Seminoles leave Cavs off guard
Singletary struggles down stretch as U.Va. falls in Tallahassee
Thursday, Jan 24, 2008 - 12:15 AM
By IRA SCHOFFEL
TIMES-DISPATCH CORRESPONDENT

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - After letting a 10-point second-half lead slip away last night at Florida State, the Virginia Cavaliers needed Sean Singletary to deliver some of his trademark heroics.

But this time, he appeared mortal.

The senior point guard had one of his toughest offensive nights of the season and committed two turnovers down the stretch to help the Seminoles rally for a 69-67 victory.

"I didn't take care of the ball," said Singletary, who dished out seven assists but also committed five turnovers. "I just got a little casual. We should've definitely won the game, but I didn't take care of the ball. I take full responsibility."

Singletary, who averaged nearly 24 points in Virginia's first three ACC games, scored 11 against the Seminoles. And his streak of 38 consecutive games of double-digit scoring would have ended had he not hit a double-clutch 3-pointer as time expired.

Hounded all night by FSU junior Toney Douglas and hampered by a hip pointer, Singletary seemed to lack the burst to break free on offense. He attempted only 11 shots from the field, making four, and he went 1 for 5 from long range.

Though Virginia coach Dave Leitao gave some credit to Douglas' defense, he said Singletary's performance was disappointing.

"Sean probably defended himself better than anybody they had," Leitao said. "Sean wasn't Sean today."

For much of the night, the Cavaliers (1-3 ACC, 11-6) were nearly a two-man show with forward Adrian Joseph and guard Mamadi Diane combining to score 38 points.

Virginia had several opportunities to put Florida State (2-3, 13-7) away - the Cavs led by 10 points early in the first half before allowing the Seminoles to claim a three-point advantage at halftime.

They opened another 10-point lead midway through the second half when Singletary scored following a steal by Diane. But FSU outscored the Cavs 23-11 down the stretch.

"I knew they would keep coming after us," Leitao said. "I thought we'd have enough left in the tank to withstand it, but we didn't. And they made us pay for it."

After Florida State sliced Virginia's lead to 60-57 with an 11-4 run, the Cavaliers turned in a solid defensive possession and had a chance to extend their lead with less than three minutes remaining. But while bringing the ball up court, Singletary had the ball poked out from behind by Seminoles forward Ryan Reid., and FSU guard Isaiah Swann nailed a 3-pointer to tie the score.

"That was the turning point," Douglas said.

Singletary was victimized again in the final minute, with the Cavaliers trailing 63-62. This time, Douglas stole the ball at the top of the key and was fouled by Jerome Meyinsse while going in for a layup. FSU clinched the victory by making three of four free throws after Meyinsse was called for an intentional foul.

"It hurts to feel like you've got the game in your pocket and lose by two," said sophomore guard Calvin Baker. "It's really disappointing. We've got to finish off a game."

 

Cavs go flat in stretch
Florida State overcomes an 10-point second-half deficit and scores on its last seven possessions to top Virginia.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Home or road. Football or basketball. Early or late.

Virginia's athletic teams can blow a lead any way you want.

The UVa men's basketball teams squandered 10-point leads in both halves Wednesday night in a 69-67 loss at Florida State.

The Cavaliers (11-6 overall, 1-3 ACC) have now lost three games by one or two points. Two hours to the east, UVa's football team had a similar collapse Jan. 1 in the Gator Bowl.

"It hurts when you feel like you've got a game in your pocket, and then you lose by two," UVa guard Calvin Baker said. "We've got to fix whatever the problem is and learn how to finish off a game."

The Cavaliers led 56-46 following a Sean Singletary breakaway and dunk with 8:56 left, but they did not score from the field on their next nine possessions. On three of those trips, they turned the ball over, with the Seminoles twice stripping Singletary.

"I felt a little slow," said Singletary, who injured a hip Saturday in the Cavaliers' 84-66 victory over Boston College, "but you can't make excuses. We had the game won, and I just didn't take care of the ball."

