UVa heats up late, tops Tech
By Andy Bitter
Lynchburg News & Advance
February 12, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - Overtime didn't treat Virginia well the first time this season. Saturday night, it did.
Virginia beat Virginia Tech 81-77 in overtime at University Hall, the 400th win for the Cavaliers in the 40-year-old building. The Cavaliers scored nine of the game's last 11 points to earn the season sweep against their archrivals.

Sean Singletary scored 23 points and J.R. Reynolds added 19 to go with 12 assists for Virginia (12-9, 6-5 ACC), which improved to 9-2 at home this year.

Virginia's only previous overtime game this season was an 87-82 loss to Florida State at University Hall on Jan. 11.

It appeared it might be a similar result when Virginia Tech (13-11, 3-8 ACC) quickly took a 75-72 on a 3-pointer by A.D. Vassallo, who scored 19 points. Virginia answered right back, though, getting a pair of free throws from Singletary and Reynolds on back-to-back possessions to take a 76-75 lead.

After Tech missed a 3-pointer, Reynolds drove the lane and tried to kick the ball out to Singletary for a 3-pointer in the corner. The ball was deflected by a Tech defender, however. As has been the Hokies' luck this season, it landed in the hands of a wide open Laurynas Mikalauskas underneath the basket for a layup.

Vassallo had a good look at an open 3 that would have tied the game with under 20 seconds left, but he drew air. It was a fitting end for the Hokies, who were 6 of 26 from 3-point range. Vassallo was 3 of 10 and Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon combined to go 1-for-9.

Virginia grabbed the rebound and made 3 of 4 free throws in the last 13 seconds to seal the win. The Cavaliers were 19 of 23 from the free throw line overall.

It was Virginia Tech's second straight overtime game. Nine of the Hokies' 11 league games have been decided by six points or less.

The teams traded the lead down the stretch in regulation. Virginia Tech took a 67-66 lead with 1:08 left when Coleman Collins grabbed a rebound out of a scrum underneath the hoop and made a layup.

Singletary answered with a 3-pointer to put UVa ahead 69-67 with 53.7 seconds left, but Gordon hit a pair of free throws with 36 second to go to tie the game at 69.

On the last possession of regulation, Virginia got the ball to guard Reynolds, who drove to the hoop but lost his handle on the ball underneath the basket. He managed to collect himself and get off a layup, but missed.

Cavaliers coach Dave Leitao wanted a basket interference call on Virginia Tech but didn't get it and the game went to overtime.

The Cavaliers built up a 15-point first half lead with Singletary on the bench with two fouls. Reynolds hit two of his three first-half 3s on consecutive possessions to put UVa ahead 36-21 with just under three minutes remaining. Virginia shot 59.1 percent in the first half and was 6 of 12 from 3-point range.

The Hokies outscored the Cavaliers 11-3 over the last 2:39, however, pulling within 39-32 at halftime when Gordon, who led all scorers with 24 points, stripped Reynolds as he went up for a 3-pointer and took it the length of the floor for a layup.

Virginia led by 12 early in the second half before Virginia Tech went on a 20-6 run to take its first lead since five minutes into the game. Dowdell hit a pair of free throws to tie the game at 50. After Singletary missed a layup on a fastbreak, the Hokies turned it around and got a fastbreak layup by Gordon at the other end to go up 52-50 with 11:39 left.

In the last 12 minutes of regulation, there were nine lead changes and six ties.

 

Sweeping success for Cavaliers
OT victory vs. Tech gives Virginia season series in state rivalry
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 12, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- As the snow piled up outside University Hall last night, Virginia's lead melted.

Virginia Tech, down 15 late in the first half, cut its deficit to seven by the break, and the Cavaliers continued to struggle after intermission.

In the end, though, U.Va. survived. Sophomore guard Sean Singletary's 3-pointer with 53.7 seconds left in regulation put Virginia up 69-67. Tech rallied to force overtime and led by three with 2:20 left in the extra period. But the Cavaliers outscored their ACC rivals 9-2 in the final 2:15 to capture an 81-77 victory before a raucous crowd of 7,757.

