Familiar flop for Cavs
Again, U.Va. fails to maintain big lead in losing to an ACC foe
Monday, Jan 28, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- By the time Sean Singletary fouled out last night, with 18.6 seconds in overtime, John Paul Jones Arena was emptying at a furious pace. By the final horn, stunned silence filled the place.

The unraveling of the University of Virginia men's basketball team continues.

The ACC's last-place team has no trouble building sizable leads. Holding them, however, is another matter. Virginia led Georgia Tech by 10 at halftime last night and ended up losing 92-82 before a crowd of 14,138.

Nothing new there for U.Va. (1-4, 11-7). The Wahoos have dropped three of their past four games -- to Virginia Tech, Florida State and, now, Georgia Tech -- despite having led by nine points or more in the second half of each one.

"We're not playing hard enough down the stretch, and that's been hurting us," Singletary said. "I don't know if it's fatigue or whatever, but you can't have excuses. It's a man's game."

The Yellow Jackets (3-3, 10-9) nearly won in regulation, but reserve guard Matt Causey's 40-footer rimmed out at the buzzer. Causey, who's averaged 22 points in his past three games, didn't miss much in overtime. He scored 12 of his team's 16 points in overtime to help Georgia Tech win going away.

"It's so frustrating, because our record could easily be turned around," said Virginia sophomore guard Calvin Baker, who scored 16 points. "We could easily be 4-1."

Against Georgia Tech, the Cavaliers had possession with 17 seconds left in the second half and the score 74-74. But a botched handoff by Baker, who was trying to get the ball to Singletary, resulted in a breakaway dunk by the Jackets' Zack Peacock. Only an acrobatic basket by Singletary, who flipped the ball in on an off-balance drive with 4.4 seconds left, kept Virginia from losing in regulation.

Singletary tied the game again in overtime, at 78-78, but for the second straight game a hip pointer limited his effectiveness. The all-ACC point guard missed all six of his 3-point attempts and was 5 for 19 overall from the floor.

"Right now, Sean is not Sean," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.

Even an injured Singletary, however, probably is Virginia's best option with the ball. Baker struggled to run the Cavaliers' offense in those rare moments when Singletary was on the bench yesterday. And now U.Va. is looking at two straight road games. Virginia visits Maryland on Wednesday night and Virginia Tech on Saturday afternoon.

"We've just got to get over the hump," Singletary said, "because we've been in the games. . . . We're right there. We can't panic."

Virginia built its halftime lead over Georgia Tech on brilliant outside shooting. The Cavaliers hit 9 of 18 attempts from beyond the arc, and Jackets coach Paul Hewitt didn't think his team's perimeter defense had been especially poor.

Hewitt said told his team at the break: "If they go 9 for 18 in the second half, fellas, we ain't winning the game anyway. So don't worry about it. Just keep playing and doing the things we've been doing."

There was little of evidence after intermission of the grit Leitao wanted to see from his players. Georgia Tech's big men dominated inside, and U.Va. went cold from outside. The Cavaliers were 2 for 14 on 3-pointers in the second half and 1 for 4 in OT.

The Jackets, meanwhile, got two treys from Causey in overtime, the second of which would have counted in the NBA and made it 86-79 with 52.1 seconds left. Sophomore forward Jamil Tucker scored a career-high 13 points off the bench for U.Va. Teammate Mamadi Diane had 16 points, but this won't rank among the junior forward's better games. Diane attempted a career-high 17 shots but made only five of them. He also missed two free throws.

"The season didn't end today," Leitao said, "but obviously at 1-4, it doesn't look as good as if you were 4-1."

 

Cavaliers falter in overtime
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com | 978-7250
January 27, 2008

Last year, the Virginia men’s basketball team lost just one game at home en route to winning a share of the ACC regular-season championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

To UVa fans, that has to seem like eons ago.

Sunday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena was Groundhog Day for Wahoo Nation. For the second straight game and the third time in its last four, UVa blew a sizable second-half lead and succumbed to a team who it had outplayed for the majority of the contest.

Georgia Tech, behind 12 points in overtime from Matt Causey, defeated Virginia, 92-82 in front of a crowd of 14,138.

