BC admits UVa target for second semester
Penn State gets Okoli
By Doug Doughty

Critics of Virginia’s stand again grayshirting will have some added ammunition with the word that one-time Cavaliers’ football target Anthony Castonzo has enrolled at Boston College.

Castonzo, a 6-foot-7, 260-pound offensive tackle from Lake Zurich (Ill.) High School, emerged as a prospect late this fall as a postgraduate at Fork Union Military Academy.

Castonzo had a 4.3 grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) and scored 1,440 (out of 1,600) as a senior in high school but did not get the kind of Division I-A football attention that he would have liked.

Castonzo subsequently enrolled at Fork Union and drew a December offer from Virginia. Despite coach John Shuman’s recommendation that he accept UVa’s offer, Castonzo held off and eventually had a choice of UVa, Boston College, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Temple and Connecticut.

Shuman said earlier this month that Castonzo eliminated UVa because of a perceived dropoff in interest and not because the Cavaliers wouldn’t take him in January. While Castonzo had the academic credentials for immediate enrollment at most schools, that did not appear to be an issue until the announcement of his commitment to BC.

“It was a big deal for me to enroll early,” Castonzo told the rivals.com site that covers Boston College. “BC made an exception and I guess they haven’t had a player enroll mid-semester in like eight years.

“It’s an honor. I finished Fork Union about a month ago and I didn’t want to just sit around and wait, so it was important to get in early.”

Having seen Castonzo in Fork Union’s season-ending trip to Hargrave, it’s easy to understand why he might not have received much interest in high school. He was noticeably slender and would not have stuck out if not for his height and his grades.

Once it became obvious that Virginia was in the picture for Lamar Milstead, a 6-6, 266-pound offensive lineman from Washington, D.C., Castonzo wasn’t as great a priority. UVa recruits Milstead, Landon Bradley and Billy Cuffee are listed as offensive linemen, and several D-line recruits are candidates to switch sides of the ball.

BULLETIN: The word from BlueWhiteIllustrated.com as we prepared to post this column is that the state’s last uncommitted Roanoke Times Top 25 prospect, defensive end Chima Okoli from Salem High School in Virginia Beach, has picked Penn State over Virginia Tech. Okoli is rated the No. 20 prospect in Virginia.

WITH VIRGINIA OUT of scholarships, Henrico High School wide receiver Brandon Spurlock (5-10, 185) accepted a scholarship offer from Elon. Spurlock was rated the No. 40 prospect in Virginia by The Roanoke Times.

Other top 100 prospects whose commitments have not previously been reported by The Roanoke Times:

No. 52 Josh Reamon, a 5-11, 162-pound defensive back who played for uncle Tommy Reamon at Gloucester, is going to Norfolk State.

No. 58 Marcus Hyde, a linebacker for Group AAA Division 6 state champion Osbourn has committed to William and Mary.

No. 83 Roane Babbington, a 6-3, 254-pound defensive end from Robert E. Lee in Staunton, has reconsidered an earlier commitment to Liberty and will sign with James Madison.

No. 84 Warner Blunt, a quarterback and outside linebacker from Episcopal High School in Alexandria, had committed to Army before coach Bobby Ross announced his retirement.

No. 90 Donte Boston, a wide receiver for prospect-laden Varina, will stay close to home and play for Richmond.

No. 99 Terence Glenn, who played quarterback for Stone Bridge in Loudoun County, has committed to Rhode Island, where he is expected to be a wide receiver or defensive back.

VIRGINIA PREPS is reporting that Giles running back Nathan Tanner, the Timesland offensive player of the year, is visiting Virginia Tech this weekend. Tanner, who would be a non-scholarship player at Tech, already has been to Ferrum and Concord and will look at Liberty.

Desmond Roberts, a 6-5, 265-pound offensive lineman from Gaston, N.C., renewed his commitment to N.C. State following a visit last weekend to Virginia Tech. Roberts had reopened his recruiting after the dismissal of former Wolfpack coach Chuck Amato.

Bill Dee, the coach at Phoebus High School in Hampton, told the rivals.com Maryland site that he felt the Terrapins were close to offering Phoebus fullback Haroon Brown. Phoebus tailback Dennis Mathis, the 35th-rated player in Virginia, is said to be down to James Madison and Hampton.

The state’s 21st-ranked junior, 5-9, 200-pound running back John Carter, will spend his senior year at Osbourn High School, where he hopes to pick up some of the slack from the departure of Group AAA state player of the year Brandon Hogan.

