Singletary leads UVa rally
Cavs dispatch Virginia Tech, 2-2 in league
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
January 15, 2006

BLACKSBURG - The look on the face of University of Virginia coach Dave Leitao was one of bewilderment. As he turned to his assistants, with his hands in the air, he literally couldn't believe what he had just witnessed.
Leitao's young squad was leading Virginia Tech by seven points when Hokies fans, disgusted with officials - but mainly with their team's bricklaying - began throwing objects onto the court.

That's when Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg strode to midcourt and got on the P.A. system - seemingly to tell Hokie Nation to chill out.

Unfortunately for Leitao and the Cavaliers, that wasn't exactly what transpired.

"There's 11 minutes left in the game," Greenberg told the crowd. "We're going to play as hard as we can, so cheer as loud as you can and get behind the Hokies!"

The near-capacity crowd at Cassell Coliseum erupted. So did Greenberg's team. The Hokies outscored the Cavs 13-3 over the next five minutes to take a 42-39 lead.

With two of its three post players fouled out, Virginia - a team with no senior scholarship players - looked like they'd be heading back to Charlottesville with their second straight ACC loss.

But then Sean Singletary - just as he did in the team's first ACC victory over Clemson - took over.

Singletary scored 10 straight points late in the second half - and Adrian Joseph hit a huge go-ahead 3-pointer - as the Cavs pulled off a shocking 54-49 win over Virginia Tech to notch the first road ACC victory of the Dave Leitao era. The Hokies dropped to 0-4 in league play.

"It was a very, very good win for our guys and the growth of our team," Leitao said. "We hung tough through a lot of different things."

With no inside game to speak of and the Cavs turning the ball over at an alarming rate, Singletary, who finished the game with 16 points and six assists, willed the team to victory. He did it with an assortment of injuries that nearly prevented him from playing.

"I was struggling in this game," Singletary said, "but I just felt we had nothing to lose and I turned it up."

The Cavs (8-6, 2-2) looked like they were never going to score another basket - and the crowd was going nuts - until Singletary drove hard to the basket with less than six minutes remaining. The sophomore's body was hurting, but he didn't shy away from contact. He drew a foul and hit a free throw to end the drought.

Two possessions later, Singletary knifed through a double-team and stopped on a dime in the lane for a pull-up jumper that cut the Hokies' lead to 46-44.

Then, after the Hokies' Zabian Dowdell nailed a 3-pointer, Singletary answered back with one of his own. Following a Hokies' turnover, Singletary drove to the hoop and drew another foul. He hit two free throws to tie the game at 49 with 2:28 left in the contest.

After two defensive stops, the Cavs got the ball back with less than a minute to play and the game still knotted.

J.R. Reynolds penetrated the Hokies' defense and kicked the ball to Joseph who was standing behind the 3-point line in the corner.

Joseph had passed up a similar shot that would have beaten Florida State on Wednesday night. However, he showed no hesitation against the Hokies.

"I set my feet to take the shot when J.R. drove the ball," Joseph said. "I was ready."

Joseph nailed it to put the Cavs up 52-49.

"He had the gumption to make a shot like that," Leitao said "He understood that he the opportunity to get a shot up [against FSU]. It went to him again and he confidently knocked it down."

The Hokies wound up having two more chances to tie the game, but 3-pointers by Dowdell and Jamon Gordon were off the mark.

Freshman Mamadi Diane calmly sank two free throws to seal the win with seven seconds on the clock.

Afterward, Singletary joked about Greenberg's mini pep rally.

"He was cheating," Singletary laughed. "Coach Greenberg was cheating out there."

Leitao didn't sound bothered by the tactic when he talked about it, but he probably would have been singing a different tune if his team hadn't prevailed.

"A well-timed great speech by coach Greenberg woke them up," said Leitao, grinning. "That's what happens when you go on the road."

Reynolds, who scored 16 points - 12 coming in the first half - said the Cavs showed mental fortitude.