“We came out with dead bodies and dead minds,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao, when asked about his team’s latest second-half meltdown.

UVa, which was just 2 of 14 from 3-point range in the second half, was led by Calvin Baker and Mamadi Diane, who each scored 16 points. Adrian Joseph and Jamil Tucker chipped in with 13 points apiece.

“I think it’s more mental,” said Baker, who scored just three of his points in the second stanza. “I think we get caught up in trying to win the game as much as just play basketball.

“We start to think a lot, our minds get cloudy and shots don’t fall because you feel like every shot counts. I think our minds just get too cloudy and we start thinking about the wrong things instead of just winning the basketball game.”

Virginia (11-7, 1-4) has now lost four of its five ACC games. With upcoming road games at Maryland and Virginia Tech, there is no relief in sight.

“The season didn’t end today,” Leitao said. “But obviously at 1-4, it doesn’t look as good as if you were 4-1.

“I don’t think panic sets in or any of that stuff happens, but you certainly have to change your fortunes if you have any level of expectations.”

With the game tied at 74 in regulation, Virginia gift-wrapped the go-ahead basket for Georgia Tech. Baker, while trying to make a handoff to Singletary near the 3-point line, lost the ball to Causey (18 points, five assists), who passed ahead to a streaking Zack Peacock for a dunk with 11 seconds left.

With no timeouts remaining, UVa frantically inbounded the ball to Singletary, who drove the length of the court, sliced through three defenders and hit a reverse under-hand flip shot that tied the game with four seconds left.

Causey had a chance to win the game but his 3-point bank shot from about 25 feet clanged in and out.

But the Yellow Jackets, behind Causey, quickly took control in overtime. The dagger came when Causey drilled a long 3-pointer with the shot clock running down that gave Tech an 87-79 lead.

“In overtime, I wanted to take every shot,” said Causey, a former walk-on, “but I knew I couldn’t…I was definitely feeling it in overtime.”

Virginia was outscored 16-6 in the extra session.

Sean Singletary, who played his second straight sub-par game – he scored just 11 points on 5 of 19 shooting – said the Cavaliers aren’t playing hard enough down the stretch.

“I don’t know if it’s fatigue or whatever,” said Singletary, who played through a hip pointer injury. “You can’t have excuses. It’s a man’s game. You just have mind your P’s and Q’s down the stretch and we haven’t been doing that.”

In the first half, Virginia certainly was. UVa jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead before going up 12-5 after a steal and fastbreak layup by Baker, who scored nine of the Cavaliers’ first 12 points.

Virginia, which came into the game with the most made 3-pointers (158) in the ACC, was a blistering 9 of 18 from behind the arc in the first 20 minutes.

A 3-pointer by the seldom-used freshman Mustapha Farrakhan gave UVa a 31-20 lead. A triple from Diane gave the Cavaliers a 48-35 advantage, their largest of the game.

Singletary helped set the defensive tone with three first-half steals.

Virginia took a 48-38 lead into the break.

“Everyone was playing confidently,” Baker said. “When you feel good, shots fall. We were playing real good.”

That is, until the second half.

Dunks

Virginia is now 0-2 in OT this season…UVa sophomore Jamil Tucker scored a career-high 13 points…Georgia Tech freshman Moe Miller (ankle) was injured late in the game and did not return…The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 37-28, including 16 out of the last 20 games. The two schools meet again on Feb. 21 in Atlanta...Former UVa star Bryant Stith was in attendance.

 

UVa melts down again
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com
January 27, 2008

So, let’s throw another log on the fire and wonder what’s wrong with Virginia’s basketball team.

It doesn’t take a Dick Tracy to figure out why the Cavaliers, once 10-2, have dropped five of their last six games and stand 11-7 (1-4 in the ACC) heading into a pair of challenging road trips to close out the week.

After Sunday’s 92-82 overtime home loss to 10-9 Georgia Tech, UVa coach Dave Leitao traced a lot of the team’s troubles to practice. Leitao is a staunch believer in the old axiom that you play like you practice and he doesn’t think his squad is getting it done in practice.

