Cavs snap road curse
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
January 25, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. - When J.R. Reynolds hit a 3-pointer to put Virginia up by eight with less than four minutes to go in Wednesday night’s game against N.C. State, he shook his head up and down as he jogged back downcourt.

When the senior captain hit a 3 on the team’s next possession to put UVa up nine, he began screaming in the direction of some fans who had been heckling him for much of the game.

After N.C. State called timeout, Reynolds ran to halfcourt, jumped high into the air and chest-bumped backcourt mate Sean Singletary.

Reynolds and Singletary were smelling victory - something they hadn’t whiffed for a while outside of the state.

Virginia, behind 29 points from Reynolds and 27 from Singletary, finally notched its first road win outside of the commonwealth in the Dave Leitao era. UVa (12-6, 4-2) defeated N.C. State, 71-58, in front of 15,233 at the RBC Center.

“They made big shot after big shot and big play after big play,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao, referring to his star guards. “It was a tough, hard-fought game.”

Brandon Costner led N.C. State (11-8, 1-5) with 14 points. Ben McCauley and Courtney Fells added 11 apiece.

A Fells jumper cut Virginia’s lead to 42-41 with just under 12 minutes to play. However, four Reynolds buckets - including two 3-pointers - and a nice move inside by Lars Mikalauskas,

coupled with some wretched N.C. State free-throw shooting, pushed UVa’s lead to 54-44.

When the Wolfpack tried to get back into the game, Reynolds proceeded to hit two more 3-pointers, then knocked down six straight free throws.

The Roanoke native scored 24 of his points in the second half.

That included a stretch where he scored 18 in a row.

“I just played aggressive,” said Reynolds, who was coming off a career-high 40 points in a win over Wake Forest on Sunday. “We needed this one bad, and someone needed to step up.”

The first half featured putrid shooting by both teams. Virginia was 29 percent from the field, while N.C. State shot just 26 percent.

One of the highlights occurred when Singletary drove down the lane and dunked - for just the second time in his career - to give the Cavaliers their biggest lead of the half at 21-12.

But then the bricklaying display kicked into full gear.

It got so bad that Virginia actually missed 15 straight shots during an eight-minute stretch, but the Cavs never lost their lead. That was because N.C. State only made three baskets in that span.

“It got ugly,” Leitao said. “I credit our defense for stabilizing us. We could have easily found ourselves in a deep hole, but our defense kept them off balance.”

During one timeout, a frustrated Leitao broke a clipboard in half by smashing it over his knee.

“We just weren’t listening,” Leitao said. “We weren’t tuned into our assignments. When we don’t do simple things, I get frustrated.

“I’ve done it more with my mouth than with a clipboard in times gone by.”

Finally, a Singletary 3-pointer broke the drought and UVa took a 26-19 advantage into the locker room.

Dunks

Virginia swept the season series. It now trails the all-time series 78-53. … The only other dunk of Singletary’s career came in the season-opening victory over Arizona. … Virginia plays at Clemson on Sunday afternoon.
 

Cavs clear important hurdle
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
January 25, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Virginia’s basketball team left Tobacco Road on Monday night minus the weight of a 1,000-pound gorilla that had been weighing heavily on the Cavaliers’ collective backs.

By scoring a 71-58 win over North Carolina State, the Cavaliers claimed their first road win of the season, which is fairly significant considering the victory didn’t come until Jan. 24.

The fact that Virginia had been so haunted by the road for the past three seasons, while losing 23 of the last 27 on opponents’ courts, may have provided relief for the program’s fans and maybe even the players.

Not so for coach Dave Leitao, who pooh-poohed the notion that the team’s shortcomings away from home was a big deal.

“You all make much more of that than I care to think about,” Leitao said after watching his team improve to 12-6 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. “We’re shorthanded in some areas that don’t allow us to win in hostile environments.”

Certainly he wasn’t referring to his backcourt, comprised of the league’s top scoring tandem in point guard Sean Singletary and shooting guard J.R. Reynolds.

During the past seven games heading into N.C. State, the two Wahoo guards had combined to average 44.6 points, 9.6 assists, and 6.6 rebounds. Against the Wolfpack, who have now dropped their last six straight conference games at home, the UVa duo did even better.

Reynolds, who drilled an eye-popping 40 points in the Cavs’ home win over Wake Forest last Sunday, followed up with 29 against the Wolfpack, while Singletary added 27.

On a night when pretty much the rest of the Virginia team seemed disinterested (the other eight Cavaliers who played shot a collective 6 of 23 from the field), it was almost like, “OK, Singletary, you take care of the first half, and J.R. will take care of the second.”

That’s exactly what happened as Singletary almost outscored the Wolfpack the first 20 minutes, scoring 15 of Virginia’s points in a 26-19 lead.

Reynolds was even more spectacular once the light clicked on. Locked in a close contest and leading by only 42-41 with just a little more than 11 minutes to play, Reynolds went on a scoring spree, knocking down 20 of Virginia’s next 20 points, including 18 straight points during an 8:17 stretch that left the Wolfpack dazzled.

By the time Reynolds got through, the Cavs were up 64-56 with 1:07 remaining in the game.

“I never thought after a 40-point performance that [Reynolds] could come back better, but this 29 was better than the 40,” said Leitao, who confessed he pulled his senior leader out of the game with 7:46 to play to get a few things straight.