"It was a game that could have gone either way," Tech coach Seth Greenberg said.

The game swung decisively in U.Va.'s direction in the final minute of OT. The Cavaliers (6-5, 12-9) led 76-75 when J.R. Reynolds drove into the lane and spotted Laurynas Mikalauskas under the basket. Reynolds' pass was deflected but ended up in Mikalauskas' hands anyway, and the 6-8, 241-pound freshman scored to make it 78-75 with 35.4 seconds left.

At the other end, freshman for- ward A.D. Vassallo missed a 3-point attempt that Reynolds contested, and U.Va. made 3 of 4 free throws in the final 12.9 seconds to secure a regular-season sweep of the Hokies (3-8, 13-11).

"There's such a fine line between winning and losing," Greenberg said.

In the Cavaliers' victory in Blacksburg last month, Mikalauskas had five fouls and zero points. Vassallo didn't score in that game either, but the former Hargrave Military Academy standout had 19 points, seven assists and five rebounds last night.

Tech's Jamon Gordon, a junior guard, led all scorers with 24 points and also contributed seven rebounds, two steals, two assists and one blocked shot.

U.Va. improved to 5-0 against Tech in overtime games. As usual, the Cavaliers' starting guards played leading roles. Singletary finished with 23 points and six rebounds. He failed to registered an assist, but Reynolds compensated.

The junior from Roanoke recorded 19 points and 12 assists for his first career double-double. His previous career high in assists was six.

"J.R. played a terrific floor game," said Dave Leitao, Virginia's first-year coach.

The Hokies led for much of the final 12 minutes of regulation, though never by more than two points. Virginia hit six 3-pointers in the first half but didn't make another trey until Singletary connected in the final minute of regulation.

"The first half we didn't guard," Greenberg said.

After Gordon's two free throws with 36 seconds to play made it 69-69, Virginia had a chance to win on its final possession. But the Cavs' play went awry. Reynolds' off-balance attempt from under the basket didn't fall through, and Virginia went to overtime for the second time this season.

The first time, FSU pulled away from U.Va. to win 87-82 at U-Hall on Jan. 11. This time, the Cavaliers didn't wilt.

Against the Seminoles, Virginia "didn't do the things necessary in [OT]," Leitao said.

"I'd like to think that's where you define yourself a little bit. We weren't perfect [against Tech]. We didn't execute sometimes as well as we wanted to. . . . But in the last five minutes, I thought we did what was necessary and rebounded the ball -- we were a little loose rebounding most of the night -- and were able to win a very, very difficult game."

Sophomore swingman Adrian Joseph, who'd hit the winning 3-pointer against Tech in Blacksburg, opened the OT last night with a trey that made it 72-69. But the Hokies answered with a 6-0 run -- on a three-point play by Gordon and on Vassallo's third trey.

But Reynolds' two free throws pulled the Cavaliers to 75-74 with 2:15 left, and Singletary put them ahead for good, 76-75, with two foul shots at the 1:35 mark.

 

Reynolds gives Cavs points plus
BOB LIPPER
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST Feb 12, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE

J.R. Reynolds.

Setup man.

J.R. Reynolds.

Stopper.

The definitions are on separate lines intentionally, because you don't normally think of J.R. Reynolds side-by-side with passing or defending. Sure, the young man can pass and defend. He wouldn't be earning 30-some minutes per game in Virginia's lineup if he couldn't. But by and large, he's J.R. Reynolds, scorer. Sink jump shots. Run the baseline. Rub his man off on screens. Scorer.

He was a scorer last night against Virginia Tech.

A scorer and so much more.

Reynolds rattled in 19 points in U.Va.'s 81-77 overtime decision, and every one of them was big. His ballhandling and one money-time defensive effort were bigger.