"We just kept our poise and stepped up the defensive pressure," Reynolds said. "We got the stops and knocked down the shots at the end when it counted."


DUNKS: The Cavs host defending National Champion North Carolina on Thursday.

The Cavs had a pretty nice cheering section right behind their bench - the women's basketball team that plays at Virginia Tech tonight. "They were pretty spirited for us," Leitao said.

Singletary on which injuries hurt him the most: "I can't rank them," he said. "Everything hurts. It's just something I have to play with."

 

Point guard delivers guts, gumption, grit
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
January 15, 2006

BLACKSBURG
If you're looking for the president of the Sean Singletary Fan Club, then stop with Dave Leitao. The Virginia basketball coach has a special place in his heart for the Cavaliers' gutsy sophomore point guard and with several good reasons.

When Leitao played the game for then-Northeastern University coach Jim Calhoun, and later worked as an assistant coach for the now Hall of Famer Calhoun at UConn, he made an everlasting impression on his mentor. Calhoun used Leitao as a role model and told all his players to try to mold themselves after him as both a player and a person.

Don't be surprised if Leitao advises his players to be like Singletary.

Heading into Sunday's state rivalry slamdance at Virginia Tech, the UVa coach wasn't even sure that Singletary could play. The point guard had been banged around so much in recent games, particularly in last Wednesday's homer against Florida State, that Singletary hadn't practiced a single minute since.

Singin' Singletary

But there was never a doubt in Singletary's mind. Not only did he show up, but also answered the bell with the game on the line, giving the Cavaliers a much needed, 54-49 ACC road win while sinking the Hokies to 0-4 in league play.

"Obviously he's visibly not at 100 percent and gutted himself through 30 minutes plus and 16 points, which is a credit to just what a fine basketball player he is," Leitao said in praise of his point guard. "He's got something inside of him ... he's got grit."

Singletary, who leads his team in points, minutes played and in minutes clocked in the whirlpool as a result, admittedly struggled the first half as he made only 1 of 5 field-goal attempts (1 of 3 in treys) and scored but three points. He was thanking God for J.R. Reynolds, who was carrying the team, and also thinking he needed to find some way to step up.

He must have gone to his Happy Place because he drilled a 3-pointer after Reynolds spotted him alone in the corner with 10:25 to go, giving the Cavs' their largest lead of the game at 39-31. But when Tech charged into the lead with an impressive 13-3 run over the next five minutes, it was Singletary who took over the game.

Body slams

He hurtled his body into the Land of the Vertically Challenged and was hammered by Tech's Coleman Collins at the 5:29 mark and made but one free throw, but that kick-started Singletary's late-game dramatics and fueled a rare UVa comeback win.

"I had nothing to lose out there," Singletary said of that drive down the lane. "I was playing horrible. So, when I went to the basket, got fouled, I just knocked down one free throw and I got myself a little bit of confidence. I just built off that."

And did he.

Singletary took command. He drove the lane again for a short jumper, followed by a 15-footer, then knocked down a bomb from Bonusphere to draw the Wahoos to within 49-47 at the 3:18 mark. On a roll, he deadlocked the game at 49-all when he tried to split two Hokies defenders and drew a foul, making both free throws at 2:28.

From there, he let Adrian Joseph's trey and Mamadi Diane finish the job.

"He's got some intestinal fortitude of which I really don't know if I've ever seen before," Leitao said of co-captain Singletary. "It's almost to the point where you get that mentality from a boxer or a football player, somebody in one of those full-contact sports. He has something that he can go to that makes him get up early, get in the gym, that makes him take hits and fall down and get back up. In this case, a light went off in him that he had to take control of the game and that's exactly what he did."

Funny that Leitao should mention that boxer's or football player's mentality. Singletary, all 6-foot, 174 pounds of him, was both. Well, sort of.

"I was a quarterback and wide receiver [at William Penn Charter School in Philly], but I started at wide receiver," Singletary said proudly of his gridiron background. "I took some shots. But I say in my mind, 'Hey, they don't like me, they're trying to kill me, so I've got to fight back.' I like to feel like my back is against the wall."