Singletary needed a 3-pointer as time expired to extend his streak of double-figure scoring games to 39, the longest active streak in the ACC. He finished with 11 points, seven assists and five turnovers.

"We knew he was the head of the snake and we had to chop off the head of the snake in order to win that game," Florida State senior Isaiah Swann said. "Toney [Douglas] did a helluva job on him."

Normally, the Cavs hope that one of their other veterans will have a good game. Wednesday Mamadi Diane finished with a season-high 21 points, and Adrian Joseph, who added 17,

"They were on," Singletary said. "They had us the game won. I take full responsibility for it. They played their hearts out."

UVa's performance had an eerie resemblance to a home loss to Virginia Tech exactly one week earlier, all the way down to an intentional foul that let the Seminoles to keep possession following a pair of free throws with 27.6 seconds left.

Virginia, which was trailing 63-62, was setting up for a go-ahead basket when Douglas took the ball from Singletary near midcourt. Douglas tried to take the ball to the basket before Jerome Meyinsse caught him from behind and was called for an intentional foul.

"I thought I swiped at the ball," Meyinsse said. "He was ahead of me and I just wanted to make sure he didn't get a three-point play. I feel like I made an attempt at the ball, but the referee from across the court said it was intentional."

UVa coach Dave Leitao said, "I'm not going to comment on a referee's call."

Florida State (13-7, 2-3) scored on its last seven possessions, with no shot bigger than a 3-pointer by Swann from the right wing that tied the score 60-60 with 2:25 left.

"We ran the play twice," Swann said. "The first time, Jason Rich got all the way to the basket. The second time, I think my man felt like he better help out, and he helped out a little too much. It was the best look I got all night."

Leitao substituted liberally in the first half; in fact, Florida State was able to erase an early 15-5 deficit when UVa's subs went in the game. Six reserves played a combined 24 minutes in the first half, going 0-for-3 from the field.

"Hence the long minutes for the guys who started the game," Leitao said. "I don't know if I remember Adrian ever playing 37 minutes, and Mo [Diane] asked twice to come out of the game, and that almost never happens.

"I thought fatigue played a part at the end. Defense comes before offense and you're asking guys to make stop after stop."

On the other hand, Singletary had more turnovers (two) in the final 2:40 Wednesday night than he had all night against Boston College (one).

"No disrespect to Florida State," Leitao said. "They're a strong, athletic perimeter team that can keep the ball in front of them, but Sean wasn't Sean today."

 

Cavs collapse against Noles
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 24, 2008

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Virginia senior Sean Singletary had two career dunks heading into Wednesday night’s game against Florida State.

His first came in the inaugural game at John Paul Jones Arena last season - an upset win over Arizona. His second came later in the year during a badly-needed road victory at N.C. State.

So when Singletary made a steal and dribbled the length of the court for a one-hand jam to put Virginia up by 10 points with 8 minutes and 58 seconds left on Wednesday, Wahoo Nation had to be feeling pretty good about its chances.

However, not much went right for UVa after The Dunk. In a collapse reminiscent to the one against Virginia Tech a week ago, the Cavs fell to FSU, 69-67 in front of 7,314 at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

“When you’re on the road in the ACC, the game’s never over,” said Singletary, who scored just 11 points. “They came back fighting.”

Virginia scored just five baskets after the dunk - the final coming on a meaningless Singletary 3-pointer at the buzzer.

“I think this was a very typical game in this league where it comes down to a precious few possessions,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “We were up 10 and just had to hold the fort defensively, rebound and execute. We didn’t do that, obviously.”

Not by a long shot.

Virginia’s defense in the second half was lackadaisical at best. UVa allowed FSU to shoot 50 percent (12 of 24) from the field.

“They were getting into the teeth of our defense and getting easy put-backs,” said Virginia guard Calvin Baker. “We weren’t communicating. You can’t just let up like we did the last five minutes.”

Still, Virginia found itself with a chance to win come crunch time.