In fact, UVa assistant coach Bill Courtney looked over at the head coach and said something like, ‘We can’t take him out, we need him.’ But Leitao said he needed to scream at Reynolds because he was making some “stupid mistakes” that had to be corrected then and there.

Obviously Reynolds got the message and responded with one of the strongest game-ending performances in recent ACC history.

Give Leitao credit. On a night when nothing else except some pretty good defense was available to him, the coach knew exactly what to do.

He put the ball in the hands of his scary-good backcourt and was willing to live or die with the results. Leitao made two heads-up coaching moves.

First, he called for Reynolds to go baseline so that he could run off screens to get open looks at the basket. Secondly, he sensed a thin-benched Wolfpack team’s fatigue, and figured that Virginia’s motion offense, which required State players to chase Reynolds and Singletary all over the place, would run the hosts into the ground.

So, maybe this road win was just what the doctor ordered for the Cavaliers. Maybe, just maybe, it will give them the confidence they need as Virginia heads to Clemson on Sunday for another road adventure.

Should they survive that test, then they return to the friendly confines of John Paul Jones Arena, where the Cavs have been practically unbeatable, to host Duke and Miami.

It could be the most crucial stretch of the season, one that could either vault the team’s chances for its first NCAA bid since 2000 or crush those dreams.

One thing’s for sure, if Reynolds and Singletary have any say in the matter, they just might shoot the Wahoos all the way to postseason.

 

Notre Dame hoops transfer may be eyeing Virginia
Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com
January 24, 2007

According to a source close to the Virginia men’s basketball program, there has been no contact between UVa and former Notre Dame guard Kyle McAlarney.

CBSsportsline.com reported on Wednesday that Virginia was one of three schools that McAlarney was considering transferring to.

The sophomore from Staten Island, N.Y., was suspended indefinitely earlier this season after he was arrested on a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge.

At the time, Notre Dame was ranked No. 22 in the country and McAlarney was averaging 10.3 points.

According to CBSsportsline, Michigan State and Xavier are other schools interested in McAlarney.

Gene Cross, an assistant coach at Virginia last season, is on the Notre Dame staff.

The Cavaliers’ interest in McAlarney would seem a bit curious given the fact they are already one player over the scholarship limit for next year. High school guards Sam Zeglinski, Mustapha Farrakhan and Jeff Jones are already in the fold.

In addition, the Cavs have walk-on Calvin Baker, a guard from William and Mary, who is hoping to earn a scholarship by the time he becomes eligible next season.

Virginia’s greatest need would seem to be in the low post. If it was to dole out another scholarship, it would probably be for the likes of a Patrick Patterson, one of the top high school big men in the country, who is still trying to decide between UVa and at least four other schools.

 

UVa football to open 2007 slate at Wyoming
McCabe, Byers ponder future
By Jay Jenkins / jjenkins@dailyprogress.com | 978-7247
January 25, 2007

Aric Goodman is likely counting the days.

Luckily for Wyoming’s placekicker, he will not have to wait too long for a shot at redemption for his missed extra-point attempt in an overtime loss at Virginia.

On Wednesday, UVa released its 2007 football schedule, a balanced, 12-game slate that kicks off with a game at Wyoming on Sept. 1.

The Cavaliers, who have six home games and six road games, play 11 straight weeks to open the campaign before getting their lone bye prior to hosting in-state rival Virginia Tech on Nov. 24 at Scott Stadium.

Unlike last season, Virginia does not play on Thursday night, something that forced the Cavaliers to play on four days’ rest twice last year.

Also missing from the schedule is Florida State, a program that UVa has played every year since the Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992. That could be a good thing - UVa is 2-13 against the Seminoles.

In their stead, Virginia gains defending ACC champion Wake Forest for the first time since 2003. The Cavaliers, who host Wake on Nov. 3, also host Duke (Sept. 8), Georgia Tech (Sept. 22) and Virginia Tech in league action.

Virginia’s road schedule in ACC play will have a new feel. Three of the four ACC road games will come against programs with first-year coaches - North Carolina (Butch Davis), N.C. State (Tom O’Brien) and Miami (Randy Shannon) have new coaches. Virginia also plays at Maryland (Oct. 20).

In addition to Wyoming, Virginia’s non-conference schedule includes its first-ever meeting at Middle Tennessee State (Oct. 6) and home games with Big East foes Pittsburgh (Sept. 29) and Connecticut (Oct. 13).

Game times were not announced, but a Wyoming official confirmed that its program’s non-televised games in the month of September start at 2 p.m. (MST).

Finding a home

Earlier this month, quarterback Kevin McCabe announced that he would not return to the Virginia football team for his final year of eligibility to serve merely as the backup for starting signal-caller Jameel Sewell.

At that time, McCabe firmly said his No. 1 priority remained in securing his degree at UVa.

He was not blowing smoke.

McCabe said on Wednesday that he remains enrolled at UVa and will do so until he completes the requirements for his sociology degree. That process will keep McCabe at Virginia until December, ruining his chances of playing football next season. He will remain on scholarship through the remainder of the semester, but will have to pay his own way next fall.

“My main focus right now is to just get that degree,” McCabe said, “and after that I will let everything else take care of itself.”

