at 10 points more than 10
minutes into the game -- Brown canned three 3-pointers in a six-minute stretch.
The big man's shooting got both the crowd and the Cavaliers back in the contest.
``A lot of things get teams going,'' guard Roger Mason Jr. said. ``But when
your 6-9 power forward/center is out there shooting 3s and knocking them down,
it kind of gets everybody stirred up.
``It definitely motivated me.''
Mason responded to Brown's barrage with one of his own, hitting three treys
in the final 1:17 of the half to put Virginia up 45-39 at the break. The lead
swelled to 16 early in the second half and Virginia (12-2, 3-2 ACC) coasted from
there, hitting 37 of 44 free throws to keep FSU at bay.
Brown finished with 16 points, tying a career-high.
``I just came off the bench and tried to provide an offensive spark,'' Brown
said. ``And that's what I did.''
Brown, from Warwick High in Newport News, had taken just six 3-pointers,
making three. But no one, not Brown, his teammates, Virginia coach Pete Gillen
nor FSU coach Steve Robinson, expressed surprise at his feathery shooting
display.
Gillen said he realized Brown had 3-point range after watching him perform
for the Boo Williams AAU team.
``We were more interested in him as a low-post scorer,'' Gillen said. ``But
we give him the green light to shoot it.''
Mason said Brown, nicknamed ``Big E,'' shoots well in practice.
``He'll say, `Look at my 3s,' and when I look at them they go in,'' Mason
said.
Brown hit his first two from the right corner, after no FSU defender stepped
out to challenge him. His third trey was from the top of the key, after Chris
Williams flicked the ball backward to him on the break.
His soft touch is a holdover from his days as a high school small forward,
Brown said.
``I played the `3' as a sophomore and junior,'' he said. ``I just went on a
little growth spurt.''
Virginia, which has faced zone defenses its last five games, has been looking
for another 3-point shooter to complement Mason. Chris Williams had been that
player but seems more determined to drive lately. He scored a game-high 24
points Sunday on 8-for-13 shooting, and made 8 of 11 free throws. Travis Watson
added 14 points, and grabbed 15 rebounds. Virginia out-rebounded FSU 40-26 and
shot 33 more free throws than the Seminoles (9-7, 2-3).
``Not one was a touch foul,'' Gillen said. ``Every one was a legitimate
one.''
Robinson didn't seem to agree.
``You read the stats,'' he said.
The stats showed that Virginia scored 81 points in the final 28 minutes.
Brown's first trey was the trigger.
``It didn't surprise me,'' Robinson said. ``We recruited Elton.''
Gillen said he doesn't expect Brown to shoot as well every night, but expects
the big fellow to keep hoisting them.
``You need to be able to stick the outside shot against the zone,'' Gillen
said. ``And we'll see more zones.''
By ED MILLER, The
Virginian-Pilot
© January 21, 2002
Cavaliers capitalize on Seminoles' charity
Virginia makes 37 of its 44 free throws and shakes off a slow start to roll past Florida State in Charlottesville.
By DOUG DOUGHTY
THE ROANOKE TIMES
CHARLOTTESVILLE - On an afternoon when Florida State opened in a zone and dared Virginia to shoot from outside, there was one place where the Seminoles could offer no defense: the free-throw line.
The Cavaliers hit 37 of 44 free throws Sunday, outscoring FSU by 29 points from the line in winning their third game in a row, 91-74, at University Hall.
"I can't respond to that," Seminoles men's basketball coach Steve Robinson said when asked about the free-throw differential. "You read the stats. It's going to be hard to win a basketball game if the other team is getting that many."
Although the 10th-ranked Cavaliers were shooting 69.6 percent from the free-throw line in all games, they entered Sunday hitting 76.4 percent in ACC play. The next-most accurate team, Wake Forest, was at 71 percent.
"Coach [Pete] Gillen has us work on it every day," said freshman forward Elton Brown, who made seven of eight free throws Sunday. "He tells us, 'Free throws are going to win the game for us.'"
Brown, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound post player, is likely to spend considerable time at the free-throw line during his career, but he may have turned around Sunday's game with his outside shooting.
The Cavaliers scored 10 points in the first 11 1/2 minutes and had gone six minutes without a field goal before Brown swished a 3-pointer from the right corner with 8:22 to go before halftime.
Florida State (9-7, 2-3) scored the next six points and led by as many as seven points, 20-13, before Virginia scored on 13 of 15 possessions to end the first half.