UVa trailed 63-62 after Toney Douglas split a pair of free throws with 47 seconds to play. But on the ensuing possession, FSU forward Ryan Reid picked Singletary’s pocket and fed a streaking Douglas. The Seminole guard was hacked from behind by Jerome Meyinsse, who was whistled for an intentional foul, giving the home team two free throws and the ball.

“It looked like they were going back on defense and I just got a little casual,” Singletary said. “He had an opportunity to take the ball and he did.”

Douglas hit both free throws and Isaiah Swann hit one of two for 66-62 FSU lead with 27 seconds remaining.

The Seminoles hit their freebies the rest of the way and sent Virginia back to Charlottesville wondering what happened.

“When you lose a game by a possession or two, similar to the game last week, I go immediately back to the 20, 30 or 40 hours of practice that doesn’t prepare you well enough to hold down the fort, maintain the lead or execute when you need to,” Leitao said. “I thought there were a number of guys who logged a lot of minutes and fatigue played a part in the end. The shots we were making earlier hit the front rim and we were a step slow on defense.”

In the first half, Virginia (11-6, 1-3) got off to one of its best starts of the season. UVa hit four of its first five shots, including two 3-pointers from Mamadi Diane (game-high 21 points) and one from Adrian Joseph - in racing out to a 15-5 lead.

But then Leitao decided to empty his bench. Solomon Tat, Will Harris and Jamil Tucker - who have received scant playing time in recent weeks - made early appearances.

Virginia went cold, and by the time Leitao went back to his starting unit, FSU had found its groove.

A missed dunk by freshman Mike Scott - one that wasn’t even close - seemed to awaken the Seminole fans. FSU (13-7, 2-3) took its biggest lead of the half, 29-25, on a 3-pointer by Douglas before heading into the break with a 31-28 advantage.

Virginia came out energized in the second half. The Cavs were in the lead for nearly 14 minutes until a Swann 3-pointer tied the game at 60 with 2:29 left.

“That was the best look I had all night,” Swann said. “The first time we ran that play Jason [Rich] got all the way to the bucket. The second time, [the defender] helped a little too much. We played off of each other tonight. That was the biggest thing.”

Dunks

Virginia big men Lars Mikalauskas (shoulder) and Tunji Soroye (back) did not make the trip. … UVa leads the all-time series 17-15, but hasn’t won in Tallahassee since 2001.

 

Cavs fade down stretch at FSU
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
11:34 PM EST, January 23, 2008
 

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Florida State's Leonard Hamilton had been waiting awhile for his 300th career coaching victory, but Toney Douglas made sure of it Wednesday -- stealing one for the boss.

Douglas scored 19 points as Florida State rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to take a 69-67 victory over Virginia, but it was his ballhawking that was the difference.

Douglas, the Atlantic Coast Conference steals leader, put the Seminoles ahead 63-62 on a free throw. He then slapped the ball away from Virginia's Sean Singletary to add two more free throws after being fouled on his way for an uncontested layup.

"Toney has a knack for getting deflections," Hamilton said. "He made the steals tonight without doing a whole lot of gambling."

Douglas, who had six steals in the game, went 7-for-11 from the floor and also added six rebounds.

Florida State (13-7, 2-3 ACC) led 31-28 at the half, but it didn't take long for it to evaporate.

"We can't do it the easy way," Hamilton chuckled as he sat down for his postgame radio show.

Virginia (11-6, 1-3) led 56-46 with 8:58 left on a Singletary layup, but Florida State caught up at 60-all on Isaiah Swann's 3-point shot from deep in the corner with 2:27 left. Douglas' layup with 1:55 to go gave the winners a 62-60 lead.

"They did a good job of turning up the energy," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "As they got points their defense got more energized."

Especially Douglas, who had four of his steals in the second half.

Jason Rich added 17 points and Swann 16 as Hamilton also notched his 100th career win at Florida State, which snapped a three-game conference losing streak.

"We've got to make up for some lost time," said Hamilton, who is still shooting for his first NCAA postseason invitation since taking over at Florida State six years ago. "Most of all we've got to take care of the home court," Douglas said. "And steal some on the road."