At Stonewall Jackson in Manassas, the presence of another top running back in the same class, Ryan Jackson, meant that Carter had to spend time at fullback. Williams is rated the No. 5 junior in the state.
 

Magic moments motivate Cavs
Two memorable wins in less than a week have Virginia excited about the season's stretch run.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Pity the poor person responsible for editing the Virginia men's basketball season highlights.

You could fill one video with just the past two weeks.

Virginia's dynamic backcourt duo of J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary was at its theatrical best Thursday night, sparking yet another improbable Cavalier comeback that resulted in a 68-66 victory over eighth-ranked Duke.

Reynolds scored 13 straight points to set the scene for a Singletary jumper that forced a 61-61 tie at the end of regulation. Then Singletary won it with a one-handed, fall-away jumper with 1 second remaining in overtime.

It was UVa's first victory over the Blue Devils in 10 games and resulted in the first postgame mob scene at Virginia's new John Paul Jones Arena.

"When you're a young kid and you watch games and the [fans] rush the court, you always see yourself in the middle of it," said UVa freshman Will Harris, who was underneath the basket when Singletary's shot floated through the net. "I high-fived as many people as I could, just like I had always dreamed of.

"That's got to be the play of the day on [ESPN's] SportsCenter."

And, it was.

Reynolds couldn't help but celebrate with the fans because he wasn't moving quickly enough to escape the advancing horde. Almost an hour after the game, he remained hobbled by cramps.

"The worst I've ever had them," said Reynolds, a 6-foot-212 senior from Roanoke. "I was cramping all over. I didn't know what was going on."

Reynolds was writhing in pain before being helped from the floor with 4:29 left in regulation, but he returned to the court with 3:42 left and the Cavaliers trailing 59-51.

Reynolds proceeded to score eight points over a 2 minute, 6 second span, including both ends of three one-and-ones.

"J.R. basically carried us through the whole game," Singletary said. "When his body gave out on him, everybody else had to step up."

Officials escorted a limping Reynolds to the sideline in the overtime, although he returned to the floor with 2:33 left. That gave UVa coach Dave Leitao the choice of Singletary or Reynolds for the final shot.

Reynolds had a game-high 25 points but Singletary had the fresher legs. The Cavaliers set up a fake screen that was supposed to open Singletary for a pull-up jumper, but he saw some free space down low and drove toward the baseline.

As he felt a bump from a Duke defender, Singletary went up in the air to steady himself, then launched a one-hander from somewhere behind his right ear.

"Ridiculous," teammate Mamadi Diane called it. "It looked like he was parallel to the ground."

Duke defender DeMarcus Nelson said, "It was a crazy, tough shot. We couldn't have made him take a tougher shot. He threw up a shot out of desperation over two defenders and it went in."

Singletary's only field goal in the final 16 minutes of regulation tied the game and his only field goal in overtime won it.

"Sean's just a player who makes shots, who will create a shot," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "He's as good a point guard as there is in the country."

After shooting 55.2 percent in the first half, when they led 34-21 at one point and took a 36-29 advantage into the break, the Blue Devils shot 40 percent in the second half (10-for-25) and missed all five of their field-goal attempts in the overtime.

The Blue Devils (18-4 overall, 5-3 ACC) did not have a field goal in the final 8:42.

"That's what I want from the team before anything else, that we're tough physically and tough mentally at the defensive end," Leitao said.

Duke was led by sophomore postman Josh McRoberts, who was only 7-of-18 from the field but scored 19 points and eventually fouled UVa center Jason Cain out of the game. Nelson had 12 points and Greg Paulus added 10.

At the end of overtime, the Cavaliers (15-6, 6-2) couldn't keep Paulus from getting a good look at the basket, but his 3-point attempt hit the back rim as time expired.

"I thought it had a good chance of going in," said Singletary, who was guarding Paulus. "That was a long second because he caught the ball, turned around and shot it. It seemed like two seconds to me."

Reynolds added, "I was just happy they got the time right."

That was a reference to a controversial finish to a Duke-Clemson game eight days earlier, won by the Blue Devils 68-66, (there's that score, again) after time was put back on the clock.

The fates of the three teams were intertwined as Virginia then traveled to Clemson, where the Cavaliers scored the last 15 points of the game to win 64-63.