The Cavaliers (12-2, 3-2) scored 35 points in the final 8:22, 32 in the final 6:58 and 30 in the final 6:02 in taking a 45-39 halftime lead.
"If I'm on the road and I go down two possessions, I'm not complaining coming in at half," said Robinson, supported by family members who had made the two-hour drive from Roanoke, his hometown.
Robinson could not have been happy that the Cavaliers had gone 13-for-14 from the line in the first half, compared to 3-for-3 for the Seminoles. Even Gillen was surprised when he heard the final numbers.
"Is that right?" Gillen asked after hearing that the Cavaliers had outscored FSU 37-8 on free throws. "That's amazing. It was a physical game. That's all I know. Trust me, every one was a foul."
Florida State entered the game as the ACC's rebounding leader, but the Cavaliers outrebounded the Seminoles 40-31, including 22-14 in the second half. UVa junior Travis Watson led the way with 15 rebounds - more than double any other player.
"He didn't tell me this, but I understand he told one of the assistants that he was going for 20 today," Gillen said.
Senior forward Chris Williams led the UVa scoring parade with 24 points, his high since the opening game of the season, and Roger Mason Jr. and Brown contributed 16 apiece. All of Brown's scoring came on 3-pointers (three in the first half) or at the line.
"He didn't surprise me," Robinson said. "We recruited Elton. I knew Elton could score and I've seen him step out there and shoot it. He hadn't taken a lot of 3-pointers, but I think he was 3-for-6."
Mason continued to feel the effects of a dislocated right (shooting) shoulder injured Tuesday against Wake Forest, but he gave the Cavaliers a huge lift before the half, when he hit 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to end the half.
"I'm not even close to 100 percent," said Mason, who was 4-for-4 from the line and now is the ACC's career free-throw-percentage leader at 87.32, eclipsing Charlie Davis (1969-71) of Wake Forest. "I was really sore the day after [Tuesday's] game, but the best thing about it is, I'm getting a lot better every day."
Cavs can 'Noles
CHARLOTTESVILLE - For a while yesterday, fans at University Hall had reason to wonder if Virginia would top the 60-point mark against Florida State. Eleven minutes into this ACC game, the Cavaliers had made three field goals - all by senior forward Chris Williams - and scored all of 10 points.
Then came the onslaught. No. 10 U.Va., sparked by the long-range shooting of burly freshman Elton Brown and junior guard Roger Mason Jr., rang up 35 points in the final 8:21 of the first half. The Cavs' scoring spree continued after intermission, and they raced to a 91-74 victory before a crowd of 7,524.
"I like how we got started in the game, but we just couldn't keep pace," said Seminoles coach Steve Robinson, whose team led by seven in the first half.
Nearly 14 minutes elapsed before U.Va. center Travis Watson scored. Mason didn't collect his first points until the 1:16 mark of the first half. By game's end, however, both had, as usual, made huge contributions.
Watson, a 6-8, 255-pound junior, finished with 14 points and 15 rebounds - his ACC-leading ninth double-double of the season - and also had three blocked shots, three assists and two steals.
Mason, who injured his right shoulder Tuesday night against Wake Forest and missed the practices for Florida State, made four 3-pointers and totaled 16 points. Three of his treys came in a sequence that sent the Cavs (3-2, 12-2) into the break with a six-point lead.
At the 6:38 mark, Mason had taken a seat on the bench, and he didn't re-enter until 1:41 remained. His shoulder "felt a little bit uncomfortable," Mason said, "but the guys told me just to play and not to think about it. . . . I just wanted to contribute before the halftime ran out."
His first trey put the Cavaliers ahead 39-37 with 1:16 remaining. His second followed an FSU turnover and made it 42-37. Finally, after Seminoles point guard Delvon Arrington scored on a drive, Mason dribbled free near the top of the key and sank a 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds showing.
"I knocked the first one down, it felt good, and I just wanted to get some more," Mason said.
The 6-9, 265-pound Brown, an all-Group AAA performer last season at Newport News' Warwick High, matched his career high with 16 points. Eleven came in the first half, during which his marksmanship was as impressive - if considerably more unexpected - than that of Mason.