The 22-year-old McCabe does plan to return to football in 2008 at California University of Pennsylvania, a Division II school located just 50 miles from his hometown of Wexford, Pa.

“The coaches at Cal are real excited about everything,’ McCabe said. “They run a Florida-style offense, which is not what I am used to, but I am ready to throw the ball as many times as I can.

“I don’t care where I play or what offense I am in. It’s my last go at it so I will be excited.”

The Vulcans, coming of an 8-3 season, should have an opening at quarterback for McCabe - starter Joe Ruggiero is a rising senior.

“I think they graduate two guys next year, so I have a good chance,” McCabe said.

He is not taking anything for granted, however.

“They told me that I was going to be their guy at Cal, but I can’t believe anybody after what I have gone through,” McCabe said. “I am willing to trust no one. I am just ready to try and do something in 2008 and see what happens after that.”

McCabe, who completed 30 of 46 career passes for 276 yards, fell out of favor with Virginia coach Al Groh after he threw two first-half interceptions against Western Michigan in the only start of his career.

Groh turned to Sewell at quarterback in the second half of the 17-10 loss, and the redshirt freshman held the job in the final nine games.

McCabe said he has been comforted in his decision by the words from scouts at the professional level.

“They said it doesn’t matter how old you are. If you can play, you can play,” McCabe said. “They told me to go through it and get my UVa degree - that it shows a lot of character.

“I am on a lot of guys’ radar. I just don’t want to falter.”

McCabe has company in his decision to leave the program with one year of eligibility remaining. Offensive lineman Marshal Ausberry, who graduated in December, has enrolled at Liberty and plans to spend his final year playing for Flames coach Danny Rocco, a former assistant at UVa.

Backup safety Ryan Best remains enrolled at UVa but will not practice with the team this spring and is weighing his options for next year.

Sources have also confirmed that wideout Emmanuel Byers will not return next season for his final year of eligibility.

“I don’t think [I will be back],” Byers said. “Not as of right now.”

Byers, who had 10 receptions for 92 yards and even threw for two touchdowns in 11 games this season, declined to elaborate on the situation.

On the mend

Virginia baseball coach Brian O’Connor confirmed on Tuesday that junior Pat McAnaney, a left-handed starting pitcher, will be sidelined for “the next few weeks” with a broken hand.

The injury, which was on his throwing hand, will likely keep the southpaw off the mound until after the season starts.

That could open the door for sophomore Andrew Carraway or freshman Matt Packer to assume the role as the Cavaliers’ No. 3 starter behind junior Sean Doolittle and sophomore Jacob Thompson.

UVa opens the season against Elon on Feb. 9 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

 

Reynolds steps up for UVa
J. R. Reynolds scores 22 in the final 10:57 to lead the Cavaliers on the road against N.C. State.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Three days after reaching his career high and the ACC's season high in a 40-point performance against Wake Forest, J.R. Reynolds did the unthinkable Wednesday night.

He came up with an encore.

Reynolds, a senior guard from Roanoke, Va., scored 18 straight points for Virginia when the game was on the line and led the Cavaliers to their first road victory in more than a year, 71-58, at North Carolina State.

Reynolds, who had matching 20-point halves against Wake Forest, had 24 of his game-high 29 points in the second half. During one 22-point Virginia stretch, he scored 20 points and had the assist on the only basket he did not score.

Virginia (12-6, 4-2 ACC) had not won on the road since Jan. 15, 2006, when it won at Virginia Tech 54-49. Since then, UVa had lost 10 consecutive road games, including its first three this year.

"I never would have thought, after a 40-point performance, that he had come back better," UVa coach Dave Leitao said. "But, this 29 today was better than 40 the other day."

When made aware of Leitao's comment, Reynolds said, "I'd have to agree. We really needed this one."

Reynolds and Sean Singletary had combined for 59 points Sunday in the Cavaliers' 88-76 victory over Wake Forest, and they had 56 against the Wolfpack (11-8, 1-5).

"We'll go as far as our two guards take us," Leitao said. "Sean's display early and J.R.'s display in the second half were nothing short of phenomenal."

"On a day where the other guys behind them didn't have great games at all, they were able not only to stabilize us but make big shot after big shot."

Virginia missed 15 straight shots from the field during one stretch of the first half but was able to grab a 26-19 halftime lead when Singletary drained a 3-point shot from the left wing with 3.8 seconds remaining.

Singletary, who was 6-of-14 from the field while his teammates went 4-for-21, had 15 points and nine rebounds in the first half.

Singletary's first-half buzzer-beating shot followed an attention-grabbing timeout with 24.5 seconds left, when coach Leitao cracked a clipboard over his knee. It probably had something to do with the Cavaliers' offensive ineptitude because it was defense that kept UVa in the game.

State was buoyed by the return of Engin Atsur, a senior point guard who had missed 12 of the previous 13 games while rehabilitating a November hamstring injury.

The Cavaliers went on top 42-30 following a Singletary 3-pointer early in the second half, but State awakened from its doldrums by scoring nine points in a 90-second span. That included a 3-point field goal by Brandon Costner, a four-point play by Costner and a steal and tomahawk dunk by Ben McCauley.

State had a chance to take the lead when Bryan Niemann stepped to the free-throw line with 11:18 left, but Niemann missed both of his attempts.