"I don't want to live like that, obviously," said Leitao after the Cavaliers' fifth straight win. "I don't think anybody does. But, when we got down tonight, because of the last game, I was thinking that we weren't out of it. I never felt like, 'Boy, we're in some really hot water.'

"I don't have a great memory, but at least I remember a couple of days ago."

The comeback against Clemson had prompted conversations about past UVa comebacks, including a 23-point deficit the Cavaliers overcame in 1995 at Duke. Fellow Roanoker and mentor Curtis Staples said Reynolds had no room to talk until he beat Duke.

"Don't got nobody else on my hit list," said Reynolds, who now has sampled victory over every ACC team during his career. "I think I'll be calling him just as soon as I get out of the shower."

 

Guards' gritty play vs. Duke typifies Virginia's toughness
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 3, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE - It was quarter past midnight when J.R. Reynolds limped into the interview room and took a seat next to Virginia teammate Sean Singletary.

Singletary hit the shot that lifted the Cavaliers over No. 8 Duke 68-66 Thursday night, a baseline floater that he lofted over 6-foot-10 Josh McRoberts before falling backward to the floor. It dropped through the net with a second left in overtime, triggering pandemonium at the John Paul Jones Arena.

Everyone wanted to talk about the shot; Singletary wanted to talk about Reynolds, who scored 20 of his 25 points in the second half, while battling leg cramps.

"J.R. basically carried us throughout the whole game," Singletary said. "When he cramped up, I knew I had to step up and make some big plays."

You had to figure one of them would. Singletary and Reynolds had combined for 40 of Virginia's 66 points when coach Dave Leitao called timeout to set up a final play with 17 seconds left.

Assistant coach "Rob Lanier and I talked briefly about it and we were going to win or lose with one of those two, and we chose Sean," Leitao said. "He's a big-time player, especially in those situations."

While Reynolds had to battle cramps, Singletary had to go toe to toe with rugged Duke defender DeMarcus Nelson, who limited him to 5-of-15 shooting before his final shot fell.

Nelson keyed a Duke defense that held Virginia 20 points below its average at the JPJ, where the team has gone 11-1.

"They disrupted our rhythm," Leitao said. "We didn't get the free-flowing game that we have in this building all year long."

It was Duke's game, in style and pace. But it was Virginia's night, in large part because Reynolds and Singletary made more plays down the stretch. After answering every Virginia run for most of the game, the Blue Devils came up empty when they really needed a basket. At the end of regulation, McRoberts missed a layup over Jason Cain that would have won the game. In overtime, Duke didn't score a field goal.

Credit Virginia's defense, which held Duke without a field goal for the final 3:42 of regulation as well. Also credit Virginia's newfound toughness, both physical and mental. It showed in an offensive rebound Mamadi Diane took away from McRoberts in overtime and in the way Rey-nolds kept playing through his cramps.

It showed in the way Virginia fought back from a double-digit deficit for the second straight game against a ranked opponent. Virginia (14-6, 6-2 ) has won five straight ACC games for the first time since 1994-95. The Cavaliers will go for six tonight at home against Miami.

"The grit the guys showed toward the end of the game was something I was most proud about, because that's what I want from a program, that's what I want from the team," Leitao said.

As usual, no one was grittier than Singletary, who drove baseline, encountered McRoberts, figured he had a quickness advantage and threw up the type of circus shot Virginia fans have come to expect from him.

"It was a crazy, tough shot," Nelson said. "We couldn't have made him take a tougher shot."

Leitao called it the best win of his two-season tenure at Virginia.

Reynolds, who had been 0-6 against Duke in his career, said it showed the nation something.

"That Virginia is for real," he said. "It's no joke."

 

Countdown to defeat in the ACC
BY BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com
Feb 2, 2007 : 10:38 pm ET

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- 3...2...1...

The Duke Blue Devils devised a simple and straightforward plan to deal with the dynamic backcourt of Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds on Thursday night.

3--Take away the 3-pointers from the sharpshooters with pressure defense, which they also hoped would disrupt the flow of Virginia's offense.

2--Force Singletary and Reynolds to drive for tough two-pointers, where two defenders very well might be waiting for them.

1--There was one thing, however, that the Blue Devils didn't count on -- namely the guards getting their points one at a time at the free throw line.

A flurry of free throws at the end of regulation helped the Cavaliers force overtime, where, as the clock ticked down -- 3...2...1... -- Singletary hit a spectacular shot with one second left to lift the unranked Cavaliers to a 68-66 upset of the No. 8 Blue Devils at John Paul Jones Arena.