And the boxing thing, well, it was a little short-lived.

"My father [Harold] used to box and tried to make me do it, but I was into football," Singletary chuckled. "I did a little bit. He knocked me down all the time, me and my brother. That was enough."

Singletary takes a lot of pride in having developed mental toughness from his father and coaches and other folks he grew up around. He realizes it's a quality that not every athlete or person can rely on when things get tough.

"It shows up in clutch situations," he said. "I had confidence in myself, knowing that I struggled and turned the ball over a hell of a lot, but came out and knocked down some shots. I knew my team needed me and I had to step up and play through it."

No wonder Leitao refers to him as a warrior. No wonder he would love to have a dozen more on the roster just like him.

The Virginia coach is aware of what he used to mean to Calhoun's programs and is aware of what this tough little kid from Philly could mean to his.

"He's what I want, not only for our program to look like, but I want human beings who happen to play basketball to be like," the coach said of his pupil. "Here's a kid that hasn't had the easiest life, who has gone through the highs and lows.

"Just this summer [Singletary] has had four close friends pass away. He's very dedicated to his family, very dedicated spiritually, is a hard worker who respects others. That's all you can ask for from a kid," Leitao said. "It puts him in position to do some great things now, like he's doing, but also puts him in a great position to lead a great life if he continues to grow and move forward."

To Leitao, that's what coaching is all about. Sure, the wins are satisfying and keeps coaches employed.

"But to share a life with a guy like Sean, who has it figured out in terms of where you're supposed to go in your life, it makes you proud to be a coach," Leitao said.

No wonder he's the leader of the Singletary bandwagon. He hopes to ride it all the way to the top of ACC basketball.

 

CAVS MISS MARK LESSJoseph's late 3 lifts UVa
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

BLACKSBURG -- Already having passed up one big shot in the past week, Virginia sophomore Adrian Joseph wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

Joseph, quickly becoming a late-game hero for the Cavaliers, hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 45 seconds left Sunday as UVa knocked off Virginia Tech 54-49 at Cassell Coliseum.

The Cavaliers (8-6, 2-2 ACC) scored the last 10 points of the game in handing first-year head coach Dave Leitao his first conference road victory.

"We're learning on the fly," said Leitao, who has eight scholarship players, five less than the NCAA limit, "so, when you can steal a win here and there on the road, that's great for our confidence."

The Hokies (10-7, 0-4) came into the game as 712-point favorites and seemed to have all the momentum after going on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the second half.

Tech's comeback followed shortly after Tech coach Seth Greenberg picked up a technical foul after an apparent dunk by Coleman Collins was ruled no good with 11:11 left.

The ball somehow got lodged in the net and popped out of the basket, with the Cavaliers claiming the rebound as the scoreboard switched from 32-29 to 32-31.

Eventually the score returned to 32-29, but only until Virginia junior J.R. Reynolds converted a pair of free throws resulting from the technical.

Greenberg later said he understood why the basket didn't count, but argued because he felt Collins was fouled. After the public-address announcer had warned the crowd about throwing debris on the floor, Greenberg took the microphone and told the crowd that Tech would give its best effort over the final 10 minutes and that the Hokies needed the fans' support.

He then slammed the microphone on the scorer's table.

"That woke 'em up," Leitao said. "It was a well-timed, great speech by Coach Greenberg. That's what happens when you go on the road. More power to him and more power to them. It really energized them and, from that point on, they were really attacking us."

A 3-pointer by Zabian Dowdell put the Hokies on top 49-44 with 3:37 left. It was their largest lead of the afternoon, but they did not score on their last six possessions.

Meanwhile, UVa sophomore point guard Sean Singletary was single-handedly keeping the Cavaliers in the game. He answered Dowdell's shot with a 3-pointer on the Cavaliers' next possession, then added two free throws with 2:55 remaining to make it 49-49. Singletary scored all 13 Virginia points in a 7:58 span.