With FSU (2-3, 9-7) sitting back in a zone, Brown bombed in a 3-pointer from the right corner to pull U.Va. to 14-13 with 8:21 remaining. At the 2:57 mark, he struck again from the same spot, making it 31-31. Brown's third trey came a minute later after Williams flipped the ball back to him in transition. For the season, Brown is 6 for 9 on 3-pointers.
"It's no surprise. I expect that from him," Mason said. "I told him, 'If you're open, you better let it go, because it looks good. You got a nice shot.' Hopefully he'll keep working on it so he'll be another threat for us."
Williams, a 40-percent shooter from 3-point range, missed his only attempt from beyond the arc yesterday. Inside, though, he was virtually unstoppable. Williams made 8 of 13 shots from the floor and scored a game-high 24 points.
"My outside game wasn't really working today," he said, "so I just tried to be aggressive and take it to the basket."
Williams made 8 of 11 free throws. He wasn't the only Cavalier to get lots of
A COACH AND MORE: Basketball is only part of the mission for Temple's legendary coach. Bob Lipper profiles John Chaney.practice from the line. Virginia attempted 44 foul shots and made 37 - both season highs. Florida State attempted only 11.
U.Va. also dominated the backboards. The Seminoles entered as the ACC leaders in rebounding margin, but Watson and Co. outrebounded them 40-26. No FSU player grabbed more than six boards.
Virginia was in the ACC cellar before its Jan. 12 game at North Carolina. Three straight wins later, the Cavs have climbed into a tie for fourth. Now comes a date with nemesis Georgia Tech (0-5, 7-11) tomorrow night in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets have won four straight over the Cavaliers and nine of their past 10 meetings.
By Jim Reedy
Special to The Washington Post
Monday, January 21, 2002; Page D06
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Jan. 20 -- Virginia shook off early shooting woes and kept Florida State at arm's length from the free throw line during the second half of its 91-74 win at University Hall.
The No. 10 Cavaliers (12-2, 3-2 ACC) trailed by eight in the first half but surged before halftime and assumed a commanding lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Despite missing 15 of its first 20 shots, Virginia found safe haven at the free throw line, where it made 37 of 44 foul shots. The Seminoles (9-7, 2-3), meantime, were 8 of 11.
"That's amazing," Virginia Coach Pete Gillen said of the free throw discrepancy. "It was a physical game. We were attacking the basket. We shot a lot of free throws, but trust me, every one was a foul. They played the lanes and were very physical."
Free throws have been key in the Cavaliers' emergence from the 0-2 hole they dug in their first two ACC games. In consecutive wins over North Carolina, Wake Forest and Florida State, U-Va. has made 68 of 81 free throws.
Seven Cavaliers played double-digit minutes today, and all seven attempted at least three free throws. The troupe was led by senior forward Chris Williams, who hit 8 of 11 attempts. Williams (24 points) also went 8 of 13 from the field.
"We needed that [balance] today," junior guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "We're going to need that every game. Hopefully, guys will keep working hard and realize we need everybody."
Mason and Elton Brown scored 16 apiece. Junior Travis Watson added 14 points and 15 rebounds for his 30th double-double in 74 games at Virginia, second to Ralph Sampson in school history.
Brown, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound freshman who normally teams with Watson inside, made 3 of 3 three-pointers and 7 of 8 free throws to tie his season-high point total.
"Whatever they give me, I'm going to take it," said Brown who missed all four of his two-point attempts. "I'm not focused on the three-point line; I'm a center, so I want to go down low and help Travis out."
Brown's long-distance prowess was not a fluke occurrence; he had connected on 3 of 6 three-point attempts before today's game.
"He tries to challenge me shooting threes" in practice, said Mason, U-Va.'s primary three-point threat. "I told him if you're open, you better let it go. . . . It doesn't surprise me. Big E can shoot."
Mason, who was still sore after dislocating his right shoulder in Tuesday's win over Wake Forest, did not score until 1 minute 17 seconds remained in the first half. He made a splash when he did, though, making three-pointers on Virginia's final three possessions before halftime.
The shoulder "is still bothering me a little bit, but I tried not to think about it," said Mason, who sat out three of Virginia's four practices this week.
Led by senior guards Delvon Arrington and Monte Cummings, who combined for 35 points, Florida State built a 25-17 first-half lead. Then the Cavaliers woke up, upping the tempo on an 11-2 run that gave them a 28-27 lead with four minutes left in the half. The Seminoles led by three with two minutes remaining, but U-Va. closed the half with a nine-point run to lead 45-39.
