Bannister saves Cavaliers
Sophomore's score with 2.6 seconds remaining lifts UVa to OT victory
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
January 6, 2005

Two overtimes, a goaltend, a fortunate strategy from the free-throw line, a few shots from two cold guards and a few more from a guard with a cold - all that somehow allowed Virginia to leave University Hall a victor over Western Kentucky on Wednesday night.

T.J. Bannister hit a running layup with 2.6 seconds remaining in the second extra session to lift Virginia to the 80-79 victory at University Hall.

“That was a great college basketball game. … We had great courage and great guts. It was a great victory. I wasn’t pretty but it counts the same as any other win,” said Virginia coach Pete Gillen, whose team improved to 9-2 overall.

Bannister’s shot came after a mad scramble that had multiple players from both sides on the floor. Finally, Bannister, who along with fellow point guard Sean Singletary combined to shoot 4 for 18 from the floor, controlled the ball in the far left corner and drove in for the winning basket.

“I quickly glanced up at the clock and knew there was like four seconds left. I was like, ‘I better hurry and get to the basket,’” said Bannister.

At one point, it appeared that the clock would simply run out on the Cavaliers as the ball just rolled around on the floor.

“I thought the clock would run out while I was diving for the ball on the floor. I had no idea how much time was left,” said Elton Brown who finished with

10 points, 12 rebounds and a few floor burns after the wild final scrum.

J.R. Reynolds, who didn’t start and almost didn’t play because of flu-like symptoms, led Virginia with 20 points and hit two crucial 3-pointers to rally the Cavaliers.

Jason Clark had a career-high 16 points - two of which came courtesy of a critical goaltend call - and nine rebounds. Singletary, who awakened from a poor shooting night to hit a key 3-pointer late in regulation, had 11 points and seven assists while Gary Forbes finished with 11.

Western Kentucky (10-2), seeking a marquee win for its NCAA resume, received 30 points and 11 rebounds from Anthony Winchester and 20 from Courtney Lee.

“Give Virginia and Bannister credit for making a good play. … It was a game we could have won but we made too many turnovers,” said WKU coach Darin Horn, whose team committed 20 turnovers on the evening.

Virginia trailed 57-48 with just more than six minutes to play but rallied with its only solid stretch of basketball on the evening.

Reynolds connected on a 3-pointer with 2:27 left to tie the game at 60 and then Singletary, who had misfired on his previous five 3-pointers, finally connected from the top of the key for a 63-62 lead with 1:39 to play. It was Virginia’s first lead in nearly 37 minutes.

The Hilltoppers regained a 65-63 advantage and held that entering a very frenetic final few seconds of regulation.

After rebounding a Singletary miss, Forbes was fouled and went to the stripe with 11.1 seconds left. After missing his first, Forbes intentionally missed his second and the strategy worked well enough as Western Kentucky’s Antonio Haynes fell with the ball out-of-bounds.

“We told him to miss and fortunately it all worked out,” said an exasperated Gillen.

Reynolds fired a trey off the inbounds pass but it bounded away from the rim and the loose ball ultimately came to Singletary with about three seconds left. The guard threw an underhanded pass to Clark underneath the basket for a layup. Clark’s attempt was blocked off the backboard by Elgrace Wilborn but was immediately ruled a goaltend by the officials.

“I thought it was going to go in anyway but then I saw the official call for the goaltend and I got ready for overtime,” Clark said.

In the first extra session, Virginia led by as many as five with 33.3 seconds remaining and held a 74-71 lead after a pair of free throws by Reynolds with 20.2 seconds left.

The Cavs still led 74-72 with 12.7 left but Forbes misfired on another two attempts from the line and Lee hit a floater just before the buzzer to tied the game at 74 and send it to a second overtime.

Virginia returns to action when it travels to Georgia Tech on Saturday at 8 p.m.

Reynolds' heart carries Cavs to win
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 6, 2005

On a night when Virginia desperately needed a hero, J.R. Reynolds filled the bill.

No, the sophomore guard from Roanoke didn’t hit the game-winning shot in the Cavaliers’ 80-79, double-overtime victory over menacing Western Kentucky.

Even though Reynolds was UVa’s leading scorer in the game with 20 points, what he did Wednesday night can’t be measured statistically. When most men would cower under similar circumstances, Reynolds gave it all he had.

Fighting sickness

All through the day on Wednesday, Reynolds was ill, suffering the effects of either food poisoning or an infection of some sort. No way would he be capable of playing in a basketball game later that evening.

Well, at least that’s what everybody else thought.

“I have trouble comprehending what J.R. was able to do tonight,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen of Reynolds’ performance. “He was throwing up all day long. He was sick as a dog. How he got 20 points is beyond belief.”

Virginia was already shorthanded coming into the game against the previously 10-1 Hilltoppers. Senior Devin Smith was out with a sprained ankle. Senior Jason Clark hadn’t practiced the past two days because of sore ankles and freshman guard Sean Singletary wears a harness to protect a nagging shoulder problem.