"I don't think they got a shot out of their offense in the last 16 minutes," Greenberg said. "We certainly don't have anybody in practice who can simulate being Singletary. The guy made big shots. You've got to give him credit."

Singletary, the fourth-leading scorer in the ACC, had 27 points Wednesday in an 87-82 overtime loss to Florida State, but had not practiced since that game as the result of a sore hip and other issues.

"There was no doubt I was playing in this game," he said. "I just needed a little rest."

Singletary, Reynolds and Joseph all had three 3-point goals for Virginia, which had more 3-pointers (9-for-20) than 2-pointers (8-for-18).

The Cavaliers also committed a season-high 21 turnovers, one reason Tech was able to keep the game close despite a dreadful shooting performance. Tech shot a season-low 33.3 percent from the field, including three 3-pointers in 21 attempts. The Hokies missed eight of 20 free throws.

"We gave up 60-percent shooting in the last game and that can't happen continually if we're going to get wins," Leitao said. "Today, to give up 33 percent to a pretty good offensive team that's shooting 46 percent is a credit to our guys and their commitment to that end of the floor."

The Cavaliers squandered a five-point lead in the final 212 minutes against Florida State, against which every possession seemed to end with a rushed shot. Maybe their best look was when Joseph got loose near the 3-point arc, but he quickly passed the ball.

"He's got a pretty good self-check program going for himself," Leitao said. "I really believe, as a catch-and-shoot guy, that he's not only as good as we've got but as good as it can be in this league."

After missing two free throws late in a road loss at Western Kentucky, Joseph made two clutch free throws in a 64-58 victory over Clemson.

Then came Sunday.

"I try to learn from my mistakes," said Joseph, UVa's third-leading scorer despite starting four of 14 games. "When I didn't take that 3-pointer against Florida State, I didn't have to say anything to my teammates. I just told myself."

 

Basket small to the Hokies
Tech shoots 33 percent from the field and scores less than 60 points for the fifth time this season.
By Mark Berman
981-3125
The Roanoke Times

BLACKSBURG -- The Virginia Tech men's basketball team remains without a win in the ACC -- and without much offense.

The Hokies couldn't muster a point for the final 3:39 and fell to Virginia 54-49 on Sunday at Cassell Coliseum.

Despite returning four starters from an NIT team that won eight ACC games last season, Tech (10-7, 0-4) is in last place in the ACC.

"We dug ourselves a hole and now we've got to get back out of it," center Coleman Collins said. "I'm surprised [by the mark], but every game we've lost, we've been right there. ... We've lost games every way imaginable."

"It's definitely a surprise, but one of the encouraging things is that we've been in every game," guard Zabian Dowdell said. "All we have to do is learn how to stay focused for every crucial possession. ... I don't think we have that focus and that intensity."

After Tech's fourth loss in five games, guard Jamon Gordon walked off the court without shaking hands with the Cavaliers. All seven Tech losses have been by six points or less.

"It's tough," Collins said. "We keep losing these close games."

Wins could continue to be hard to come by, as Tech's next three games are at Maryland, home against Duke, and at Wake Forest.

"I'm discouraged," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said. "We're a little wounded right now. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. When you play this many close games ... and you can't get that stop, it's going to scar you."

The Hokies mustered their fewest points since a 56-48 loss at Boston College two seasons ago. It was their fewest points at home since a 61-46 loss to Connecticut in 2001.

Tech was held to fewer than 60 points for the fifth time this season. Tech managed just 61 points in Tuesday's loss to North Carolina.

"We definitely don't have a great number of scoring options on this team, and teams can kind of key in on a couple of guys," Dowdell said.

The Hokies shot 33.3 percent from the field, the third time this season they shot worse than 35 percent.

"We've got guys that are better shooters than they're shooting," Greenberg said. "We've got to get more out of our break, we've got to get the right guys shooting and we've got to get our better players playing better."

Tech's last points came on a Dowdell 3-pointer that extended the lead to 49-44 with 3:39 left.