Mamadi Diane led Virginia with 21 points, Adrian Joseph added 17 points and a game-high eight rebounds while Singletary finished with 11 points and a game-best seven assists.

Virginia jumped off to a 12-2 start, but Swann scored seven points in 34 seconds (a free throw following his first of two quick 3-point shots) capping a 10-0 run that tied the game at 15.

The Cavaliers shot just 41.7 percent in the game and were outscored 23-11 in the final 8:58.

"I thought fatigue played a part at the end," Leitao said. "Shots that we were making earlier hit the front rim, and being half a step slower on defense cost us."

 

'Noles stuff Cavs
Defense fuels late rally as FSU drops Virginia, 69-67
By Doug Blackburn
DEMOCRAT ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR

Toney Douglas wants to change his image. Florida State's point guard doesn't want to be known simply as a scorer.

He made his case emphatically against Virginia.

Douglas shut down Sean Singletary, the Cavaliers' All-ACC guard, while scoring a team-high 19 points to lead the FSU men's basketball team to a come-from-behind 69-67 victory Wednesday at the Civic Center.

"I want to add another dimension to my game," Douglas said. "I want to be known as a defensive stopper, too. I like guarding the best guy on the floor."

Douglas was a force on both ends for the Seminoles.

He beat Singletary on the baseline to give FSU the lead, 62-60, with 1:55 to play. With 31 seconds to go and FSU up by one, Douglas picked Singletary's pocket for his sixth steal of the game. His two free throws gave FSU a 65-62 advantage and some much-needed breathing room.

If that wasn't enough, Douglas finished with a team-best six rebounds.

"Toney played one of the best games I've seen him play," teammate Isaiah Swann said. "He shut down one of the best point guards in the league."

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for FSU (13-7, 2-3) and gave the Seminoles a much-needed boost of confidence. North Carolina State comes to the Civic Center on Saturday afternoon.

The victory in front of 7,314 fans was No. 300 for FSU coach Leonard Hamilton. The last 100 came during his five-plus seasons at Florida State.

He was much more interested in talking about his team than a milestone win.

"We feel we're a much better team than our record indicates," Hamilton said. "We feel we have to make up for lost time.

"This may sound crazy, but we feel like we could be undefeated right now. There are so many close games in this conference, every game is a must-win game."

Virginia (11-6, 1-3) scored 12 unanswered points in the opening minutes to take a 12-2 lead, but the Seminoles clawed back to lead 31-28 at halftime.

The second half was eerily similar to the first, as the Cavaliers moved ahead 56-46 with 8:56 to play.

FSU again tightened up on defense. Ryan Reid's steal in the backcourt led to Swann draining a 3-pointer from the corner to knot the score at 60 with 2:27 to go.

"We really did the job defensively tonight," Swann said. "We knew it was a must win. We knew there was a lot riding on this game."

When Singletary was able to get by Douglas, FSU's front-court players were waiting for him. With the score tied at 60, Reid got a hand on Singletary's jumper in the lane and gave the Seminoles a chance to take the lead for the first time since the opening minutes of the half.

"Our big guys were the key," Douglas said. "You can say what you want about me guarding Sean, but without Uche (Echefu) and Ryan and Julian (Vaughn) back there, we don't win this game."

Jason Rich was forced to take a seat with four fouls less than seven minutes into the second half, but he finished with 17 points. Swann added 16.

Mamadi Diane led the Cavaliers with 21 points, 15 of them coming on 3-pointers.

Virginia coach Dave Leitao praised Douglas' athleticism but stopped short of saying Douglas' defense was the reason why Singletary scored only 11 points, less than half his average for the first three ACC games.

"Sean didn't have his 'A' game tonight," Leitao said. "Sean defended himself probably better than any player they had, no disrespect to anybody. Sean wasn't Sean tonight."

Douglas didn't take offense at the Virginia coach's observation.

"Even a great player," Douglas said, "can have a bad game."