Check the box score and scroll down the assists column for Virginia. That's 12 for Reynolds, and it's no misprint. His previous career high in that category was six. He'd wobbled against ACC opponents to the tune of 24 assists vs. 30 turnovers. His ratio was 12 to 4 against the Hokies.

U.Va, coach Dave Leitao praised the 6-2 junior for having "a terrific floor game." That about summed it up.

The last of Reynolds' assists and it might've been half a gift from the stat crew -- came with 35.4 seconds left and U.Va. up by a point. He drove the lane and seemed to lose control while being pressured by Zabian Dowdell -- but the ball found its way into Laurynas Mikalauskas' hands for a layup and a 78-75 lead.

Tech possession. The Hokies worked the ball around and got it to A.D. Vassallo on the right wing and behind the arc. He was open. He took aim. And that's when Reynolds flew out at him, pressured him, disrupted him. The shot fell shy of the rim, the Cavs came up with the ball and hit foul shots for a five-point cushion, and that was that.

Thanks in large measure to that Reynolds guy.

This was part deux of the season series between the intra-commonwealth rivals -- U.Va. rattled off the closing 10 points to win by five in Blacksburg last month, in case you forgot -- and if the current rosters don't allow for the headliner collisions of years past (Walker vs. Bristow, Sampson vs. Solomon, Stith vs. Coles), they do boast balance-swinging combatants to build a game plan on.

In short, the guards.

We are talking, of course, about U.Va.'s Sean Singletary and Reynolds and Tech's Dowdell and Jamon Gordon. This side of Miami and anyone who partners with J.J. Redick, they form the ACC's two most productive backcourts not to mention its busiest.

Dowdell, Singletary and Gordon are top-10 in the league in minutes, and Reynolds isn't far behind. The ball and the issue usually is in their hands. First time around, Singletary and Reynolds outscored Dowdell and Gordon 32-25. Second time around, the gap was 42-34.

You could make the case that the sweep can be traced to that imbalance.

Still, it was J.R. Reynolds and his playmaking that set the tone for this win. Six minutes into this outing, he dribbled left to right through the lane, drew defensive attention and whipped a pass to Singletary on the wing.

Left momentarily alone, Singletary made the catch and elevated from beyond the 3-point arc. Swish. Later in the half, Reynolds orchestrated a re-run, setting up Singletary for another trey that gave the Cavs a 30-18 lead. Another Reynolds pass set up Adrian Joseph for a 3-pointer and 39-26. And so on and so forth until Tech closed in during the second half and Reynolds closed them out with one final assist and one defensive recovery.

J.R. Reynolds, player. Last night, it was as basic as that.


 

Cavs' rebounds well-timed
Hokies perform well in close defeat but falter in the clutch
BY MIKE HARRIS
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 12, 2006

CHARLOTTESVILLE - The numbers didn't look too bad. Virginia Tech was Virginia's equal in rebounding when the teams played last night at University Hall. Tech even did well on the offensive boards, pulling down 13.

The numbers aren't what really matter, Tech guard Jamon Gordon said.

It's timing.

"They got some key rebounds, and that kind of killed us," said Gordon after the Cavaliers beat the Hokies 81-77 in overtime before a crowd of 7,757.

"That's all the problem with the team. We've got good guards, we've got good big men . . . somebody just has to start rebounding the ball, man. It's when they get rebounds. It's at critical parts of the game, and it always kills us. We've lucked up a couple of games, and I've come through with some rebounds. Eventually it is going to come back and get you."

Tech (3-8, 13-11) suffered its second close loss to Virginia (6-5, 12-9) this season. The Hokies did a lot right. Their defense improved considerably in the second half after allowing Virginia to hit 59.1 percent from the floor in the first half. The Cavs were 12 for 33 in the second.

Down 15 late in the second half, the Hokies rallied to close the gap to seven at halftime. They fell behind by 12 quickly and then tied it quickly as well.

But they couldn't take advantage of several chances to put a little distance between themselves and the Cavaliers, and Virginia made Tech pay every time.

Gordon scored a career-high 24 points.