Had you entered the Cavaliers’ locker room during Wednesday’s meetings, you might have mistaken it for a M*A*S*H unit, especially with Reynolds hooked up for an intravenous transfusion to hydrate his weakened body.

That was the bad news. The worst news was that, as Reynolds put it later, “it just got worse during the course of the day.

“I had no energy before the game,” Reynolds said.

But he knew his teammates needed him, particularly with Smith definitely out of action.

“I just had to put it all behind me and play,” Reynolds said after leading the Cavs to a 9-2 record with a win that could definitely help their cause come March.

He could play, but he knew he couldn’t start. And when he did play in the first half, he started slow, hitting one of his first four shots. He only played eight minutes in the first half and spent most of halftime throwing up.

“I asked him if he could play the second half and he said, ‘Yes,’” Gillen said of the halftime scenario. “I asked him if he was sure, and again, he said, ‘Yes.’”

Reynolds to the rescue

After the Cavs fell behind by nine points with only 6:20 to play in regulation and things were looking dark, Reynolds came to the rescue. He scored on a drive down the lane, then hit a 3-pointer from the right corner to bring it to within 57-53. Moments later, another Reynolds’ shot from bonusphere knotted it at 60-all with 2:29 left in regulation.

His 3-pointer that rattled out with nine seconds to play could have locked up the win,

but it came out, setting up the double overtime dramatics.

Reynolds hit two free throws for a 72-67 lead, then two more for a 74-71 lead with 20 seconds to go in the first overtime before Western Kentucky tied it.

How Reynolds even clocked 29 minutes of playing time on this night and matched his career-high 20 point output was more than admirable.

It’s exactly the type of game that Reynolds needed, sort of a breakthrough game for him to take his game to a new level.

“At Oak Hill Academy, Coach Steve Smith said that J.R. used to defer to other players at times. He would take steps back,” Gillen said. “He played a great game against Wake Forest and he had the heart of a lion tonight. Ninety eight out of 100 guys wouldn’t have played tonight.”

But Reynolds played, and oh, how he played.

It was the type of performance that could inspire this team to greater heights if it can get healthy once again.

Syracuse has its eye on Southern Cal's Chow
College Notebook by Doug Doughty
The Roanoke Times

Watching new Syracuse athletic director Daryl Gross on the sideline at the Orange Bowl, it wasn't hard to make a connection between Southern California offensive coordinator Norm Chow and the Syracuse football coaching vacancy.

Virginia Tech quarterbacks coach Kevin Rogers and Virginia defensive coordinator Al Golden are two other names being mentioned in connection with Syracuse, which is the only Division I-A program that has not filled its opening. Rogers was the quarterbacks coach for eight years at Syracuse, where he tutored future NFL star Donovan McNabb. He also spent time as the Orange's offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator.

Golden is known for his recruiting prowess and is well-connected in the East. A New Jersey native, he played at Penn State and coached at Boston College and Penn State.

The Post-Standard in Syracuse reported that Gross, a former assistant AD at Southern Cal, also has asked for permission to speak with Indianapolis Colts quarterback coach and former Wake Forest head coach Jim Caldwell.

Other known candidates, according to the paper, are Connecticut head coach Randy Edsall and Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon.

• Virginia's fears about losing Golden to Notre Dame were allayed when the Irish named Rick Minter as defensive coordinator and Bill Lewis as assistant head coach and defensive backs coach. Lewis, an assistant with the Miami Dolphins since 1996, is a former head coach at Georgia Tech and East Carolina.

• One-time Virginia Tech lineman John Latina has surfaced on the Notre Dame staff, joining his old boss at Mississippi, David Cutcliffe, who will be new coach Charley Weis' offensive coordinator. Replacing Latina as Ole Miss offensive coordinator is Noel Mazzone, who had that title for the past two years at North Carolina State. Mazzone is the third coach to leave State since the end of the season.

• Ex-UVa offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave was fired Tuesday after two seasons as offensive coordinator of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags finished 9-7 this year - their best record since 1999 - but finished 21st out of 32 NFL teams in total offense and 31st in red-zone touchdown efficiency.

Around the ACC

North Carolina tight end Jon Hamlett from Jefferson Forest was permitted to play in the Continental Tire Bowl after he was arrested for possession of a firearm on school grounds. Hamlett, who had been hunting, was parked illegally when officers found an unloaded shotgun in a pick-up truck. Hamlett pleaded guilty Dec.17 after the charge was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor.

• The NCAA has awarded a sixth season of football eligibility to North Carolina offensive lineman Skip Seagraves, who suffered a broken foot in the second game of the 2004 season. Seagraves earlier had been redshirted for medical reasons, a prerequisite for a player seeking a second redshirt year.