 

Seminoles steal victory from Singletary
Despite large lead in the second half, junior Toney Douglas steals ball from Singletary, grabs win
Paul Montana, Cavalier Daily Associate Editor

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- For the second time in three games, Virginia got out to a sizeable lead in the second half but was unable to close in the final minutes, as the team fell to Florida State 69-67.

"When you lose a game by a possession or two, similar to the 1-point game we lost last week, I go immediately back to the 20, 30, 40 hours that doesn't prepare you well enough to either hold down the fort or maintain a lead or execute when you need to," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.

With Florida State (13-7, 2-3 ACC) leading 63-62 and 43 seconds on the clock, the Cavaliers (11-6, 1-3 ACC) put the ball in the usually secure hands of senior Sean Singletary. Junior Toney Douglas, however, picked Singletary's pocket, and sophomore Jerome Meyinsse was called for an intentional foul as Douglas went in for the lay-in, giving the Seminoles two free throws and possession. Douglas converted both free throws, and senior Isaiah Swann was fouled and hit another free throw to give the Seminoles a 4-point lead.

Virginia's attempts to play catch-up in the closing seconds were fruitless, as Florida State made its free throws down the stretch, preserving the victory.

"I thought fatigue played a part at the end," Leitao said. "The shots that we were making earlier hit the front rim and being half a step slow on defense cost us."

Douglas was the second Seminole to take the ball from Singletary in the final minutes; sophomore Ryan Reid came up with the first steal at the 2:40 mark, which led to the Seminoles knotting the score at 60 apiece, taking away the Cavaliers' lead for the first time since the 16:29 mark of the second half.

"We had the game won," Singletary said. "[We were] just being careless with the ball at the end, and they got the game."

After three superb offensive outings from Singletary during the past week, the senior guard shot just 4-11 from the floor for 11 points in the loss, though he did add seven assists.

"Sean didn't have his A-game today," Leitao said. "Sean probably defended himself better than any player that they had."

The three-guard combo of Douglas, Swann and senior Jason Rich led the Seminoles' offense, scoring a combined 52 of the team's 69 points.

Senior Adrian Joseph and junior Mamadi Diane continued their hot shooting, combining for 38 points on 13-24 shooting in the loss.?

A meaningless 3-point field goal by Singletary as the buzzer sounded kept his streak of 39 straight double-figures scoring games alive.

Virginia got off to a fast start in the first half, going on a 12-0 run after Florida State scored the opening basket. After battling to a 15-8 score, the teams went through a 3:40 dry spell until Swann converted on a 4-point play and drained another three on the subsequent possession to knot the score at 15 apiece.

After Florida State went into halftime with a 31-28 lead, Virginia outscored the Seminoles 28-15 in the first 11:02 of the second half to take a 10-point advantage. The Seminoles, however, slowly chipped into the deficit and went on a 9-0 spurt to take a 62-60 lead with just under two minutes remaining. On the ensuing possession, sophomore Calvin Baker threw a no-look pass to Meyinsse on a screen-and-roll to knot the score at 62, but Virginia would never regain the lead.

The Cavaliers now return home for a match-up with Georgia Tech at John Paul Jones Arena Sunday.

 

Single-handed? Maybe not.
paul montana

The teams go back and forth on runs in the first half, battling to an essential stalemate at halftime. Virginia rallies to a double-digit lead midway through the second half, then has its offense collapse in the final minutes and loses a nail-biter.

Sound familiar?

The similarities with the Virginia Tech game are all too eerie. Even the score -- 69-67 -- sure sounds a lot like the 70-69 loss to the Hokies at John Paul Jones Arena. (Although it did take overtime to reach that mark.)

For the second time in three games, the Cavaliers had the game won, and again, they took a shot to the heart when they looked at the final score.

But, this one wasn't quite as painful.

Behold: Sean Singletary had 2 points through 28 minutes, and Virginia was winning by 9.

Huh?

You tell me that Singletary was 1-4 from the floor on the road midway through the second half, and I tell you that Virginia must be down at least 15 points.