Reynolds, who had seven points at the time, hit a jumper to give the Virginia a 44-41 lead and was to score 22 points in the final 10:57.

 

Cavs win on road
J.R. Reynolds shines again as Virginia beats North Carolina State after a shoddy first half.
By Darryl Slater
Daily Press
January 24, 2007, 11:21 PM EST

RALEIGH, N.C. -- They rushed into the huddle, and Dave Leitao glared at them, furious with their sloppy play during the first half. Then Leitao took his clipboard and snapped it in half over his right knee. One piece fell to the floor. He held the other in his left hand.

The huddle was so silent for an instant, you could almost hear sophomore Mamadi Diane's eyes widening as his brain processed what he just witnessed. A manager barely had time to snatch the clipboard's remains off the floor before Leitao started roaring.

Maybe J.R. Reynolds listened. Or maybe his shot is so on-target right now, nothing can dissuade him.

Reynolds, a senior shooting guard, scored 29 points, 24 in the second half, as the Cavaliers beat North Carolina State 71-58 Wednesday night at the RBC Center, a game they hope will portend more success on the road. They came into Wednesday 5-17 under second-year coach Dave Leitao away from Charlottesville. Just one of those victories came on an ACC opponent's home floor.

Reynolds had a career-high 40 points in Sunday's win over Wake Forest, and he showed no sings of slowing Wednesday, carrying Virginia when State made the game tight.

Virginia stretched its lead to 42-30 in the second half, after junior point guard Sean Singletary hit a 3-pointer with 13:59 left -- his second 3 in as many possessions. But State charged back to make it 42-41 behind a sequence that energized the arena: Brandon Costner's 3 with 13:28 left; Costner's 3 and foul shot at 12:54; Ben McCauley's strip of Singletary and breakaway slam at 12:31; Gavin Grant's jumper at 11:42.

Then Reynolds decided to dominate. He had five points in the first half. But from the 10:55 remaining to 1:07, he scored 20 of Virginia's 22 points, including 18 in a row. After State trimmed Virginia's lead to 57-51 with 3:18 left on a Courtney Fells dunk, Reynolds hit a 3 with 2:23 left -- his fourth 3 in his 20-point spurt -- and as the scoreboard changed to 60-51, Reynolds ran down the court and shouted at State's student section, which pestered him all night.

Virginia led 26-19 after a first half that was a brutal display of basketball, as both teams had lengthy scoring droughts. The Cavaliers shot 28.6 percent, the Wolfpack 25.8. Singletary carried Virginia with 15 points, on 6-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-7 on 3-pointers. Singletary finished with 27.

The Cavaliers didn't score for 7:20, until Singletary hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 5 seconds left. Worse yet, they went 9:51 without a field goal -- almost half of the first half.

With 9:56 left, Singletary beat State point guard Engin Atsur off the dribble and sliced through the lane for a dunk. Atsur clearly still was bothered by a left hamstring injury that sidelined him for the previous nine games. Virginia's only points until Singletary's last-seconds 3-pointer came when forward Jason Cain made two free throws at 7:25.

State matched that ineffiency by playing 5:50 without scoring. With 8:14 left, Fells' turnaround cut Virginia's lead to 21-17. State's next basket came at 2:24, when McCauley's jumper made it 23-19, Virginia.

Costner led State with 17 points in the teams' first meeting, a 67-62 Virginia victory Dec. 3 in Charlottesville. But he struggled in the first half Wednesday, scoring two points on 1-of-5 shooting. He finished with 14 points on 3-of-13 shooting.
 

Cavaliers beat ice-cold Wolfpack
Reynolds scores 29 in 71-58 victory; N.C. State shoots just 31.7 percent from the field
By John Delong
JOURNAL REPORTER

N.C. State had trouble scoring last night, even with Engin Atsur back in the lineup.

But the Wolfpack had even more trouble stopping Virginia's backcourt duo of J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary when it mattered.

The result was a 71-58 Virginia victory at the RBC Center that dropped the Wolfpack to 11-8 overall, 1-5 in the ACC ... and still looking for answers.

"That was just an unbelievable performance by two very good guards," Coach Sidney Lowe of State said. "I've said it over and over again, good guards win games, and those are two good guards. And they showed it tonight when they had to. Their guards were too much for us."

Reynolds, who scored 40 in a win over Wake Forest on Sunday, led the Cavaliers with 29 points. Twenty-four of those came in the second half, and he scored 20 of 22 Virginia points in the stretch when Virginia pulled away for good.

Singletary finished with 27, including 15 in the first half.

"There were stretches where Singletary dazzled early, then J.R. in the second half," Coach Dave Leitao of Virginia said. "And in those stretches, they were nothing short of phenomenal, especially on a night when some of the guys behind them didn't have their best games. Those two made shot after shot, play after play, and gave us a chance to win the basketball game.

"I didn't think that, after a 40-point performance, that I'd be able to say that J.R. came back even better. But he did. Some of the shots he made were just tremendous."

Virginia won its third straight and raised its record to 12-6 overall and 4-2 in the ACC.

State, meanwhile, struggled to 31.7-percent shooting from the field and 55 percent from the free-throw line. That's worse than the 34.1 percent that it shot in a 79-56 loss to Duke on Saturday, which was its worst shooting night of the season previously.