After UVa tied the score at 49 with 2:28 left, Markus Sailes and Wynton Witherspoon each missed a 3-pointer and Collins missed a jumper. With UVa up 52-49, Dowdell missed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left and Gordon missed a deep 3-pointer with nine seconds left.

"We had a bunch of wide-open opportunities that we couldn't make," Dowdell said.

After going 10-of-19 from the free-throw line against UNC, Tech was 12-of-20 on Sunday.

"We shot about 700 free throws this week," Greenberg said.

Greenberg again hurt his team. In the second half, Collins missed a dunk when the ball got caught in the net and came back out. Greenberg wanted a foul called and pounded on the scorer's table, earning his third technical foul in five games.

UVa made both free throws to extend its lead to 34-29 with 11:11 left.

"I just hope it doesn't happen again," Greenberg said of the technical.

 

Strong finish for Cavs
Singletary sparks Virginia, which holds Tech scoreless in final 3:38
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 16, 2006
VIRGINIA 54 VA. TECH 49

BLACKSBURG -- On the play that produced the winning points yesterday at Cassell Coliseum, Virginia's first two options were guards Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds. ACC rival Virginia Tech wasn't about to let either get off a good shot, but Reynolds dribbled free long enough to pass to the Cavaliers' third option.

Adrian Joseph did the rest. The 6-7 left-hander from Trinidad hit a high-arcing 3-pointer from the left corner to break a 49-49 tie with 45 seconds left, and the Hokies, who went scoreless in the final 3:38, never recovered. They missed 3-point attempts on their next two possessions.

U.Va. got two free throws from freshman swingman Mamadi Diane with 7.4 seconds left to secure a 54-49 victory before a crowd of 9,847. Virginia (2-2 ACC, 8-6) scored the game's final 10 points to prevail at Cassell for the first time since Nov.24, 2000.

"This is a hell of a win," Singletary said.

Joseph had passed up an open 3-point attempt in the final seconds of regulation against Florida State last week -- a game U.Va. lost in overtime -- but he didn't hesitate this time. He made 3 of 5 from beyond the arc, scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds yesterday.

"I believe as a catch-and-shoot guy, especially, that he's as good as not only we've got, but as good as there can be in this league," Dave Leitao said after his first ACC road win as U.Va.'s coach.

Tech, 10-7 overall, fell to 0-4 in the conference. The Hokies have lost two straight at home, despite forcing more than 20 turnovers in each game.

U.Va. turned over the ball 21 times and experienced several long stretches of offensive ineptitude. The Hokies, who shot only 33.3 percent from the floor, weren't any better, though, and a Singletary 3-pointer put the Cavaliers up 39-31 with 10:25 left.

The lead proved short-lived. A technical on Tech coach Seth Greenberg with 11:11 to play had fired up his players and the crowd. Greenberg stoked the flames by using a courtside microphone -- during a break at the 10:59 mark -- to deliver an unscripted pep talk instead of asking that fans stop throwing things onto the court, as officials expected him to do.

Leitao wryly noted that the "well-timed, great speech by Coach Greenberg woke them up. That's what happens when you go on the road. More power to him and more power to them. It really energized them, and from that point on they were really attacking us offensively."

After Singletary's trey, the Hokies ran off 11 straight points to take a 42-39 lead with 5:55 left.

With Virginia reeling, Singletary saved his team. He had missed every practice since the FSU game because of various bumps and bruises, but nothing bothered the 6-0 sophomore in the final 5½ minutes.

"We sure don't have anyone in practice who can simulate being Singletary," Greenberg said, "that's for sure."

With 5:29 left, Singletary hit 1 of 2 free throws to make it 42-40. He then scored U.Va.'s next 12 points. Not until Joseph's game-winner did another Cavalier score. Singletary had seven turnovers but contributed 16 points, six assists, five rebounds and one steal.

"He's got some intestinal fortitude which I really don't know if I've ever seen before," Leitao said. "Almost to the point where you get that mentality from a boxer or a football player or somebody in one of those full-contact sports."