"Points don't really matter. We lost. I'd rather have two points and win," Gordon said.

The Hokies got another strong game from freshman swingman A.D. Vassallo, who made his fifth straight start. He had 19 points and a career-best 19 points - 13 in the second half. Vassallo has 80 points in the five starts. That matches his total from the first 19 games.

His 3-pointer halfway through overtime gave Tech a three-point lead. That shot came when Tech got the ball back after Gordon missed a layup shortly after he blocked a 3-point attempt by Virginia's Sean Singletary.

But in the closing seconds, Vassallo badly missed a 3-pointer that would have forced a tie.

Vassallo said Virginia's J.R. Reynolds did a good job defensively on that play, altering Vassallo's shot without making contact.

"I tried not to get it blocked . . . I pumped faked, I thought he was completely gone. When I pulled up, I saw his hand coming from my right. That made me move to my left," Vassallo said. "He didn't touch me. It was a good contested shot."

The Hokies were drained as they headed to their bus and the snowy drive back to Blacksburg. They've played five intense games in two weeks, three of them decided by one point and the past two going into overtime.

They don't play again until Saturday, when N.C. State visits Cassell Coliseum. It's a break they say they need.

"We can get away from basketball a couple of days, regroup, get back to practicing hard," Gordon said. "We've got five games left. We can win out. We can lose all of them. You just have to play it out and see what happens.

"As a player, you have to hope you can run the table or the season is already over."

Vassallo agreed about needing a break, to a point.

"A lot of us are a little banged up, and we need some time to heal," Vassallo said. "The timing is not that good for myself, we can lose our edge . . . all we can do is go hard in practice and hopefully get ready for that Saturday game."
 

Cardiac Cavs outlast Hokies
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
February 11, 2006

Shooting guards from Roanoke are supposed to swish, not dish. Virginia's J.R. Reynolds was the exception last night at University Hall.
The junior handed out a career-high 12 assists as Virginia won an 81-77 overtime thriller over rival Virginia Tech. The victory was the 400th in 41 seasons at U-Hall.

With less than 30 seconds to play in the extra session and Virginia clinging to a one-point lead, Reynolds drove the lane. He lost control of the ball, but was somehow able to direct it to freshman Lars Mikalauskas for an easy lay-in under the basket to put the Cavaliers up three.

Adrian Joseph and Jason Cain knocked down clutch free throws to seal the win.

"We weren't perfect," said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. "We didn't execute at times the way we wanted to. But in the last five minutes we did what was neccessary."

Reynolds finished the game with 19 points. Sean Singletary led Virginia (12-9, 6-5 ACC) with 23 points.

Virginia Tech was led by Jamon Gordon's 24 points and seven rebounds.

In the first half, the Cavaliers - behind 23 points from Singletary and Reynolds - shot a blistering 59 percent from the field. They held Virginia Tech to 42-percent shooting.

The U-Hall crowd was at its loudest with about nine minutes remaining. Virginia freshman Mamadi Diane stole a cross-court pass and dribbled the length of the court for a crowd-pleasing windmill dunk that put the Cavaliers up 20-12.

A Singletary 3-pointer put Virginia up 12 with just over five minutes to go. After the Hokies trimmed the deficit to nine on a 3-point play by Jamon Gordon, Reynolds hit two consecutive 3-pointers to give Virginia a 15-point lead, its largest of the game.

However, a put-back basket by Cheick Diakite and two lay-ins by Gordon - one off a Reynolds turnover - brought the Hokies to within 39-32 at the break.

Tempers flared with under a minute in the half when Virginia freshman Lars Mikalauskas and Gordon exchanged words underneath the Hokies' basket after tussling for a loose ball.
 

Win was special for Hoo fans
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
February 11, 2006

There have been easier and prettier wins by Virginia in the history of University Hall, but the Cavaliers' 400th victory in the soon-to-be defunct arena was a big one for Coach Dave Leitao on Saturday night.
After having lost three of their last four ACC outings, the Cavaliers had to stop the bleeding and there was no better time than a home game against state rival Virginia Tech. So what if it took an overtime to settle the issue. That's the ACC way. Eight of the league's 60 games have been decided in overtime in this wacky season.