Practice makes perfect

Part of it is defensive intensity, or rather a lack of it. Part of it is making bad offensive choices when the 3-point shot isn’t there, as was the case most of the second half Sunday when the Yellow Jackets turned up their defensive intensity a couple of notches.

All in all, UVa is experiencing as many mental problems as physical, although it was evident that All-ACC point guard Sean Singletary wasn’t himself. Singletary, who is playing with a hip-pointer, one of the most painful injuries a player can experience, suffered through his worst performance since the Syracuse game (when he was bogged down by the flu).

The Virginia senior connected on just 5 of 19 field goal attempts and missed all six from beyond the arc, still coming up with 11 points (to extend the ACC’s longest active double-figures scoring streak to 40 games, and eight assists; he leads the league in assists with 6.6 per outing). Still that’s not even an average night for Singletary.

“He played 41 out of 45 [minutes] and should have played 25,” Leitao said after the Cavs lost their third home game of the season.

UVa only lost once at John Paul Jones Arena last season and eked out a bunch of close games. Now, the Cavs are losing the close ones.

While Leitao is correct in his analysis about practice carrying over to games, the fact that teams are double-and triple-teaming Singletary, healthy or not, only complicates issues. Combined with Virginia being short on the wide bodies down inside and you almost wonder how the Cavs are even staying close at the end of games.

Lack of size

Georgia Tech outscored UVa 36-24 in the paint, an alarming trend that Leitao has no control over.

“It’s obvious we’re playing with a short deck,” the coach said. “The amount of bodies we’re used to having in order to just have a rotation, just aren’t there.”

No secret this team is incomplete without 6-foot-11 Tunji Soroye, 6-foot-8 bruiser Lars Mikalauskas, and 6-foot-6, 245 reserve Will Harris. All of ‘em are riding the pine with injuries and there’s no certainty to when or even if they will be healthy again this season.

“That a freshman (6-foot-8, 233 pound Mike Scott) is playing major minutes at the wrong position for him is a little bit of a handicap, but not an excuse,” Leitao said. “We’re missing the backline of our defense.”

When the Cavaliers tied North Carolina for the regular season ACC title last season and moved to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Mikalauskas was playing solid, physical basketball. Soroye, although never really an offensive threat, was playing his best and was a dependable defender, rebounder and shot blocker.

Jason Cain, who graduated, was also good in those departments and so Leitao didn’t have to concern himself quite so much when the defense allowed penetration. There were guys on the backline that could clean up the mess.

That’s not the case any longer. Scott is back there, but he’s a power forward playing center. Ryan Pettinella gives some added size at 6-foot-9, 249 and is the biggest body available. Then, Adrian Joseph, a swingman, is often playing at the power forward spot and he’s only 6-foot-7, 200 pounds.

“It becomes self-explanatory,” Leitao said.

In the ever-challenging ACC, where there are no nights off, it’s difficult to win the cliffhangers when your team is playing with such a deficiency. No wonder Virginia lives and dies with its 3-point shooters.

Sunday was a perfect example. The Cavaliers hit 9 of 18 treys in the first half and led 48-38.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt didn’t believe Virginia would continue on that kind of ride, and if it did, then there’s no way his team could overcome such a sizzling production. Instead, he told his team to keep fighting for loose balls and rebound and to exploit the Cavs inside.

For the second half and overtime, UVa made only 3 of 18 treys (the 36 attempts were the second-most in Wahoo history to the 38 vs. Clemson in 2000).

The Yellow Jackets filled the passing lanes and instead of following Leitao’s practice plans to attack the basket, his players backed up and jacked up an array of misfires from Bonusphere that left the Cavaliers shaking their heads.

So, if the Cavs can’t beat either of the Techs at home, then what are they going to do at Maryland on Wednesday or in Blacksburg this weekend? Could get ugly.

“The season didn’t end today, but obviously at 1-4, it doesn’t look as good as if you were 4-1,” Leitao admitted. “What that means when you wake up tomorrow, I don’t think panic sets in.”

However, if the Cavs drop both of this week’s contests, it might be time to reach for that panic button. There would be little else to grasp for.