Tech's final points came on a trey by junior guard Zabian Dowdell (16 points) with 3:38 left. That gave the Hokies a 49-44 lead, and Leitao came a timeout. After the break, Singletary supplied perhaps the game's second-biggest shot, drilling a 3-pointer to pull Virginia to 49-47 with 3:16 remaining.

"We just stuck to it," said Reynolds, who had 12 of his 16 points in the first half. "We kept our poise and stuck together towards the end and came out with a win."

 

U.Va. wins in-state battle
A sore but resilient Sean Singletary leads the Cavaliers to a victory at Virginia Tech.
BY MELINDA WALDROP
247-4634
January 16, 2006
BLACKSBURG -- All the rust did was add to the drama.

Battered and bruised, Virginia guard Sean Singletary sat out of practice all week after taking a beating in his team's loss to Florida State on Wednesday - a game he finished crumpled on the court with cramps. And in the first half of the Cavaliers' game at ACC and in-state rival Virginia Tech on Sunday, Singletary started 1-of-5, making just one 3-pointer.

But with his team in danger of seeing a late lead mutate into a devastating defeat for the second consecutive game, Singletary took over, scoring all 13 of U.Va.'s points during an eight-minute span as the Cavs held off the Hokies 54-49 at Cassell Coliseum.

"He's got something inside of him," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "He's got a grit. I've said this to him and I've said this to a lot of people about him. He's got some intestinal fortitude which I don't know if I've ever seen before. ... He's got something that he can go to that makes him get up early, get in the gym, that makes him take hits, fall down and get back up. In this case, a light went off in him that 'I've got to take control of this game,' and that's exactly what he did."

Singletary's 3-pointer with 10:23 to play represented his first points of the second half and gave U.Va. (8-6, 2-2 ACC) its largest lead at 39-31. The bucket also helped steady the Cavs as all heck was breaking loose.

The Hokie crowd, already angry after an earlier dunk by Coleman Collins was waved off when the ball came back up before going through the cylinder and an ensuing technical on Tech coach Seth Greenberg, became incensed when Markus Sailes was whistled for a foul on U.Va. guard J.R. Reynolds. After Reynolds made both free throws to put Virginia up 36-29, debris began to rain on the crowd, prompting an impromptu speech from Tech's coach.

Grabbing the public-address announcer's microphone, Greenberg exhorted the crowd to channel its energy into cheering for his players, saying, "There's 11 minutes left in this game, and we're gonna play as hard as humanly possible."

True to their coach's word, the Hokies (10-7, 0-4) didn't wilt after Singletary's 3-pointer. Zabian Dowdell's fallaway jumper started a 10-0 Tech run that put the Hokies up 41-39 - their first lead since a 19-17 advantage - on Collins' layup with 6:46 to play.

Tech increased its lead to 49-44 on Dowdell's trey with 3:37 left, but couldn't shake the Cavs - or, more to the point, Singletary. The Cavs' sophomore star hit a runner, a jumper and another 3-pointer to pull U.Va. within two points with 3:16 to play, then tied the game at 49 on two free throws with 2:28 remaining.

Despite the soreness that kept him out of practice for three days, Singletary - who matched Reynolds with a team-high 16 points - never questioned whether he would be able to produce such critical contributions.

"There was no doubt I was playing in the game," he said. "I just needed a little rest, but that's part of basketball. I'm aware of that, and I know I struggled early in the game, but I just had to turn it around. I just had to find the confidence deep down inside to come out and just get our team a win."

Singletary single-handedly kept the Cavs close, but sophomore forward Adrian Joseph put them ahead to stay. Joseph - who passed up an open 3-pointer in the waning seconds of U.Va.'s 87-82 overtime loss to Florida State on Wednesday - took a kickout from Reynolds and drained a trey to give the Cavs a 52-49 lead with 45 seconds left.