Not until sophomore forward Jason Cain nailed one of two free throws with 6.9 seconds remaining did the Wahoos lock up an 81-77 triumph over the Hokies.

The win boosted Virginia to 6-5 in the league and 12-9 overall and dropped the Hokies, which had won three of their previous four games coming in, to 3-8, 13-11.

It took a supreme effort by UVa's backcourt, perhaps the best in the conference, to hold off the Hokies. Point guard Sean Singletary and shooting guard J.R. Reynolds combined for 42 of the Cavs' 81 points.

In some of Virginia's recent losses, the Cavs have suffered collapses in the second half, often going multi-minute stretches without scoring. But not this time.

After Tech's A.D. Vassallo made a 3-pointer to give the Hokies a 75-72 lead with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in overtime, it would have been the typical time for a Virginia breakdown.

Instead, the Cavaliers gathered themselves, regained their poise and finished off the Hokies for a clean sweep in the series. Tech only scored one more time the rest of the game.

Cain's free throw gave UVa a four-point lead in the waning seconds to wrap up a second close win over Tech this season.

"I hope this helped us grow up a little bit in a hurry," Leitao said afterward. "We haven't been the best at late-stage execution, but tonight we were able to get high percentage shots and got to the free throw line."

That was good news to Leitao, who has gotten just about everything he could possibly ask for out of this basketball team, which has primarily depended on seven scholarship players all season long.

Picked to finish last in the ACC preseason polls, the Cavaliers already have two more conference wins than all of last season and are but two wins away from finishing .500 in the league for the first time since the 2000-2001 season when the team went 9-7.

"J.R. played a terrific game," Leitao said of his co-captain, who recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 12 dimes. It was the 15th straight game the Roanoke native hit double figures.

Combined with Singletary, the Virginia backcourt was more than the Hokies could handle.

For Tech, it was another tough trip to Charlottesville, where the Hokies have won only once in University Hall in 10 visits. Overall Virginia owns a 30-9 record over the Hokies. all-time in Charlottesville.

For the game, UVa's guards hit 13 of 32 shots from the field and were 6 of 15 from beyond the arch. They also got to the free throw line plenty, hitting 10 of 11 opportunities, leading four Wahoos in double figures.

Now, things really get interesting for Virginia as it tries to climb the ACC standings.

But first, there's a rare, nonconference February home game against Longwood this week, followed by a trip to Florida State before the Cavs return home to host Boston College in a key league game.

400 is a nice number, but not one where Virginia wants to rest as the final days of U-Hall draws near.
 

Redick chases Staples' record for 3-pointers
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
February 11, 2006

Prior to his assault on major college basketball's all-time 3-point shooting record, Curtis Staples worked a basketball camp in his native Roanoke and couldn't help but notice this young kid knocking down every shot he tried.
The kid was J.J. Redick, who enters today's Duke game at Maryland needing a half dozen 3-pointers to break Staples' NCAA career record (413) for treys. Redick, with 408, has company though in St. Peter's Keydren Clark, who has 396 heading into a noon showdown with Loyola of Maryland (ESPN2).

Staples, who set the mark at Virginia in 1998, had been a counselor for a basketball camp at Roanoke's old Lucy Addison High School back around the time he entered UVa in 1994. He actually coached the very young Redick's team in the camp and on Friday recalled his early impressions of the kid who will break his precious 3-point record.

"We had this kid who could really shoot and all the other kids were far behind him," Staples said. "I remember telling the kids that the play was for J.J. every time down the floor."

Things haven't changed much for Redick. On probably more than one occasion, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has probably uttered to the Blue Devils, "Just get the ball to J.J."