 

Cellar dwellers
Virginia takes over sole possession of last place in the ACC.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Remember when Virginia's football team set an NCAA record this year for one- and two-point victories?

The Cavaliers have been paying for it in men's basketball.

UVa gagged on another double-figure lead Sunday, losing for the fifth time in six games when Georgia Tech rallied for a 92-82 overtime victory at John Paul Jones Arena.

Walk-on Georgia Tech guard Matt Causey victimized two-time All-ACC selection Sean Singletary by scoring 12 of his 18 points in overtime. Georgia Tech (10-9 , 3-3 ACC) had trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half.

"We've been written off already, so I don't know why we're even playing," said coach Paul Hewitt, whose Yellow Jackets climbed above the .500 mark for the first time since November.

Virginia, on the other hand, had dropped into sole possession of last place in the ACC by tipoff and is the only team without two conference victories.

In the span of 12 days, the Cavaliers (11-7, 1-4) have lost conference games in which they have led by nine, 10 and 13 points.

Two have come at home, where Virginia had a two-year record of 24-2 before dropping overtime contests to Virginia Tech (70-69) and the Yellow Jackets.

"Coach [Dave Leitao] has been telling us, 'It's not a physical thing; it's mental,' " said sophomore Jamil Tucker, who came off the bench to score 13 points Sunday. "When the game is going on, it's not like were saying, 'Oh no, not again.' Basically, we've got to find a way to finish."

Leitao said the tone for the second half may have been set during the closing moments of the first half, when UVa had a chance to go up by 15 points or more but went into the locker room ahead 48-38 after Lance Storrs hit a 3-pointer for the Yellow Jackets.

It took only 14 seconds for Virginia to turn the ball over after getting possession to start the second half, and the Yellow Jackets got two quick inside baskets from Gani Lawal before Leitao called timeout with 17:35 remaining.

"My challenge at halftime was that lately we've been coming out in the second half and not playing with the same intensity," Leitao said. "[Georgia Tech] came out and did what we needed to do. We came out with dead bodies and dead minds."

The Cavaliers got 3-pointers from five different players in the first half, when they were 9-for-18 from beyond the arc, but those shots didn't fall in the second half, when UVa was 2-for-14 on 3-pointers.

"My staff was worried about the 3s," Hewitt said. "I told them, 'Fellas, if they shoot the ball like that, we're not going to win anyways, so let's just keep doing the things we're doing.' "

Mostly, the Yellow Jackets were hounding Singletary, who went 5-for-19 from the field and missed all six of his 3-point shots.

Singletary had a driving layup with 4.4 seconds left in regulation to force a 76-76 tie, but it took a tip-in to start the overtime to give him 11 points and an ACC-leading 40th straight game in double figures.

He needed a 3-pointer at the buzzer to preserve that streak Wednesday in a 69-67 loss at Florida State, when he was 4-of-11 from the field and had two key turnovers in the final 2:45.

"Right now, Sean is not Sean," Leitao said Sunday for the second time in five days. "He played a lot of minutes (41) and there's pressure on him to do a lot of things for us. The times that he paused and took a deep breath are the times that Causey made him pay for it."

Causey, who began his career at Georgetown and later spent two seasons at Division II North Georgia, has scored 66 points in the last three games. He also ran the offense Sunday after an injury to freshman point guard Maurice Miller, who had 11 points before he was helped from the floor with 6:49 left in regulation.

There were two seconds left on the 35-second clock when Causey hit the second of two overtime 3-pointers, giving Georgia Tech an 86-79 lead with 53 seconds left.

"In overtime, I wanted to take every shot, but I knew I couldn't," Causey said. "When the shot clock went down, I was definitely feeling it. Singletary had four fouls so we knew we were going to go at him."

Singletary said that his practice time has been limited since he suffered a hip-pointer nine days ago in an 84-66 victory over Boston College but said his poor shooting was nothing more than a slump.

"In the past, we've sort of lived by the 3-pointer," Baker said. "When it isn't working for us, we have to do other things, but we didn't find anything we could do tonight."