"We executed our gameplan defensively pretty well -- minus fouls," said Duke junior DeMarcus Nelson, who guarded Singletary much of the night. "And it came down to a guy throwing up a circus shot, a tough shot over two defenders that went in.

"But I don't want to say that we lost the game on one play because the game was 45 minutes. I think the biggest thing was we continued to foul them, and they shot a lot of free throws."

Duke led 59-51 on a Josh McRoberts hoop with 3:42 left in regulation. At that point, Singletary and Reynolds, who combine to average more than 37 points per game, had 28 between them.

But from there, the duo scored 14 of the Cavaliers' last 17 points, including six consecutive free throws late by Reynolds in regulation to help force overtime.

"I thought our defense was good," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "I didn't think we did bad jobs on those guys -- except to foul.

"Their free throw shooting at the end of regulation -- to get up and make clutch free throws like that -- was big. Their two guards are sensational."

Before the Blue Devils started fouling Reynolds, who made all nine of his free throws in the second half on his way to a game-high 25 points, Duke's defensive strategy was working. The Cavaliers shot just 37.9 percent in the first half, with Reynolds and Singletary making just 5 of 14 first-half shots, as Duke built a 34-21 lead before the Cavs closed to within 36-29 at halftime.

The Cavaliers ratcheted up their defense in the second half, holding a Duke team that shot 55.2 percent in the first half to 33.3-percent shooting the rest of the way.

"Their defense definitely picked up," Nelson said. "They made some adjustments at halftime to defend the ball screens a little bit better; they started just switching them. We made some adjustments, too.

"We were getting into our stuff and we were getting open looks -- getting the shots that we wanted. And we took them -- they didn't fall."

Still, every time Virginia closed the gap, the Blue Devils -- especially McRoberts -- responded. When the Cavs got within 43-42, McRoberts answered with back-to-back baskets; when Reynolds (17 points) tied it with a trio of free throws to make it 49-49, McRoberts scored from in close and then spotted Scheyer for a 3-pointer.

While McRoberts restored calm for Duke, Virginia's guards were anything but calm when the Cavs got close, penetrating but meeting resistance and throwing up some near-impossible shots.

"We kept putting it up in the air and couldn't get it," said Virginia swingman Mamadi Diane, who complemented the Cavs' backcourt with 14 points. "But we kept going at it."

The persistence eventually paid off when Duke didn't allow Virginia's guards to get off shots, fouling them instead. Then, after Reynolds reeled off six free throws, Singletary hit a tough shot to send the game to overtime and an even tougher shot to send Virginia's fans streaming onto the court to celebrate the first victory for any current Virginia player over Duke and the Cavs' first five-game ACC winning streak since 1995.

"We have to put teams away and protect our leads," said McRoberts, who paced Duke with 19 points. "We were up 13 at some point, and we let them back into it.

"When you put yourself in that position, bad things are going to happen, and that's what happened to us."



 

No time for a letdown
After upset of Duke, Cavs trying to refocus for Miami
By Whitelaw Reid / wreid@dailyprogress.com
February 3, 2007

As Hall of Famer turned television broadcaster Walt “Clyde” Frazier would say, Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds were swishing and dishing, moving and grooving in Virginia’s overtime victory over Duke on Thursday night.

When Singletary’s shot was off early in the game, Reynolds picked up the slack. Later in the contest, when Reynolds was forced to the bench with cramps, Singletary hit two huge shots - the second of which turned out to be the game-winner.

In a way, the backcourt duo was as cohesive as Frazier and Earl Monroe were in their day - until the subject of Duke’s final shot attempt came up in the postgame press conference.

Reynolds was asked if the last play - in which Josh McRoberts threw a length of the court pass to Greg Paulus with just one second left - made him think of Christian Laettner’s famous play from the 1992 NCAA Tournament.

“I’m just glad they got the time right,” responded Reynolds, jokingly referring to Duke’s controversial win over Clemson last Thursday in which the Blue Devils clearly received a break from the clock operator.

Singletary, who was defending Paulus on the final play, disagreed. “That was a long second,” he said, “because he caught the ball, turned around and shot it … it looked like two seconds or so. I thought it had a good chance of going in.”

Well, no matter now.

When Paulus’ shot bounced off the back iron, Virginia had its biggest win of the Dave Leitao era - a triumph that improved its ACC record to 6-2 at the halfway mark of the league slate.

Now, UVa (14-6, 6-2) is in prime position to make its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2001.