None of State's starters made half of their shots, including Atsur, who returned after missing 11 of the previous 12 games with a hamstring injury. He finished 3 of 7 from the field in 32 minutes.

Brandon Costner led State with 14 points but was 3 of 13 from the field. Courtney Fells had 11 points and 10 rebounds but was 5 of 14 from the field. Ben McCauley had 11 points and eight rebounds but was 4 of 13 from the field. And Gavin Grant, who didn't start for disciplinary reasons after missing a tutoring session earlier, was 3 of 10 from the field and 2 of 6 from the line for eight points.

"It was frustrating to shoot the way we did tonight," Fells said. "We wanted to play defense aggressively and we'd work so hard to get a stop and then we'd go down, and maybe it was a bad shot selection, or maybe it just wouldn't fall, either inside or out. But it really got frustrating."

Virginia led 26-19 at halftime after ugly stretches for both teams. Virginia went more than nine minutes without a field goal in the first half, and State scored just two points in the final eight minutes of the half.

Virginia pushed the lead to 42-30 early in the second half but State answered with an 11-0 run, fueled by a 3-pointer by Costner and a rare four-point play by Costner on the next possession.

State had a chance to take the lead, trailing 42-41, but Bryan Nieman missed two free throws with 11:18 left.

Reynolds took over at that point. He hit a fall-away shot for a 44-41 lead, fed Lauryna Mika-lauskas for a layup on Virginia's next possession, then really took over. He scored Virginia's next 18 points, with three 3-pointers, to push the lead back out to 62-53.

"J.R. is a great player, a great shooter," Fells said. "Guarding him was probably the toughest assignment I've ever had. I take nothing away from him.

"I learned a lot from him tonight."

Lowe gave Reynolds credit for hitting several tough shots, but also was disappointed that he was left open at times, too.

"They made some unbelievable shots tonight, especially Reynolds once he got going," Lowe said. "One thing we didn't do, sometimes on penetration we left him. We talked about that. I don't care what happens, you just can't leave him, because they're a good passing team and they're going to find him. We sucked in and got caught inside and he hit a couple, and then once he got going, he was just on a roll. He hit a couple of them in our face."

State will be off this weekend, and won't play again until next Wednesday, at Virginia Tech.

Virginia will play at Clemson on Sunday.

 

U.Va. wins on road
Reynolds scores 29 points, 24 in the second half, in victory over N.C. State
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Jan 25, 2007
VIRGINIA 71 N.C. STATE 58

RALEIGH, N.C. - His scoring total may not have been as impressive, but University of Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds followed up his career game with another masterpiece last night.

Reynolds, who teams with junior Sean Singletary to form one of the nation's premier backcourts, scored 24 second-half points, including 18 straight in one stretch, to carry U.Va. to a 71-58 victory over N.C. State before a crowd of 15,233 at the RBC Center.

The 6-2 senior finished with 29 points, three days after scoring a career-best 40 in a win over Wake Forest at John Paul Jones Arena.

"I never thought after a 40-point performance that I could say that he came back better," Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao said, "but his 29 today was better than the 40 last game."

Leitao's starting guards accounted for 79 percent of the Cavaliers' scoring. Singletary scored 27 points and pulled down nine rebounds. Reynolds grabbed six boards.

"They've got big-time game, and they've got big-time heart," Leitao said. "Both of them."

When the final horn sounded, U.Va. (4-2, 12-6) had its third straight victory. More significant, for the first time in more than a year, the Wahoos could savor the feeling of walking off an ACC rival's court in triumph. U.Va.'s previous conference road victory had come Jan. 15, 2006, at Virginia Tech's Cassell Coliseum.

Virginia is now 2-9 in ACC road games under Leitao.

"You all make much more of than that I even care to think about it," Leitao told reporters.

N.C. State, which lost at U.Va. last month, fell to 1-5, 11-8. The Wolfpack shot only 31.7 percent from the floor.

"It wasn't a pretty game," Leitao said.

After an offensive spree in which Singletary hit two 3-pointers and a jump shot and passed to 6-10 senior Jason Cain (game-high 12 rebounds) for an emphatic dunk, Virginia led 42-30 with 13:40 left. A routine victory seemed possible for the Cavaliers, but in a span of 54 seconds, they saw their lead slashed to three, and State's fans shook the building.

On a night when the Pack shot only 55 percent from the line, however, its foul shooting stymied its comeback. With 11:18 left and U.Va. clinging to a 42-41 lead, Wolfpack forward Dennis Horner went to the line for two free throws. He missed both, and the energy seemed to drain from the arena. At the other end, Reynolds hit a difficult fadeaway jumper, and the Pack never got closer than two points thereafter.

Leitao cheered that shot, but he wasn't nearly as happy in the final minute of the first half, when he snapped a clipboard on his knee during a timeout.

"We just weren't listening," he said. "We weren't tuned in to our assignments."

U.Va. could not have looked much worse on offense in the first half, shooting 28.6 percent from the floor. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, the Wolfpack (25.8 percent) was even more inept.

After Cain's two free throws gave Virginia a 23-17 lead with 7:25 left in the half, neither team scored for five minutes.

"The game got ugly," Leitao said.