"We went to our bench, with our quickness," Gillen said. "We were a little tentative in the first half against their zone. We started to attack a little bit better later on."
Virginia opened the second half with a 19-6 run to assume a 19-point lead with 12 minutes left. But seven minutes later, Florida State senior Antwuan Dixon hit a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 71-61. The Cavaliers answered with consecutive three-point plays by J.C. Mathis and Williams to boost the lead back to 16 points and the Seminoles got no closer than 13 the rest of the way.
"We tried to be as competitive as we could be," Florida State Coach Steve Robinson said. "I like how we got started in the game, but we just couldn't keep pace."
With 5 minutes, 54 seconds left in the first half and down 25-17, the Virginia men's basketball team decided it was time to get serious and put some points on the board. It was no surprise that the Cavaliers would make a run at Florida State. What was a surprise, however, was who sparked that run for Virginia.
Six-foot-9, 265-pound freshman forward Elton Brown hit three first-half three-pointers to keep the Cavaliers (12-2, 3-2 ACC) in the game. Senior guard Roger Mason Jr. added three treys to put the Cavaliers ahead for good en route to a 91-74 victory over the Seminoles (9-7, 2-3 ACC) Sunday afternoon.
"It was a hard-fought win," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We knew Elton could shoot like that. He was superb this game. He has the green light to shoot. The bench was really huge for us."
Virginia scored 32 points in the final 6:38 of the first half, after struggling to score only 13 points and making only four field goals in the first 13:22.
The Seminoles stifled the Cavaliers with a zone until Brown drilled a three from the right corner to tie it with 3:07 left in the first. A minute later, senior Chris Williams fed the trailing Brown, who subsequently pulled up and hit his third three of the game from the top of the key.
Brown ended up with a career-high 16 points and four rebounds. He is currently shooting .667 (6-of-9) from downtown this season.
"I have worked on my jumper for a while," Brown said. "I am still an inside player, but when the opponents give me an outside look, I am going to pull up and take the shot."
After sitting on the bench for a little under five minutes - quite a long rest for a player who averages close to 38 minutes a game - Mason came up big at the end of the first half, hitting three straight threes, including one from 24 feet, to give Virginia a six-point lead going into the half.
"My shoulder is still a little sore," from a fall against Wake Forest, Mason, who scored 16 points, said. "I didn't play as well as I would have liked in the first half, and I sat on the bench while we went on a run. I went in and just tried to make something happen."
While Mason and Brown came up with the big plays for the Cavaliers, senior Chris Williams and junior Travis Watson provided the meat and potatoes, scoring 24 and 14 points, respectively. Watson also brought down 15 rebounds for his 30th career double-double, tied for second all-time at Virginia.
These two veterans helped Virginia pull away at the beginning of the second half as the Cavaliers went on 19-6 run to start the second half that included six points from Williams, four points from Watson, and a rare three-pointer from forward J.C. Mathis.
The Seminoles brought it to as close as 13 late in the second half, but no closer, as the Cavaliers hit 37 of their season high 44 free throws. Virginia shot 33 more free throws than Florida State.
Monte Cummings led Florida State with 19 points. Delvon Arrington added 16.
The freshmen guards continued to impress, as point guard Keith Jenifer came up with a career-high six assists and shooting guard Jermaine Harper scored nine points off the bench.
While the Cavaliers made yet another comeback at home, new zone-buster Brown realizes that they will have to come out of the locker room better if they are to contend with the likes of Duke and Maryland.
"We came out of the gate sluggish," Brown said. "We need to play better coming out of the gates. I think we can contend with anyone when we come out playing hot."
For real estate enthusiasts, the key to a superior sale is acknowl- edged as "Location, location, location." For teams trying to stop the Cavaliers' offense recently, it's been more like "Zone, zone, zone."
Because of Virginia players' ability to break down man-to-man defenses with their driving abilities (Chris Williams, Adam Hall, Keith Jenifer) or strong inside game (Travis Watson) opponents have grown fond of playing a zone defense and daring Virginia to shoot the outside shot.
In the Cavaliers' two losses this season, they were unable to connect from three-point range against the zone.
When they played N.C. State on Jan. 5, the Cavaliers shot only 7-of-20 from behind the arc in their 81-74 loss at home. On Jan. 8, Virginia shot a horrific 2-of-25 from the three-point line in a 68-52 loss at Clemson. Both the Wolfpack and the Tigers played zone almost exclusively against the cold-shooting Cavaliers.