After all, for the last three games, it's been the Sean Singletary show.

When Virginia took its first ACC win against Boston College, Singletary picked up a double-double (in points and rebounds for the 6-foot point guard, mind you.)

Virginia lost a nail-biter to Virginia Tech in the previous game, and Singletary again had a double-double (in points and assists), and scored (ahem) 34 points.

When the Cavs stayed within screaming distance of Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Singletary scored 10 points in a 2:30 span on his way to 18.

But last night, Singletary's game wasn't there. As Virginia coach Dave Leitao put it, "Sean was not Sean today."

And yet, Virginia could have -- and should have -- won the game.

Adding to the shock, sophomore Calvin Baker -- the second-most able Cavalier at taking the ball to the rack -- wasn't too hot either, scoring just 7 points on 3-11 shooting.

Rather, it was senior Adrian Joseph and junior Mamadi Diane who were raining threes. Joseph was 3-7 from the arc, and Diane was 5-9. The two scored 38 of the 67 points.

It's funny. After many Virginia football games, the theme of the afternoon seemed to be, "Gee, there were so many bad things about that game. How did they manage to win that one?"

In these two similar losses to the Seminoles and the Hokies, the theme seems to be, "Gee, there were so many good things about that game. How did they manage to lose that one?"

But, per the norm, Leitao was not eager to point out the positives in a losing effort.

"We lost the game by two points, I don't look at [Diane and Joseph's scoring] as encouraging," Leitao said. "If you're a good player, then there's an expectation that they're supposed to play well."

But, as frustrating and hard as it is to say after barely losing two ACC games and three overall, all of which are huge in determining NCAA Tournament status, last night's game was an encouraging sign.

The great thing about sports is that the team that deserves to win the game usually wins. Unfortunately, by my judgment, Virginia deserves to be 3-1, but is 1-3 instead.

And last night, Singletary didn't even have to play great -- just not poorly. Not only did he pitch in just 11 points, but he also got his pocket picked twice near half-court with less than three minutes remaining, once by 6-foot-9 forward Ryan Reid, which in essence cost the team the game. That's not the Singletary we know and love.

Nor do Diane, Joseph and company need to play out of their minds -- they too need to merely make par. In the 1-point loss to the Hokies, the two shot a combined 7-23. That is certainly not what Leitao expects out of them, either.

No, what the Cavaliers need is for everyone to play OK. See: Boston College. Singletary hit his 19 points, Diane and Joseph pitched in a combined 37, and Baker added 15. The Cavs blew the Eagles out by 18.

Virginia is 1-3 in the ACC, but there is no need to hit panic mode. The Cavaliers have reached the corner; all they have to do is turn it.

 

Ex-Cavalier says he will stay in NFL
LBs coach had been cited as a possible London successor
Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 - 12:07 AM Updated: 10:06 AM

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Don't look for former University of Virginia football player Mike Pettine to emerge as a candidate to replace Mike London as the Cavaliers' defensive coordinator.

Pettine, who recently completed his third season as the Baltimore Ravens' outside linebackers coach, said yesterday that he's happy in the NFL and plans to stay there.

His mentor, Rex Ryan, is a candidate to become the Atlanta Falcons' next coach. If Ryan doesn't get the job in Atlanta, he's likely to return as the Ravens' defensive coordinator. Either way, Pettine figures he'll be working with Ryan next season.

"He and I are a good complement to each other," Pettine said.

Pettine lettered at safety in 1986 and'87 for then-U.Va. coach George Welsh. In 1997, Pettine became head coach at North Penn High in Pennsylvania, where his teams won 45 games in five seasons. In 2002, he joined the Ravens' staff as an assistant in video operations.

London recently left U.Va. to become coach at the University of Richmond, and Pettine has been mentioned as a possible successor. "I haven't heard from them and don't really expect to," Pettine said. His heart is in the NFL. Perhaps that will change one day.

"As far as the Virginia thing, if I was ever going to coach college football, that's where I'd want to go," Pettine said. "I had such a great experience there." - Jeff White