At last, however, State forward Ben McCauley converted a stick-back at the 2:24 mark to make it 23-19. Another drought followed, broken only by Singletary's 3-pointer with 3.7 seconds left, a shot that sent the Cavaliers into the locker room up 26-19.

During one first-half stretch, U.Va. missed 15 straight field goal attempts.

For N.C. State, starter Engin Atsur, who'd played in only one game since late November because of a hamstring injury, returned last night. The senior guard had nine points, three assists and two steals in 32 minutes.

 

Season taking ugly turn
Caulton Tudor, Staff Writer

RALEIGH - One Triangle television station aired a basketball game between N.C. State and Virginia on Wednesday night.
Another station televised the latest installment of "American Idol."

It's a good thing for the Cavaliers and Wolfpack that Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell are talent judges on the song-and-dance show and are not members of the NCAA Tournament selection committee.

The Cavaliers finally won the game, 71-58, at the RBC Center to make their record 12-6 overall, 4-2 in the ACC and 2-0 for the regular season against the Wolfpack.

Coaches are fond are saying there are no bad wins, but this one was dangerously close to defying that adage for Dave Leitao's Virginia team. Even with senior guard Engin Atsur back in the lineup, the Wolfpack (11-8, 1-5) barely could get out of its own way long enough to make an occasional charge.

How ugly was it, you ask?

It was so ugly that at halftime, when Virginia led 26-19, the teams had combined for 17 turnovers and eight assists. For the game, the Wahoos shot all of 42.9 percent on field-goal attempts. That's not great, of course. But compared to the Wolfpack's 31.7 percent, the Cavaliers were on fire.

The turning point might have occurred late in the first half, when Virginia had gone forever without scoring -- 15 straight misses -- and Leitao burned a timeout to break a clipboard in half. Shortly thereafter, Sean Singletary hit a 3-pointer.

Asked if he had a second-string clipboard, Leitao said yes. "I have a 10th-string clipboard," he said.

With Singletary and J.R. Reynolds, the Cavs also have a couple of nice guards. It's the sort of backcourt that first-year Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe will have in time but doesn't now. That's a primary reason for the losses and dim prospects for overwhelming improvement in the weeks ahead.

Good guard play equates to winning records. Virginia may not have much else, but it does have guards.

After scoring 40 points in Sunday's 88-76 win over Wake Forest, Reynolds had 29 points Wednesday. Singletary added 27. Put the two together and the score was State 58, Singletary-Reynolds 56.

"They kept battling and finding enough shots," Leitao said. "The game got ugly, and we definitely struggled for periods, but Sean and J.R. didn't lose their confidence."

State's confidence, meanwhile, is sliding. Three of the Wolfpack's next four games will be on the road against Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech and Miami. The other is an RBC Center shot at North Carolina. Beating Miami is a possibility, but the other three are long shots, and the remainder of the schedule doesn't look much easier.

No one in the Pack locker room is giving up, of course. The players made that clear Wednesday, but the drift of the season obviously is moving against State. Virginia was favored by a point or two and won by 13. In earlier ACC games, the Pack lost by 23 to Duke and 16 to Boston College.

State's season isn't over, but, like the showing against Virginia, the season is getting ugly.

 

UVa nails down an elusive road victory
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
January 25, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. - In the past, Virginia would have fallen apart.
Its once cushy lead had vanished in a matter of minutes and even worse, the relatively tranquil RBC Center crowd had come alive for the first time all evening following a Ben McCauley dunk.

That's usually the Cavaliers' cue to wilt under the overwhelming pressure of being the visitor in the ACC, just like they have almost every time they've taken to the road in Dave Leitao's 1?-year tenure.

Not Wednesday night. Sean Singletary kept the Cavaliers in the game early and J.R Reynolds put the Wolfpack away late.

Reynolds scored 24 of his 29 points after halftime and Singletary added 27 to lift Virginia to a 71-58 win against N.C. State, snapping an eight-game skid on the road in the ACC.

"Any time you get a win on the road - especially in the ACC - it feels special," Singletary said.

Road wins have been few and far between for the Cavaliers (12-6, 4-2 ACC) under Leitao. They had been 5-17 in games away from home in Leitao's tenure, with an unimpressive win list that includes Richmond, Maryland-Baltimore County and Division II Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. They had lost all three of their true road games this season despite having the lead at some point in the second half in all of them.

Wednesday's game seemed to be following a similar script. The Wolfpack (11-8, 1-5) erased a 12-point deficit in the blink of an eye, getting back-to-back 3-pointers by Brandon Costner, who was fouled on the second and completed a four-point play, McCauley's dunk and a jumper by Gavin Grant that trimmed UVa's lead to 42-41.

That's when Reynolds took over. The reigning ACC player of the week, who was coming off a career-best 40-point game against Wake Forest on Sunday, scored 20 of Virginia's next 22 points. The senior guard hit 3s on back-to-back possessions to stretch Virginia's lead to eight, then made a fall-away jumper over the 6-foot-7 Grant's extended arms to make it 54-44.

"We just knew that we just had to stay aggressive and we'd be OK," Reynolds said.

The Wolfpack answered with five straight points before Reynolds canned 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions again to make it 60-51, giving a loud shout to the air following the second one after turning around defender Courtney Fells with a jab step toward the basket.