Tech had its chances to avoid yet another crushing conference loss after falling 77-75 at Duke on Sean Dockery's buzzer-beater last month and losing to North Carolina by three points despite forcing 25 turnovers last week. But Dowdell misfired on a 3-point attempt, and after a held ball gave the Hokies the ball back, Jamon Gordon couldn't get a trey to drop.

U.Va. freshman forward Mamadi Diane snared that rebound and calmly sank two free throws to finish off the Hokies.

"We just have to find a way to make more plays, make more shots," Greenberg said. "We have to take it over the hump. Plain and simple."
 

UVa edges Tech in Blacksburg
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
January 16, 2006

BLACKSBURG - The odds seemed stacked against Virginia. The Virginia Tech crowd had come out of its coma, spurred on by a discredited dunk, a technical foul and head coach Seth Greenberg's impromptu pep talk over the P.A. system. The Hokies followed suit, inevitably seizing the lead and momentum on their way to what appeared to be their first ACC victory.
But the Cavaliers didn't fold. Not this time.

Sean Singletary, who hasn't practiced all week because of various bumps and bruises, scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half before Adrian Joseph sank a clutch 3-pointer from the baseline in the final minute to help Virginia pull out a 54-49 win at Cassell Coliseum on Sunday.

"We hung tough through a lot of different things," said Virginia head coach Dave Leitao, who earned his first ACC road win and just his second road victory this season. "We bent but didn't break."

Joseph's 3-pointer broke a 49-all tie with 44.6 seconds left. The sophomore, who scored 11 points, passed up an open look for a game-winning shot in regulation of an overtime loss to Florida State earlier this week.

He didn't hesitate this time. Virginia Tech sagged on Cavaliers guard J.R. Reynolds, who fed Joseph in the corner on the baseline. Joseph calmly drained the 3 to give Virginia (8-6, 2-2 ACC) its first lead in six minutes.

"I didn't think about the Florida State game anymore because I had a bad game," said Joseph, who was 3-for-10 against the Seminoles. "I don't try to dwell on my past. That's our game now. Forget about everything that happened ? and correct my mistakes."

Said Leitao: "I believe as a catch-and-shoot guy, that he's as good ? as it can be in this league."

The Hokies (10-7, 0-4 ACC) missed two chances to tie the game. Zabian Dowdell misfired on a 3 with 25 seconds left before Jamon Gordon's long 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining drew iron. After grabbing the rebound, UVa's Mamadi Diane sank two free throws at the other end with 7.4 seconds left to put the game away.

Virginia Tech shot just 33.3 percent for the game and was 3 of 21 from 3-point range.

"It was mostly people missing shots," said Dowdell, who led the Hokies with 16 points but was just 5 of 15 from the field. "We had a bunch of wide-open opportunities that we couldn't make. There's nothing you can really do about that. Sometimes it goes in and sometimes it comes out."

The wild finish concluded a tumultuous second half. With 11:11 left, Virginia Tech's Coleman Collins missed a dunk that went through the hoop but whiplashed back out when Collins released the rim. Greenberg thought a foul should have been called, slammed on the scorer's table and received a technical foul.

Reynolds, who tied for UVa team-high honors with 16 points, made both free throws to put the Cavaliers up five. After another Hokies foul, he made two more to match Virginia's biggest lead at 36-29.

That prompted some fans to throw some small objects onto the court. After an announcement was made over the P.A. asking the fans to desist, Greenberg grabbed the microphone and incited the crowd to get behind the team before slamming it on the scorer's table. Greenberg said afterward he was trying to get fans to stop throwing things on the court.

"I guess he just wanted to motivate his team," Reynolds said.

Whatever the intent, the result was a Hokies run. Virginia Tech, which converted 21 UVa turnovers into 21 points, scored 13 of the next 16 points, tying the game on a scoop shot by Gordon and taking the lead with 6:41 left on a bank shot by Collins, who scored 14 points.

"That woke them up. (It was a) well-timed, great speech by Coach Greenberg," Leitao said. "That's what happens when you go on the road. More power to him and more power to them. It really energized them."