When Wake Forest agreed to a two-year football series with Nebraska, beginning next fall in Lincoln, Neb., plans for a game with neighboring Elon College, a Division I-AA program, were put on hold. Nebraska will come to Winston-Salem in 2007.

Recruiting

Marshall has received an oral commitment from John Jacobs, a running back from Broadway High School who was rated the No.40 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times. Headed to Division I-AA national champion James Madison is Group A state player of the year Zach Terrell, the quarterback for Group A Division 2 champion Manassas Park. Terrell is rated the No.45 prospect in Virginia.

Connections

Ahmad Bradshaw, who enrolled at Marshall after Virginia withdrew its scholarship offer, had a team-high 1,079 all-purpose yards for the Thundering Herd (6-6). Bradshaw rushed for 462 yards, averaging 4.9 yards per carry, caught 14 passes and also returned punts and kickoffs. ... Junior cornerback Chris Royal, older brother of Virginia Tech wide receiver Eddie Royal, had a team-high six interceptions for 103 return yards and a touchdown.

Local update

Marshall defensive end Jamus Martin, a senior from Martinsville, was named second-team all-conference in the Mid-America Conference. Martin, whose 13 tackles for loss included eight sacks, was backed up by another Martinsville product, ex-Bulldogs running back Marcus Hairston.

• Franklin County product Jonathan Dudley, who began his college career at Marshall, converted all nine of his field-goal attempts for Division I-AA Georgia Southern. Dudley was named first-team All-Southern Conference by the coaches and second team by the media.

Bannister lifts U.Va. in 2 OTs
Junior's layup with 2.6 seconds left gives Cavaliers tough win
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jan 6, 2005
VIRGINIA 80 WKU 79

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- With the basketball loose on the floor, and the seconds ticking away at the end of the second overtime, it appeared the game might end without a final shot by Virginia.

But after a mad scramble, Gary Forbes finally gained possession. The sophomore swingman passed to another U.Va. reserve, junior point guard T.J. Bannister, in the left corner in front of the home bench.

"I glanced up at the clock real quick and saw there were like 4 seconds left," Bannister said afterward. "I was like, 'Oh, let me hurry up and get to the basket.'"

He's not the Cavalier most observers would expect to take -- or make -- a last-second shot, but Bannister, who came in averaging 4.3 points, delivered in the clutch last night. He drove and put up a contested layup that dropped through with 2.6 seconds left. Hilltoppers guard Antonio Haynes' desperation 3-point attempt was well short, and Virginia walked off the court at University Hall with an improbable 80-79 win.

"This was one of the craziest games since I've been here," said senior forward Jason Clark, who scored a career-high 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked three shots for Virginia (9-2).

Clark kept the Cavaliers from losing in regulation. He gathered in a one-handed pass from point guard Sean Singletary and scored at the buzzer to make it 74-74. Western Kentucky center Elgrace Wilborne was called for goal-tending on Clark's layup attempt.

In the first overtime, U.Va. led 72-67 with 26 seconds remaining, but the Hilltoppers (10-2) rallied to force another extra period, Courtney Lee scoring on a runner with eight-tenths of a second remaining.

In the second OT, Lee's two free throws with 32.8 seconds left put Western ahead 79-78. The Hilltoppers then deflected a U.Va. pass at the other end, setting off a wild sequence that finally ended with Bannister's game-winner. Bannister had missed 4 of his first 5 field-goal attempts, but he didn't hesitate with the game on the line.

"He had the courage the take it," U.Va. coach Pete Gillen said. "That's the big thing."

Western, of the Sun Belt Conference, took the lead less than two minutes into thegame, and U.Va. didn't go back on top until Singletary sank a 3-pointer with 1:40 left in the regulation. Hilltoppers guard Anthony Winchester led all scorers with 30 points and added 11 rebounds and four assists.

For the second straight game, U.Va. played without its leading scorer, senior forward Devin Smith, who's nursing a sprained ankle. Smith wasn't the only Virginia standout not on the court when the game began last night. Sophomore guard J.R. Reynolds had spent much of the day throwing up, and he was in the training room getting an I.V.

Reynolds finally emerged from the locker room, and he entered the game at the 14:14 mark of the first half. He scored only four points before intermission and looked too weak to continue, but Reynolds persevered. By game's end, he had 20 points, matching his career high.

"Tonight he he had the heart of a lion," Gillen said.

With Western leading 64-63, Haynes, an 81.8-percent free-throw shooter, went to the line for a one-and-one with 33.3 left seconds in regulation. He made his first attempt but missed his second, and Virginia rebounded. With 11.1 seconds left, Forbes was fouled and went to the line for two shots. After bricking the first, Forbes missed the second intentionally, and Virginia caught a break when Western lost the rebound out of bounds.

Reynolds' 3-point attempt went in the basket and then out with 7 seconds left, but the rebound ended up in Singletary's hands, and he fed Clark, who barely beat the clock.