 

Cavaliers fall in overtime to Georgia Tech
Matt Causeys 12 points sink the Cavaliers in overtime.
BY MELINDA WALDROP | 247-4634
9:42 PM EST, January 27, 2008
 

CHARLOTTESVILLE - He rose up against the two-time all-conference guard and let a deep 3-pointer go.

As Matt Causey's shot swished through the net, the Virginia fans stood to leave.

Causey scored 12 of his 18 points in overtime, including the game-clinching three over Virginia senior Sean Singletary, as Georgia Tech erased a double-digit lead in a 92-82 win on Sunday.

"Down the stretch, I always want the ball," said Causey, who came into Sunday's game averaging 24 points per game in his last two outings, including 30 against Virginia Tech on Jan. 19. "... I'd like to take every shot, but I know that's not the best choice for our team. Just when I had the opportunity, I took it."

Causey, a transfer from North Georgia who also spent a year at Georgetown, nearly won the game for the Jackets (10-9, 3-3 ACC) at the end of regulation. But after his 3-point try rimmed out at the buzzer, his confidence didn't waver.

"It kind of slipped, so I thought it might not go in, but I just told everybody in the overtime we were gonna win," Causey said.

Causey's 3-pointer 1: 22 into overtime gave Georgia Tech an 81-78 lead. He then banked in a runner before making it an 86-79 game with 53 seconds to play with the three that sent the crowd streaming toward the exits.

Virginia (11-7, 1-4 ACC) scored just six points in overtime after leading by as many as 13 in the first half, when the Cavs shot 50 percent from 3-point range. But that advantage was gone less than seven minutes into the second period, when Lewis Clinch's 3-pointer tied the game at 55. U.Va. made just 25 percent of its 3-pointers in the second half and shot 37 percent from the floor for the game.

"I think we as a team get caught up in trying to win the game instead of just playing basketball," said guard Calvin Baker, who scored 13 of his 16 points in the first half. "When we start to think a lot, our minds get clouded, and then shots don't fall, because you feel like every shot counts."

The Cavs went up by six on Singletary's ball-faking layup with 11:15 to play in regulation, but the Jackets re-took the lead at 70-69 on Causey's layup with 3:57 left.

Singletary, who came into the game averaging 18.5 points, forced overtime with an off-balance scoop shot that knotted the game at 76. But he needed the extra period to run his ACC-leading streak of games in double digits to 40 and finished 5-of-19, including 0-of-6 from 3-point range.

His tip-in with 4:04 to play in overtime gave him 11 points and tied the game at 78. But the Cavs' only other OT basket came on Jamil Tucker's 3-pointer with 34 seconds left.

Singletary, who suffered a hip pointer at Florida State on Wednesday, is often the assassin who drains back-breaking shots. But on Sunday, he watched a floppy-haired transfer who averaged 5.1 points in the season's first 16 games play that role.

"Right now, Sean is not Sean," Cavs coach Dave Leitao said. "(There's) a lot of pressure on him to do a lot of things for us. The times that he may have took a deep breath were the times Causey made him pay for it."

 

Causey drives the Jackets
Guard scores 12 of 18 his points in overtime to beat Cavs
By MATT WINKELJOHN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 01/28/08

Charlottesville, Va. -- The Matt Causey express barreled into Virginia's John Paul Jones Arena and blew a gasket as Georgia Tech's firebrand reserve point guard went scoreless on the way to Tech's 10-point halftime deficit Sunday.

The train soon got back on track, however, and after Causey scored 12 of his game-high 18 points in overtime to lead the Yellow Jackets to a 92-82 win, folks flocked to him like moths to light.

The tale of an emerging -- and unlikely -- luminary grew again -- at least a dozen local reporters broke from Virginia coach Dave Leitao's news conference to meet Causey in a hallway upon hearing he was available.

After averaging 5.1 points in Tech's first 16 games, he has paced the Jackets in three games in a row with 30, 18 and 18 points, leading Tech from last place in the ACC to a tie with Clemson and Virginia Tech for fourth.

Virginia (11-7, 1-4) has lost five of its past six games.

Tech (10-9, 3-3) has won three straight ACC games, and consecutive ACC road games for the first time since late in the 2004-05 season.