Singletary, meanwhile, energized the Cavaliers, keeping them afloat by pulling them out of a five-minute scoring drought. The sophomore, who was limited to three first-half points and missed six of his first seven shots, scored 13 in a row for the Cavaliers at one point.

"I know I struggled early in the game but I just had to turn it around," Singletary said. "I just had to find the confidence deep down inside to come out and just get our team a win."

Virginia Tech led 49-44 before Singletary pulled UVa within two on a 3-pointer with 3:16 to go. After the Cavaliers got possession back following a jump ball, he tied the game with a pair of free throws.

"We sure don't have anyone in practice we can simulate being Singletary, that's for sure," Greenberg said. "The guy made big shots. You've got to give him credit."

"He's got some intestinal fortitude, which I don't know if I've ever seen before," Leitao said. "He's got something that he can go to that makes him get up and go to the gym and take hits, get knocked down and get back up."

As evidenced Sunday, his teammates do too.
 

Hokies 'wounded' by another close loss
By Nathan Warters
Lynchburg News & Advance
January 16, 2006

BLACKSBURG - Those dramatic, close Atlantic Coast Conference wins of last season seem miles away for the Virginia Tech men's basketball team.
This season, the Hokies, who dropped to 0-4 in the ACC after their 54-49 loss to UVa Sunday, can't seem to find the clutch shots, defensive stops and late-game intensity that characterized their 8-8 finish in the ACC last year.

"I think we're a little wounded right now," Tech head coach Seth Greenberg said. "I'm not going to sugar coat it. When you play this many close games and you have a chance to win every one of the games coming into the last possession of the game and you can't get that stop, it's going to scar you."

The Hokies' latest disappointing ACC setback, the second in six days on its home court at Cassell Coliseum, makes four conference losses for them this season by a total of 17 points.

How close has Tech been? Each loss has come by six or fewer points.

"We keep losing these close games, but five or six bounces, and we could be 4-0," said Hokies post player Coleman Collins, who scored 14 points Sunday.

The Hokies couldn't get a shot to fall in the final 3:39 in losing a home game to the Cavaliers for the first time since 2001.

After Adrian Joseph's dagger of a 3-pointer from the right corner that put UVa up 52-49, Tech guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon misfired on 3-point attempts, Gordon's coming from well beyond the line at the top of the arc with nine seconds left.

Cavs wing Mamadi Diane made a pair of free throws with seven seconds remaining to clinch the victory.

Last season, it was the Hokies who were making the big shots at the end of games. They saw themselves in a load of close conference contests, but they made plays down the stretch to pull out several big wins.

Tech won four conference games last season (against Duke, N.C. State, Clemson and Georgia Tech) by two or fewer points.

"It's very slim," said Dowdell on the difference between Tech's cardiac wins of last season and its recent devastating losses. "It can come down to one or two possessions or maybe even a couple of seconds. You just have to be prepared for every situation in the game and right now, and I don't think we have that focus or that intensity that we need."

Many of Tech's memorable wins from last season featured clutch plays in the final seconds by its own players, not the opposition's.

Carlos Dixon, who graduated after last season, had a steal and a dunk with 6.9 seconds to go in a win over Clemson, and he hit a leaner with 36.8 ticks left to sink Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Collins sank a jumper with 12.9 seconds to go in a one-point win over N.C. State, and Dowdell drained a dramatic 3-pointer in Tech's win over No. 7 Duke.

Those big plays haven't been coming for Tech this season.

It lost at Duke in the season-opener on a 40-foot 3-pointer by guard Sean Dockery as time expired, and Deron Washington barely missed connecting on a 3 as the buzzer sounded against UNC on Tuesday.

Sunday, the Hokies led by five points with 3:39 left before going completely cold.

"It's definitely a surprise (to lose so many close games), but one of the encouraging things is that we've been in every game, so all we have to do is learn how to stay focused for every crucial possession of the game," Dowdell said. "I think we'll be alright."