But, in the aftermath of their euphoric win, Virginia players insisted that the victory won’t mean much if there is a letdown tonight against Miami.

“We definitely want to be mature about the situation,” Singletary said. “Duke is a great team and we beat them, but we’re playing for the future.

“It was great to get a win - not many people expected us to win, but we expected to win. Now we realize we have two games in [four] days and we just have to be mature about it - get our rest and come out with a lot of energy against Miami.”

It would certainly seem easy to overlook the Hurricanes (9-13, 2-6). Miami has lost five league games in a row, including an embarrassing 105-64 loss to North Carolina on Wednesday.

However, in December, the Hurricanes defeated Georgia Tech. In January, they won on the road at Maryland.

Miami is led by Jack McClinton, a sophomore guard who transferred from Siena. The 6-foot-1 McClinton is averaging 16 points per game.

Like it does in every game, Virginia will look for any contributions it can get from players not named Singletary or Reynolds. Easing the burden on the duo is a perpetual key.

Against Duke, Jason Cain blew some easy scoring chances early. However, Leitao stuck with his 6-foot-10 big man - and it paid off.

“I’ve been more trustworthy of him this year than earlier in the season, and a lot of last year,” Leitao said. “He’s really turned the corner mentally for us. He’s totally on board with what we’re trying to do and sees the bigger picture of all this.

“There haven’t been any times where I’ve needed to put him on the bench to teach him a lesson or whatever. He’s right there. His defense on McRoberts - a triple-threat guy - was nothing short of phenomenal.”

Leitao ranked the victory as the best since he’s been at the helm. He said that was because of the fact his team had its struggles against Duke - particularly in the first half when it allowed the Blue Devils to shoot 55 percent - and was forced to “grind it out.”

“It shows something about this team that I’ve known all along has been there,” Leitao said. “We just have to continue to bring it out of us.”

Dunks

Miami leads the all-time series with Virginia, 3-2. UVa won the lone meeting last season at University Hall, 71-51. The teams meet again in Miami on Feb. 21. … Singletary wasn’t surprised by Ryan Pettinella’s clutch free throw in the overtime. Pettinella, who had missed nine games with a knee injury, came into the contest shooting 26 percent from the stripe. “Since he’s been injured, that’s all he’s been doing - standing around and shooting free throws, so he’s worked at it,” he said. “It’s not like he just magically made a free throw.” … Reynolds has now beaten every team in the ACC at least once in his career. “It feels real good,” he said. “Now I don’t have anybody else on my hit list.” … One of the more clever signs from the Virginia student section Thursday night: “We beat Clemson in 40 minutes, did you?”

 

Has it been 25 years already?
By Jerry Ratcliffe / jratcliffe@dailyprogress.com | 978-7251
February 3, 2007

My first assignment as sports editor of The Daily Progress wasn’t a bad one: Ralph Sampson and No. 1 Virginia vs. North Carolina in another classic ACC shootout.

Not a bad way to break in a new job.

Although I had worked at other newspapers and covered several other universities before I came to Charlottesville, this job has been something special over the years.

While I hate tooting my own horn, or writing about myself, my Daily Progress colleagues have prompted me to post an offering about my Silver Anniversary at the newspaper.

In my humble opinion, this column alone would serve the purpose, but, being a good soldier, I have agreed with some

arm-twisting to write several columns from time to time over this 25th anniversary year about my journey as this newspaper’s sports editor.

Certainly there have been some magnificent experiences. I have traveled to 40 states on the job, not to mention riding through the streets of Tokyo with Houston’s Phi Slama Jama basketball team at the Suntory Classic; dogsledding outside of Anchorage while there for the Great Alaskan Shootout; and Puerto Rico ... well, we won’t go there right now.

I have covered Super Bowls, Final Fours, college football national championships, every ACC Tournament, tons of UVa football and basketball games, U.S. Open golf championships, some NASCAR events, one world heavyweight boxing championship, tons of bowl games, NCAA basketball regionals, and countless other events in various sports.

Some colleagues in the sportswriting business have told me over the years that they had to get out because they had seen what seemed like the same game a thousand times.

I’ve never really grown tired of that phase of the job. The drama supplied from a game such as Thursday night’s last-second Virginia win over Duke in overtime still keeps the juices flowing.

How could anyone not enjoy all of the games within the game and sidebars of a contest like that one?