No wonder outside the locker room Causey, coach Paul Hewitt, players, coaches and support personnel joked that Causey has huge, um, amounts of courage.

"You need guys who are willing to make plays," Hewitt said. "Our better teams have always had one guy, whether it was Javaris [Crittenton], or Jarrett [Jack], or Will Bynum who would just step up and make a play. Our first year, it was Tony Akins. Now, you've got Matt."

Causey does not shrink from moments.

"In overtime, I wanted to take every shot," he said after taking four of Tech's five overtime shots, making three plus four free throws. "I was definitely feeling it in overtime."

The Jackets needed something special.

D'Andre Bell was effective in defending Virginia point guard Sean Singletary, who was averaging 20.5 points per ACC game only to foul out with 11 points on 5-of-19 shooting.

But Virginia made 9 of 18 3-point shots on the way to a 48-38 halftime lead.

"I told the guys, 'You're playing some great ball. Just keep playing,' " Hewitt said. "Fortunately, they starting missing some [3-pointers], and we ... got a positive result for a group of guys that is really coming together."

Starting point guard Moe Miller missed the final 6:49 of regulation and overtime with a sprained ankle.

Causey's uncanny sense of timing kicked in before that and went into hyperdrive later.

Virginia made only 3 of 18

3-pointers after halftime, and Causey put Tech up 70-69 on a drive with 3:59 left in regulation.

He scored on a layup for a 72-69 lead with 3:32 left and was credited with a steal -- Bell also got a hand on the ball — that led to Peacock's go-ahead dunk with 11 seconds left in regulation. Tech led 76-74.

Singletary tied the game with a layup with 4.4 seconds left to force overtime.

Causey's 3-pointer with

3:40 in overtime gave Tech the lead for good at 81-78.

He made a shot with 2:32 left for an 83-79 lead, working off Smith's screen against Singletary, who had four fouls. "He called that himself, and that's the right call," Hewitt said.

The Cav-killer came with 53 seconds left, 28 feet separating Causey from the basket, the shot clock winding down, and the Tech bench feet away.

"Some of the players were [yelling to shoot]," he said. "I just let it fly."

Swish! Tech led 86-79.

 

Cavs go broke banking on 3-pointers
January 28, 2008 12:15 am
BY TAFT COGHILL JR.

CHARLOTTESVILLE--When Virginia is connecting on 3-pointers, its offensive execution looks near perfect.

But when the Cavaliers aren't so hot from behind the arc, it can be frightening for head coach Dave Leitao.

Leitao saw both sides of that in yesterday's 92-82 overtime loss to Georgia Tech in front of 14,138 at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers built a 13-point first-half lead by making 9-of-18 3s, but collapsed in the second half with a 2-of-14 showing en route to their fifth loss in the past six games, leaving them in last place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

"I don't think panic sets in," Leitao said. "But you certainly have to change your fortunes if you have any level of expectations."

A win yesterday would've been a good start for Virginia (11-7, 1-4 ACC).

But instead, it blew a significant second-half lead for the third time in the past four games.

It blew a nine-point lead at home to Virginia Tech and a 10-point cushion at Florida State on Wednesday.

"We came out with dead bodies and dead minds," Leitao said of his team's second-half effort yesterday. "We never really caught stride on either end of the floor."

The primary source of the Cavaliers' problems was their inability to connect from deep.

Senior point guard Sean Singletary was perhaps the worst offender, finishing 0-of-4 in the second half (0-of-6 for the game). Adrian Joseph and Mamadi Diane combined to go 1-of-7 after hitting 4-of-8 in the first half.

"They made a lot of 3s in the first half," Georgia Tech head coach Paul Hewitt said. "My staff was worried about the 3s, but I told them, 'If they shoot the ball like that we're not going to beat them anyway.'"

Hewitt didn't have to worry because the Cavaliers were cold from the start of the second half.

The Yellow Jackets (10-9, 3-3) rallied from their 10-point halftime deficit, and they took a 76-74 lead with 10 seconds remaining on a dunk by Zack Peacock following a Virginia turnover.