"The games we've lost were against teams that zoned us," junior guard Roger Mason Jr. said. "Other teams are going to see that and do it, too."
Florida State followed the same game plan yesterday against Virginia and enjoyed similar success for most of the first half. The Seminoles dropped back into a zone defense and frustrated any Cavalier that attempted a shot within the arc.
"I think we were a little tentative, honestly, in the first half against their zone," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said.
After trailing most of the half, Virginia began to heat up from the outside. Having already connected on one three-point shot, lightning struck again as center Elton Brown tied the game at 31-31 with another three-pointer from the corner. Brown followed his "gator chomp" celebration with another three-pointer the next possession to tie the game once again at 34-34.
"We give Elton the green light to shoot it," Gillen said. "Obviously we didn't expect him to hit three threes in a half, but he's a good shooter."
Although such a statement might be surprising to a fair-weather Cavalier fan, Brown's shooting touch came as no surprise to his teammates.
"[Elton] does it in practice," Mason said. "You know, he tries to challenge me to shoot three-pointers. And Big E can shoot threes. It's no surprise. I told him, 'If you're open, you better let it go because it looks good.' Hopefully he'll keep working on it and be another threat for us."
And another threat is exactly what the Cavaliers need. When three-point specialist Keith Friel and three-point addict Donald Hand graduated, Virginia needed all the help it could get in hitting the outside shot on a consistent basis.
After Brown hit back-to-back three pointers, sharp-shooting Mason was able to get more open looks and finished the first half with three consecutive three-pointers to give Virginia a 45-39 lead.
With another shooter to complement Mason, Florida State was forced to play man-to-man the entire second half and hopelessly watched as the Cavaliers pounded the ball inside to Travis Watson or let Chris Williams drive to the hole.
"We've got other shooters on our team," Mason said. "But for your center to be out there hitting threes, they're not going to be able to sit in a zone when Elton can do that."
Virginia will need its full compliment of shooters to step up the rest of the season and force teams to play man-to-man rather than sit back in a zone.
"You need to be able to stick the outside shot against the zone," Gillen said. "And we will see more zones. Tuesday night [at Georgia Tech] we'll see a lot of zone."
With his team facing a seemingly insurmountable deficit in the closing
minutes, Robinson continued to call timeouts and forced his players to
commit fouls.
“We never quit,” Robinson said afterwards.
Ironically, Robinson's strategy added to the statistic he most complained
about after the game. The No. 10 Cavaliers got to the free-throw line three
times as often as FSU, which made the difference in their 91-74 victory
Sunday in front of 7,524 at University Hall.
FSU learned another hard lesson in Atlantic Coast Conference basketball.
When you're on the road, charity and momentum seem to sit behind the home
team's bench. Virginia made 37 of 44 foul shots, establishing season highs
in both categories, and dominated the battle on the boards between two of
the ACC's top rebounding teams en route to beating FSU for the third
straight time. FSU attempted 11 free throws and made just eight in one of
the more physical games the Seminoles have played this season.
One quick glance at the postgame stats was enough to cement the scowl on
Robinson's face. The look said much more than he allowed his mouth to blurt
as he tempered his comments to avoid publicly criticizing how the game was
officiated.
“I can't comment on that,” Robinson said when asked how significant
Virginia's frequent trips to the line were in the game's outcome. “You
read the stats. It's kind of hard to win if the other team is getting that
many (opportunities).”
FSU fell to 9-7 overall and 2-3 in the conference, while Virginia
improved to 12-2 and 3-2. The Seminoles remain ahead of Georgia Tech and
North Carolina and pulled a half-game ahead of Clemson (2-4), which plays at
FSU on Thursday. Virginia is tied for second place with N.C. State and Wake
Forest.
Virginia's aggressive play had something to do with how things went. The
Cavaliers' starting frontcourt of Chris Williams, J.C. Mathis and Travis
Watson all had success going to the basket and combined for 45 points and 27
rebounds. They were equally effective on defense, producing six blocked
shots and four steals. By comparison, FSU's frontcourt was less aggressive
if not non-existent.
Williams led all scorers with 24 points and Watson finished with 14
points and 15 rebounds to collect his 30th career double-double.