Staples keeping tabs

Now living in Lynchburg where he owns a limousine service and is building a large health club, Staples has kept close watch on Redick's progression toward the record. But that's not all Staples has kept his eyes on. He also monitors yet another Roanoke native, in UVa junior guard J.R. Reynolds, who he converses with regularly and offers critiques of the Cavalier shooter's performances.

Must be something in the water down in Southwest Virginia to produce all these deadeyes with a gunslinger's mentality. Heck, even Doug Day, who finished with 401 career 3-pointers, played at nearby Radford.

But when Staples is watching Redick, he sees a lot of his own game and has a unique understanding of what the Duke senior has endured to approach the coveted mark. He has noticed that Redick plays with an "edge," something that Staples has encouraged Reynolds to absorb.

"J.J. plays with that edge," Staples said. "When you see J.J. on the court, you can see it in his eyes. It's the eyes of a killer. He's really focused. His emotion seldom changes. If you watch him, whether he's making every shot or missing every shot, you can see that his facial expression never changes. He remains focused."

Such an attitude is the product of confidence and that confidence is a product of a tireless work ethic. Staples, Redick and Reynolds have all shared that common bond.

These gym rats devote hours to developing their shot, shooting 500 times when they're exhausted just so they can simulate making a deciding basket in game-end situations.

"I would classify [a common thread] as confidence," Staples said. "You can see that J.J. is confident that he's going to make more than he's going to miss. It all comes from practice."

Though it has been some time since the former Cavalier shot himself to the top of Bonusphere with a quick release and a sharpshooter's aim, the record has come to mean more over the years.

"That was my stamp that I felt I left on college basketball," said the king of the 3-pointer. "[The stamp] will remain, it just won't be No. 1. But me holding the record for eight years says a lot. I didn't really appreciate it until after I was out of college. But I think I will always remain in the top five or so."

Holding a national record for so long was sweet, but Staples always believed in the old clich? that records were made to be broken.

"I'm glad to see that somebody like J.J. is breaking it," the former Wahoo said. "He's a very significant player that we will never forget. He's been a hard worker and deserves everything that he gets this year."

Staples knows that it's not only the shooting practice that goes into such a record, but other things that the casual observer may take for granted. Just as opposing defenses focused much of their efforts around not letting Staples beat them, Redick has experienced that same kind of attention.

"It's hard to stop J.J. because he moves so well without the basketball," Staples said. "It's almost impossible to stop him unless the defense focuses all their attention on him. That's hard to do with [center] Shelden Williams inside and the other players that he has around him."

Just as Staples did as his college career progressed, Redick has expanded his game to drive more to the basket, to get to the free-throw line, rather than just lie back and jack 3s all game long. That is a trait Staples has emphasized to UVa's Reynolds, who is following suit.

"I'm very critical of J.R., but with a lot of constructive criticism," Staples said of his homeboy Reynolds.

In the immediate hours after a game, Reynolds will often call Staples for a review session and the veteran doesn't mind helping mold the student.

"I hope to work with [J.R.] this summer to take his game to the next level," Staples said. "I want him to be more aggressive. He's such a nice person that it's hard to get J.R. mad sometimes. I'm trying to get him a sense of aggressiveness."

Meanwhile, Staples keeps track of his alma mater and likes what first-year coach Dave Leitao is doing with the Cavaliers, who host Virginia Tech tonight. "I have met with Coach Leitao a couple of times and sat in on practices. I'm pleased with their level of play. They were picked last [in the ACC] and now people can see that we have some bright spots out there. It's a bunch of young guys really playing hard."

Staples has also collected another honor, having been designated UVa's representative in next month's ACC Legends delegation at the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. There, he will join the likes of other ACC stars for a weekend celebration with basketball fans.

At first he kind of blew off the idea, maybe thinking he was too young to be a legend. But once he discovered what an honor had been bestowed upon him, he jumped at the chance.

"It does sound kind of weird [being a young legend]," Staples chuckled. "My wife and I talked about that. But I truly feel honored."

As Indiana Jones once said, "It's not the years, it's the mileage."

In that case, Staples definitely qualifies for legendary status.