Singletary connected on an underhand circus shot with 4.4 seconds left to tie the game at 76 and Georgia Tech guard Matt Causey barely missed a long 3 as time expired to force overtime.

However, Virginia was outscored 16-6 in the extra period, with Causey scoring 12 of his team-high 18 points in overtime. Causey has averaged 22.0 points per game in his past three contests after scoring just 5.1 in his first 16 games.

"Down the stretch, I always want the ball," Causey said. "I would like to take every shot, but I know that is not the best choice for our team. So when I had the opportunity, I took it."

The Cavaliers were led by 16 points each from Diane and sophomore guard Calvin Baker.

But Diane shot just 5-of-17 from the floor and 13 of Baker's points came in the first-half.

Singletary struggled, scoring 11 points on 5-of-19 shooting in 41 minutes.

He added eight assists, but Leitao said a hip-pointer he suffered recently has hurt his overall effectiveness.

"He played 41 out of 45 [minutes] and probably right now he should be at about 25," Leitao said. "He's not feeling real well right now."

Neither are the rest of the Cavaliers after they allowed the Yellow Jackets to get 49 points from their bench and 36 points in the paint.

Georgia Tech repeatedly pounded the ball inside to its post players, taking advantage of Virginia's interior defense that's been decimated by injuries.

Five Yellow Jackets scored in double-figures. Gani Lawal had 15, and Peacock contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Cavaliers shot just 37 percent for the game. They travel to Maryland on Wednesday.

"We can't panic," Singletary said. "We've just got to go to practice, keep working hard and get over that hump."

Note

Singletary has now scored in double-figures in 40 straight games, an ACC-high. He also picked up his 500th assist yesterday, making him the fifth player in ACC history to have 1,500 points, 500 assists and 400 rebounds.

 

Bad collapse in Gator Bowl the low point for Virginia? Think again
January 27, 2008 12:16 am

JANUARY CAN'T ENDsoon enough for anyone involved with the University of Virginia football program. The Cavaliers have endured a month that makes the Washington Redskins look functional.

The month started with a fourth-quarter collapse against Texas Tech in the Gator Bowl, denying coach Al Groh what would have been one of the best victories in his seven-year tenure at his alma mater.

That day in Jacksonville also marked the final collegiate game for All-America defensive end Chris Long, who enjoyed arguably one of the best seasons ever for a Cavalier at any position.

Since then, things have gone downhill.

Ten days ago, the school announced that four players--including starting quarterback Jameel Sewell--were not enrolled in classes for the spring semester. Citing privacy laws, the school made no further comment, but when word broke just as the semester began, it was clear that the problems were related to academics.

Two days later, defensive coordinator Mike London left to become head coach at his alma mater, the University of Richmond. He's the fourth former U.Va. assistant to take over a program elsewhere in the past two years.

That normally reflects well on a program, and no one begrudges a coach's bettering his career, but London will be particularly missed. He coached Long and friends to a No. 17 national ranking in defense, and he was arguably Virginia's best recruiter--particularly in the talent-rich Hampton Roads area, where Virginia Tech has a virtual stranglehold.

After London's departure, at least one of the best players he had recruited--defensive lineman Ugo Uzodinma of Washington's Dunbar High--reneged on his oral commitment and pledged his services to Illinois. Virginia also missed out on blue-chip receiver A.J. Price of Reston and lineman R.J. Mattes, whose dad, Ron, played for the Cavaliers in the 1980s.

Then this past week came speculation about rising junior defensive end Jeffrey Fitzgerald, who would have become Virginia's best defensive player in Long's absence. Media reports stated that Fitzgerald was leaving school, reportedly for academic issues.

Friday night, Fitzgerald e-mailed the Richmond Times-Dispatch to say the reports are "not necessarily true. However, I choose not to comment on it until things are definite."

Other than that, all is peachy in Hooville.

Any one of the off-season developments would have been damaging. Together, they represent a crisis for Groh, who just completed his best season at Virginia (9-4) and was named ACC coach of the year.