Monte Cummings scored 19 to lead FSU, which ran out of ammunition in the
second half and nearly ran out of bodies to finish the game. Point guard
Delvon Arrington fouled out after scoring 16 points and handing out eight
assists. Four other FSU players held on with four fouls.
“That's amazing,” Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. “It was a
physical game, and we were attacking the basket. They were legitimate
fouls.”
And 20 of the 31 fouls by FSU were called in the second half as Virginia
increased its six-point halftime lead to as much as 19 before FSU made a
failed comeback attempt. In addition to winning the battle at the line,
Virginia also outrebounded FSU 40-26, snapping the Seminoles' streak of
eight consecutive games in which they held an edge on the boards.
“We knew coming in that they were a good rebounding team and that we'd
have to match their intensity and go after the ball,” said FSU center Mike
Mathews, who split the load inside with Trevor Harvey after starter Nigel
Dixon got into early foul trouble. “They made a couple of big plays and
grabbed some key rebounds that they turned into even more baskets.”
Virginia outscored FSU 18-0 in second chance points and added another 20
points on 12 turnovers by the Seminoles. The Cavaliers also held the edge in
bench points behind 16 points from freshman forward Elton Brown, who matched
the scoring from FSU reserves by himself. Brown's 3-pointer from the top of
the key late in the first half was the first of five straight by Virginia,
which erased a seven-point deficit to go into the break leading 45-39.
“Virginia did a great job,” said Robinson, whose team remained
winless on the road in the ACC this season. “We just couldn't keep
pace.”
No. 10 UVa tomahawks Florida State at University Hall
"It's a goal every night," said Watson, a Brookneal-based junior who had 17 rebounds Tuesday against Wake Forest and another 15 Sunday in the Cavaliers' 94-71 victory. "I just try to get as many as I can."
Watson's 32 boards over the past 80 minutes is a big reason Virginia (12-2, 3-2 ACC) has dug itself out of the hole it mined in its 0-2 start in conference play. After wins at North Carolina and home against Wake, the Cavaliers came out flat against the Seminoles before seizing momentum late in the first half.
Virginia outscored Florida State 30-16 over the final six minutes of the first half, recovering from a 23-15 deficit to take a 45-39 halftime lead. The Cavaliers got boosts from the 3-point shooting of two individuals - one unexpected, one relied upon. Elton Brown, a 6-foot-9, 265-pound freshman power forward, sank three 3-pointers to tie the game at 34, then Roger Mason Jr., the team's star shooting guard, took over for another trio of 3-pointers in the final 75 seconds for the six-point halftime lead.
The Cavs kept the momentum to start the second half, going up 19 points at the 11:52 mark. Florida State (9-7, 2-3) whittled the lead down to 71-61 over the next five minutes, but a pair of old-fashioned 3-point plays by J.C. Mathis and Chris Williams put the Cavaliers back to a comfortable 16-point cushion that lasted.
"We knew there were some things we were going to have to do better going into the second half," Florida State coach Steve Robinson said. "But if you tell me I'm going to come to Virginia and be two possessions down (at halftime) and have the lead throughout the first half, (I would have been satisified). I felt like hey, I think we can play (with Virginia). We just had to go out and try to do it again in the second half."
The officials sent Virginia to the free throw line 44 times (making 37) to just 11 attempts by Florida State, and the Cavs never let the Seminoles get too far back in the game.
Virginia relied on the stellar play of Watson, who had 14 points, and Williams, who scored 24 points - his highest total since scoring 26 in the season opener against Wagner. Mason put in 16, and Brown finished with 16 in 17 minutes off the bench.
Brown and Jermaine Harper (9 points) combined to give Virginia a lift when the Cavaliers trailed for most of the first half. The lineup that started the game-breaking run was Harper, freshman point guard Keith Jenifer (6 assists), Brown, Williams and Watson. Mason, the team's only reliable scorer this season, was on the bench until the 1:41 mark, when he began his personal run. After missing his first two shots, he made the three 3-pointers in a blur of motivation and good fortune. The first two were off passes from Jenifer - the first off a penetration and kick to the right wing, the second on the fast break. The third was his own creation - a 24-footer from the top of the key in the final seconds of the half.
"I had a lot building up in me because I hadn't been too aggressive at the start of the game," said Mason, who did not practice until Saturday after separating his shoulder against Wake. "I saw how the guys were doing, and I wanted to get in the game. I knocked the first one down, and it felt good."