Reynolds went 9-for-15 from the field, going 5 of 8 from 3-point range and hitting all six of his free throws, including four in the final minute.

"I never thought that after a 40-point performance that he could come back better," Leitao said, "but his 29 today was better than the 40 last game."

"I agree," Reynolds said, "because we needed this win bad. The team needed somebody to step up and I knew I had to be that guy, especially the way Sean had it going in the first half. I knew I had to come to his rescue and give him a little help."

Singletary kept Virginia afloat in an ugly first half in which neither team shot better than 30 percent. The junior guard scored 15 of Virginia's 26 first-half points.

He took advantage of being guarded by N.C. State's Engin Atsur, who looked a step slow after missing 12 of the previous 13 games with a hamstring injury. On one play, Singletary beat Atsur off the dribble, cut through an open lane and threw down a one-handed dunk, bringing the UVa bench to its feet and giving the Cavaliers a 21-12 lead.

It would be Virginia's last field goal for nearly 10 minutes, however. The Cavaliers missed their next 15 shots and committed seven turnovers. N.C. State barely capitalized due to a stout UVa defensive effort that held the Wolfpack to a dismal 27.6 percent shooting (8-for-31) in the first half.

"We could have easily on the road not been able to score and then (have) the other team make shot after shot after shot and found ourselves in a deep hole," Leitao said. "But fortunately our defense was stable enough to keep them off balance."

The Wolfpack only managed to pull within four before Singletary hit a long 3-pointer from the wing with five seconds left, sending Virginia to the locker room with a 26-19 lead.

Singletary early. Reynolds late. It's been a winning combination for Virginia lately.

"I'm hoping (they can take us real) far," Leitao said. "I think they've got big-time game and big-time heart, both of them. So I'd like to think the sky's the limit."


 

Basketball and Briefs in Raleigh
Clayton O'Toole, Cavalier Daily Senior Assoicate Editor

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Some observations from last night's 71-58 Virginia win over N.C. State.:

• In the first half, Virginia missed 16 consecutive field goals, went nearly ten minutes without a field goal, turned the ball over seven times in a ten-minute stretch, shot 28 percent from the field ... and led by seven at halftime. Go figure.

• I don't care what anyone says, this would have been a great win for any team in this league. The Wolfpack got a huge emotional boost by the return of senior point guard Engin Atsur. The unquestioned leader of his team, Atsur's return is the equivalent to Virginia getting Singletary back after an extended absence. Winning on the road in the ACC is one thing. Winning against a team with a newfound purpose is quite another.

• For most of the first half, Virginia's players had their "Oh no, not again" road faces on. Then something strange happened: Singletary and Reynolds got angry -- not out-of-control angry, just "I-want-to-shove-this-basketball-down-your-throat angry." And it worked beautifully. I think this is what Virginia has been lacking on the road in recent years -- that killer instinct that the score of the game doesn't matter as long as, well ... this ball goes down your throat.

• After one of Singletary's three first-half bombs from behind the arc, he turned and trotted down the court with a Jordan-esque, palms up shrug. Oops, I made it again.

• I was thoroughly disappointed by the N.C. State fans. When the esteemed Jason Cain stepped to the free throw line in the first half, they resorted to the "Shave your mustache" chant. I mean come on, that was sooooo four years ago.

• Trivia time: Where have Virginia's road wins in the ACC occurred in the last four seasons? Answer: N.C. State and ... N.C. State.

7• With just under ten minutes to play in the second half, Singletary took a hard hit to the knee and went down in pain. Just before all of Wahoo Nation passed out from holding its breath for too long, he got up. Whew.

• At the next Virginia home game, watch Director of Operations Drew Diener on the bench; or should I say, on the court. He may be the craziest Cav fan out there. Cheerleaders take note.

• Soloman Tat has the most incredible calf muscles in the ACC. There really should be an award for this.

• At one point in the second half, N.C. State flashed the following message during a Reynolds free throw, "If you're loud enough, he might miss." Am I the only one who finds this slightly odd? Way to have confidence in your sixth man, Wolfpack.

• Reynolds scored 18 consecutive and 20 of Virginia's final 25 points. After a relatively harmless first half, Reynolds absolutely dominated the second. His 29 points last night were much different from his seemingly effortless, dare I say "quiet" 40 against Wake Forest last Sunday. Last night, N.C. State was tough; Reynolds was just much tougher.

• Someone asked Coach Leitao after the game how far Reynolds and Singletary could carry this team. He responded unusually optimistically, "The sky is the limit." I am actually beginning to believe this. Singletary dominates one half; Reynolds dominates the other. Virginia wins. Flawless, right?

• Incredible quote/idea of the night courtesy of my partner in crime, Barney, "They really should throw out free underwear instead of free t-shirts at college sports events. I mean come on, who couldn't use less t-shirts and more boxers?"

 

Vick fighting constant battles
David Teel
January 25 2007

Simon is too mean on "Idol," Trump too tough on Rosie, and the Academy too dismissive of Sacha Baron Cohen.

Child's play compared to the (pot?)shots Michael Vick is absorbing these days.

He's been punished by opponents, assailed in the media, mocked on "Saturday Night Live," abandoned by fans and scolded by superiors. And that's just in the last couple months.