Sewell, who rallied the Cavaliers to an NCAA-record five one- or two-point wins last season, hopes to regain his eligibility, but there's no guarantee. Peter Lalich, who played as a true freshman last fall (but saw his time dwindle late in the season), is the heir apparent at quarterback, with no proven backup.

If Fitzgerald and cornerback Chris Cook (another academic casualty) can't play in the fall, a defense that had seven starters eligible to return suddenly looks vulnerable. And without London, who will design the O's to stop opposing X's?

Also, who will succeed London as a recruiter? Virginia Tech has commitments from 13 of The Roanoke Times' top 25 state seniors this year (including Brooke Point's Isaiah Hamlette and Stafford's Jake Johnson). Virginia has one. And next year promises an even better crop of home-grown talent.

Virginia fans figure February can't be any worse than the present month. But next week brings National Signing Day, and the short-term prognosis is still pretty bleak.

Steve DeShazo: 540/374-5443
 

College wrestling: Rising with falls
Tech topples U.Va. in a match intended to lift sport in state
Monday, Jan 28, 2008 - 12:07 AM
By ANDEE SEARS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
 

Rumble on the River

In a high school gym, the youngest wrestlers were the strongest Sunday afternoon.

Virginia Tech upset Virginia 18-16 in the Rumble on the River. The ACC showcase, intended to help promote wrestling in the state, moved to Deep Run this year after outgrowing St. Christopher's. Deep Run officials estimated there were about 1,100 fans. As part of the event, there were five youth matches from 50 to 110 pounds before the college match.

"It was kind of cool watching them," said Virginia Tech's Chris Diaz, who wrestles in the 141 class. "It was different from what we've been doing the last couple of months."

Diaz got the only pin of the afternoon, catching Kellon Ballum at the last second. The win gave Virginia Tech a five-point lead.

"I started off kind of bad," Diaz said. "[Ballum] got me, got some back points and was riding me out a little while, and then I got kind of pumped up in the third period."

Ballum, a sophomore, was leading 8-3 after two periods. Diaz scored on an escape, a pair of takedowns, and a stalling call to tie the match at nine, then caught Ballum on his back with just over 10 seconds remaining.

"When I got him on his back . . . I was thinking I can get bonus points for the team," Diaz said.

U.Va. and Virginia Tech traded decisions at 149 and 157 pounds, giving the Hokies a five-point lead in the final match. Only a Michael Chaires pin at 165 pounds would have given the Cavaliers the win.

"I just grabbed him by the face and said, 'Hey, no pressure now," Virginia coach Steve Garland said. " . . . If you do get him to his back, pin him. But at the end of the day, it's not his job to win the match. His teammates lost those bouts, not him."

Chaires had Matt Epperly on his back briefly in the first minute, but the redshirt freshman rolled free and out of bounds before back points could be awarded. Chaires pulled away to a 6-3 win.

"Dual meets for some reason, I always put more pressure on myself than anything," Chaires said. "So it's just about relaxing."

No one was relaxed when the match started with a pair of upsets. Hokies standout sophomore Eric Decker, 20th in the InterMat NCAA rankings, lost to freshman Chris Heinrich at 174 pounds. Cavaliers star junior Rocco Caponi, who was 30-1 and 10th in the InterMat rankings, lost to Hokies freshman Tommy Spellman.

"I knew it was going to be a wild match," Diaz said.

The Hokies also got the upset win at 197. Kevin O'Conner, a junior with a career record of 11-18, beat 16th-ranked Brent Jones by decision. He was the only third year wrestler to win for Virginia Tech.

"There's no question we were underdogs on paper," Hokies coach Kevin Dresser said. "We had some guys step up big today."

Dresser was pleased with the progress his young team made, rebounding from a Saturday night loss to North Carolina. Garland, whose Cavaliers had beaten UNC two nights ago, was frank about his dissatisfaction.

" This is a huge win for them and bad for us," he said. "I think our kids need to take the sting. And it's one of the worst losses I've ever been associated with in eight years of coaching. Not because Virginia Tech's not a good team, I respect the heck out of them. I think it's because of the way. When you lose two matches with less than five seconds to go, that breaks your heart. When you lose matches you're supposed to win, it breaks your heart."