The late Chuck Noe, one of the dearest people I got to know during my career here, once told me that the most difficult job in the newspaper business was being a columnist in a university town. Half the fans, Chuck said, want you to be a homer, while the other half want you to be a harsh critic.

I’ve tried to maintain a balance, heap praise or criticize when deserved. Above all, I’ve tried to be fair and accurate.

People always ask me before a game who I’m rooting for. I like to tell them, I’m just rooting for a good story because that’s what really keeps a sportswriter fired up and it sells more newspapers.

All things considered, the best part professionally of my 25 years here has been the people and the associations I have built over a quarter of a century. You have allowed me into your homes daily during that time, at your breakfast table, in your easy chair, on your thrones in some cases, where I hopefully have evoked insight, humor, and various emotions.

I thank you for putting up with my opinions, even when we agree to disagree, all these years. Hopefully, I’ve got another 25 left in me.

 

Strength was in Cavs' eyes
Leitao saw what he wanted from his players before they took to court for overtime
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 3, 2007

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Late Thursday night, as the crowd at John Paul Jones Arena exhaled and summoned the energy to yell for another five-minute period, University of Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao gathered his starters around him.

"The first thing and the last thing I told them in the intermission before the overtime started is, 'I'm going to look at all five of you guys in the eyes, and you're going to tell me, by what I see, if we're going to win the game or not,'" Leitao recalled later that night. "And they showed me something that made me think, 'You know, we're going to be OK.'"

With guards as talented as J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary, a coach can be confident, even against Duke.

Reynolds, a 6-2 senior from Roanoke, overcame severe cramps to score 25 points -- all in regulation. Singletary, a 6-0 junior from Philadelphia, scored the final points of the second half -- on a jump shot that made it 61-61 with 24.8 seconds left. In overtime, he scored four more to lift the Cavaliers past the eighth-ranked Blue Devils 68-66. An ESPN audience saw U.Va. fans storm the court after Duke guard Greg Paulus' 3-point attempt bounced off the rim as time expired.

"Their two guards are sensational," Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

Reynolds "carried us through the first MIAMI AT U.VA.two halves of the game," said Singletary, who finished with 17 points. "Without J.R.'s point production and energy and leadership, we wouldn't have won this game. . . . And as he cramped up and went down, I knew I had to step up and make plays."

ESPN's SportsCenter selected Singletary's final field goal as its "play of the day," and it was all that and more. With time running out in overtime, Singletary drove past 6-10 Josh McRoberts and toward the right baseline. As he fell backwards, Singletary somehow lofted a shot over the leaping DeMarcus Nelson, a 6-4 guard who is Duke's best defender. Singletary fell to the floor, and the ball dropped through the net with 1 second left.

Virginia 68, Duke 66.

"It was a crazy, tough shot," Nelson said. "We couldn't have made him take a tougher shot."

Asked if it was a high-percentage shot, Singletary smiled.

"Very high," he said.

After allowing Duke (5-3, 18-4) to shoot 55.2 percent from the floor in the first half, U.Va. tightened its defense. The Devils' accuracy dipped to 40 percent in the second half, and they were 0 for 5 in OT.

Duke's final field goal came with 3:42 left in the second half. That made it 59-51, but the Cavaliers (6-2, 14-6) weren't fazed. Four days earlier, at Littlejohn Coliseum, they'd erased a 16-point deficit in the final eight minutes and beaten then-No. 19 Clemson 64-63.

With his team trailing Duke by eight, Leitao said, "I was saying, 'We're not out of it. We've been in this before.' Again, I don't want to live like that. Obviously, I don't think anybody does. But I never felt like, 'Oh, boy, we're in some really hot water.'"

The grit his team showed against Duke, which led for most of the game, is "something that I'm most proud about," Leitao said, "because that's what I want from a program, that's what I want from a team: that before we do anything else -- before we make a shot -- that we're tough physically and we're tough mentally on the defensive end. And that's exactly what they were when it counted and when we needed it the most."

For U.Va.'s seniors, Jason Cain (game-high 10 rebounds) and Reynolds, the win over Duke means they've now beaten each of their ACC rivals at least once.

"It feels real good," Reynolds said. "I don't got nobody else on my hit list."

Leitao called the win over Duke his team's best of the season, but the Cavaliers don't have the luxury of celebrating for long. They host the Miami Hurricanes (2-6, 9-13) tonight at the JPJ.

"We can't let them come in here and beat us, or that win will mean nothing," Reynolds said early yesterday morning.