Watson led a dominant effort on the glass, helping the Cavaliers outrebound the Seminoles 40-26 despite Florida State's normal rebounding prowess, with six players averaging more than four per game.
"It was a group effort," Robinson said. "Travis did a great job on the boards, getting his double-double (Watson's 30th). But I thought the other players on the team had a lot of input into that. Chris Williams, J.C. Mathis, these guys are really good athletes. We felt getting on the boards was going to be a key and we certainly did not match them."
Florida State's high-profile backcourt of Delvon Arrington (16 points, eight assists) and Monte Cummings (19 points) scored more than their averages, but they could not prop up the Seminoles despite each making 7 of 12 field goals. Antwuan Dixon, the team's third major threat, scored nine points and could not get loose on Williams, who also helped out on Cummings briefly.
The Florida State bench contributed just 16 points, and foul trouble limited Nigel Dixon (the 330-pound center nicknamed "Big Jelly") to 12 minutes, four points and five rebounds. Michael Joiner, the fifth starter, got just 10 points.
"Our halfcourt defense was better than usual," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "That was a difference, especially when the game was tight."
| Mikeysurf posted on 1/20 10:51 PM |
| Here's my take on the weekend... |
| From everything I have heard, the staff is extremely
enthusiastic about how things went this weekend. Why? - The reconfirmation of Stewart's verbal was important. He is a superb athlete that has incredible upside, with the speed to become a much-needed deep threat at WR. - Stovall left Notre Dame without giving them a verbal. It allows our staff additional opportunity to work him. Don't forget, Stovall has made four visits to C'ville, developed a great relationship with the staff, and knows he will play a key role in UVa's offense early in his career. As of right now, UVa and ND are the clear frontrunners. - Parham returns home to make a decision. Most likely, he will decide within the week since no other visits remain. Academics have always been a critical factor with Parham. While Tennessee has done a great job planting the "seed" of doubt that UVa can not compete for the big prize. Groh has the credibility to counter such hyperbole from Fulmer's crew. It is common knowledge that Parham's mom really likes what UVa offers Monday through Friday, and continues to ensure this will be a joint academic/f'ball decision. It may come down to the quality of the curriculum and not the additional 37,000 seats on Saturdays. - Hamilton's public comments continue to differ from what I hear from many others. Until I see otherwise, it appears Hamilton is headed to UVa. He knows it offers the best chance for him to play as a true first-year because the 'Hoos need a quality cover-corner. UGA is not aggressively recruiting him, BC is not going to get him over us, and I have never sensed he felt UMD was ever in the lead. - Johnson had a great visit. He needs to weigh his options. We have done an excellent job recruiting him. Johnson understands he doesn't have to go to Miami or FSU to make it to the NFL. When Womack enters the NFL draft this spring, UVa will have placed Word, Kirby, Way, Barber, Jones, and Washington in the NFL of former RBs since '86. Believe me, Groh knows how to sell it. - Brooks took it all in and appeared to have a good visit. This was always our toughest "get," therefore, no one should be surprised Brooks was pokerface all weekend. Tennessee is going to be a tough school to beat for Brooks because it has a convenient enough geography and Brooks' decision may be more f'ball driven. I believe if we can survive the UT visit, we have a good shot. Parents like UVa, the staff (especially Golden), and we have recruited him as well as anyone. - Lewis and Vick were longshots, at best. However, I believe we made progress with them. Not sure if we made enough progress to offset the big lead VT enjoys. Of the two, Lewis appeared the most reachable, although Vick was quite impressed with our offering. - Stories continue to float that Hill will enter in the mid-term after a semester at FUMA. I just don't believe this to be accurate. Unless Jack Blackburn has changed UVa's admission policies there are no mid-year entries. There seems to be a lot of hysterics from UVa fans because we were unable to obtain a plethora of verbals this weekend. If I am not mistaken, Brooks has been to VT and FSU, Parham has been to OU, UT, and Stanford, Vick to Miami and UT, Johnson to Miami and UT, Hamilton to Michigan St. and UMD, and Lewis to Miami and VT. They didn't make any verbals after those visits, right? The staff is comfortable enough in their effort to allow this to play out. The kids need time to sort out the information. We're recruiting in the big leagues now and not pursuing a collection of players that only second tier schools are interested in. It would not surprise me if 3 or more make their decisions known this week. Be patient! We're having a great year with a new/proven jockey to break in the thoroughbreds. |
Freshman triggers Cavs