These are unfamiliar depths for Vick, and sadly, the primary culprit wears No. 7 and quarterbacks for the Atlanta Falcons.

How bad is it? Well, the only recent good news for Vick arrived Monday when Florida authorities determined he was not carrying marijuana through Miami airport security last week.

Viewed narrowly, Vick's behavior that morning appears odd. Big picture, it adds to considerable baggage that will not fit in the overhead bin or beneath the seat in front of him.

On the off chance you missed the 2006 hit parade: Vick flipped off fans, abandoned his coach and progressed little, if at all, on the field. He also settled the infamous "Ron Mexico" lawsuit, which accused him of transmitting herpes to a woman in 2003.

When the Falcons failed to make the playoffs for the second consecutive year, fallout was predictable. Coach Jim Mora was fired, and cries of "coach-killer," started by Mora's father during the season, dogged Vick again.

Given the poisonous air, Vick figured to withdraw. Pause for self-evaluation; commence offseason workouts at his Hampton Roads home; connect with new coach Bobby Petrino; join a monastery.

Didn't happen. Set to fly from Miami to Atlanta, Vick attempted to carry a 20-ounce water bottle to the gate area, a security faux pas for months now.

According to authorities, Vick disposed of the bottle reluctantly, prompting Transportation Security Administration personnel to retrieve it from the trash bin.

Upon further review, the bottle had a hidden compartment that contained "a small amount of dark particulate and a pungent aroma closely associated with marijuana," according to a police report quoted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The TSA turned the bottle over to police and, given his celebrity, believed Vick to be its owner.

Translation for those who don't subscribe to High Times: A bottle with a hidden compartment that smells of pot is probably a makeshift water pipe. A bong.

The world pounced. Traditional media, talk radio, the Internet. The chorus was the same: Bench Vick, trade Vick, anyone but Vick.

Even Jay Leno and "Saturday Night Live" chimed in.

SNL's skit included this gem from cast member Seth Meyers: "You have $117 million left on your contract. You know what $117 million means? You can afford to replace your weed if you have to throw it away at the airport! Even my dumbest high school friends know they have to throw away their weed at the airport, and they have no money and love weed!"

Falcons officials were not amused. They called Vick, 26 and a veteran of six NFL seasons, on the carpet.

"I think he understands how upset we all are that this situation occurred," general manager Rich McKay told a news conference.

But the most telling statements came after Miami police said tests on the bottle revealed no illegal substances. Neither Vick's lawyer, Larry Woodward, nor Falcons spokesman Reggie Roberts proclaimed Vick completely innocent or objected to TSA's actions.

"Put this matter behind us" was the common phrase.

Does that pass your sniff test? If you were Vick, if you had been wrongly accused, perhaps set up, wouldn't you be shouting from the rooftops? I sure would.

And what of the Falcons? If the face of the franchise is blameless, why didn't owner Arthur Blank rush to his defense? Why isn't the team protecting its most valuable and marketable commodity?

Finally, what about the authorities? What was that residue in the water bottle? Or was there simply not enough to test?

Hey, everyone who resides in the real world recognizes the social habits of the young, rich and famous. But when indulgence becomes arrogance and/or stupidity, you've got a problem.

Does Michael Vick have a problem? Stay tuned. We're about to learn volumes about him as an athlete and a man.
 

N.C.'s bar lodges new charges in Nifong case
If board convicts, district attorney could be disbarred
Associated Press
Originally published January 25, 2007

RALEIGH, N.C. // The state bar lodged new and more serious ethics charges yesterday against the district attorney in the Duke lacrosse case, accusing him of withholding evidence from the defense and lying to both the court and bar investigators.
Mike Nifong - who withdrew from the case earlier this month - could be disbarred if convicted by a disciplinary board.

The bar previously charged Nifong with making misleading and prejudicial comments about the athletes under suspicion.

The new charges are tied to Nifong's decision to use a private lab for DNA testing as his office investigated allegations that three men raped a 28-year-old stripper at a team party last March.

Those tests uncovered genetic material from several men on the woman's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player. The bar complaint alleges that those results were not released to the defense and that Nifong repeatedly said in court he had turned over all evidence that could benefit the defense.

"If these allegations are true and if they don't justify disbarment, then I'm not sure what does," said Joseph Kennedy, a law professor at the University of North Carolina. "It's hard for me to imagine a more serious set of allegations against a prosecutor."

The new charges "have significantly increased the chances for a serious sanction, possibly including suspension or disbarment," said Thomas Metzloff, a Duke law professor and member of the bar's ethics committee, which is not involved in prosecuting the case against Nifong.

Nifong's trial on the ethics charges is set for May, though bar officials said yesterday that they expect it to be delayed until June.

Nifong declined to comment yesterday.

"I'd say anytime any charges are filed with the state bar, they're all serious, and we want to make sure we handle them all properly," said his attorney, David Freedman.

Citing the conflict of interest created by the ethics charges, Nifong asked the North Carolina attorney general's office earlier this month to take over the lacrosse case.

Nifong dropped rape charges against the three athletes in December after the accuser changed a key detail in her account, but the players are still charged with sexual offense and kidnapping.

North Carolina's attorney general has said he will conduct a thorough review of the remaining charges against Dave Evans, Collin Finnerty and Reade Seligmann.