Virginia holds on for win
By Matt Levin
Published: February 28, 2009

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Revenge? No, no this game wasn’t about revenge. Last year, said Virginia head Dom Starsia, was last year.

But when Syracuse started to creep back from what looked like an insurmountable deficit, it was impossible for the head coach to ignore the past.

This time, the Virginia defense stood its ground. The Cavaliers (5-0) avenged the loss that ended their 2008 championship bid in another thriller between the nation’s two best teams. The second-ranked Cavaliers took down top-ranked Syracuse (2-1), 13-12, in front of 16,595 fans Friday night.

“I was having some flashbacks, to be honest,“ Starsia said. “A few days ago, when we started talking about this game to to the team, I said, ‘When you play Syracuse, you need to play a 60-minute game.‘“

He was right. Despite Syracuse never holding a lead the entire game, it took every last second for the Cavaliers to knock off the country’s No. 1 lacrosse squad.

The game marked the third-largest crowd in Carrier Dome regular season lacrosse history and the largest since 1992.

Virginia outshot the Orange 49-34. UVa midfielder Shamel Bratton led the way with four goals. But the Cavaliers struggled to put the game away. The teams entered the second half tied at four.

Then, one lucky fast break gave Virginia the momentum it needed to take control.

Trailing 5-4, Syracuse midfielder Matt Abbott tried to equalize the game again. He rocketed a shot at the goal, and the ball ricocheted off the post. UVa midfielder Mike Thompson scooped it up and sprinted down an open field.

He flipped a pass to Virginia attackman Danny Glading in front of the Orange goal. The senior had no trouble finding the back of the cage to give Virginia had its first two-goal lead of the game at 6-4. The Cavaliers would build their advantage to 11-6.

But games between these two foes never end without a furious rally. Just look at last year’s NCAA lacrosse semifinals: the Orange overcame from an 8-3 third quarter deficit to stun Virginia, 12-11, in double overtime.

“It crosses your mind,“ said Glading, who finished with a hat trick. “But I wasn’t worried about that outcome.“

Virginia beat the Orange the last time the teams met during the regular season. The Cavaliers toppled Syracuse, 14-13 in overtime, last March in Baltimore

This matchup made for a classic once again. With a minute left, SU attackman Tim Desko slung a shot past UVa goalie Adam Ghitelman to cut the lead to one.

With 30 seconds left, Desko had the ball again and Syracuse looked primed to tie up the score. Instead ,Desko made an errant pass to teammate Kenny Nims, and UVa freshman Steele Stanwick picked up the ground ball. A third straight overtime game between the two rivals wouldn’t be necessary.

Sure, the Cavaliers let Syracuse come back from a five-goal deficit. But as long as UVa comes out on top, Starsia doesn’t have any problem with a little excitement down the stretch.

Said the head coach: “There’s always something magical to these games.“

Ground balls

Virginia head coach Dom Starsia moved into a tie for fourth-place all-time in coaching wins—matching a Syracuse legend. Starsia equaled ex-SU coach Roy Simmons Jr. with his 290th win….Those in the record-breaking crowd watched Virginia win its third straight at the Carrier Dome - becoming the first team ever to accomplish the feat. ... UVa also took the lead in the all-time series, leading by the apt margin of 13 to 12.

 

Syracuse mounts furious charge but falls to Virginia 13-12
Posted by Dave Rahme/The Post-Standard February 27, 2009 11:35PM
Categories: SU lacrosse

Syracuse, NY -- It had everything. Great goals. Fantastic saves. Stretches of outstanding defense. Tense battles for every loose ball. Aggressive rides all over the field. All on display for a rocking crowd.

Everything. Unfortunately for the Syracuse University men's lacrosse team, everything included a bunch of uncharacteristic turnovers, and they added up to a 13-12 defeat to Virginia on Friday night before a crowd of 16,595, the largest for a men's lacrosse game since 1992 and the third-largest in the history of the Carrier Dome.

"It was just a great, great lacrosse game," Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. "A great atmosphere. It's why we decided to come back here, to be honest. I don't mean to be melodramatic, but this is the joy of it all . . . playing in that game right there."

For the record, the teams have now met 22 times since 1994, with each winning 11 times. The cumulative goal total is Virginia 305, Syracuse 304.

"It is just remarkable, isn't it?" Starsia said. "One of the first things I told the team when we talked about this game a couple days ago was you need to play Syracuse for 60 minutes."

This one had all the earmarks of being the exception. With the top-ranked Orange committing a rash of unforced errors and getting controlled at the faceoff X, No. 2 Virginia had a 39-23 advantage in shots through three quarters and a 10-6 lead. With 4 minutes, 48 seconds to play the cushion was 13-8 and SU was all but cooked.

And then it happened. Again. Just as it did in May, when it trailed the Cavs 8-3 late in the third quarter before staging a remarkable comeback and winning 12-11 in double overtime in the NCAA semifinals, the Orange flipped a switch and turned on a crowd that was resigned to watching a convincing defeat.

Dan Hardy, Kenny Nims (twice) and Tim Desko poured shots past UVA goalie Adam Ghitelman over the next three minutes, and John Galloway (13 saves) made some breathtaking stops on point-blank layups at the other end of the field, and just like that the score was 13-12 with 1:18 left. The place was rocking, and it got louder when Syracuse regained possession and called timeout with 50 seconds left.

"We got some groundballs off the faceoff there," SU coach John Desko said, "and John made some good saves in the fourth quarter. We basically told the guys, 'Look, the clock is not in on our side right now and we need to make something happen pretty quick.' I think the guys had a pretty good understanding that we had to get it and go, and finally some things started to drop for us."

"I felt the same way after the semifinal game a year ago," Starsia said. "I did not feel we were handing them that game out there. There were just some remarkable plays being made at the end of the game.

This time, the final one - the one that would have sent the frenzied fans over the edge - never occurred. Instead, an SU pass was batted down yet again by a UVA long pole, the ball was on the ground and the Cavs had it and the precious one-goal victory. In the process another chapter was added to what is becoming a legendary rivalry. In the process, Starsia became the first coach to win three consecutive games in the Dome.

"It's our home away from home," he said. "There is no reason for it. The statistics for this (rivalry) are so mind-boggling, it's just another one, I think."

The Cavaliers (5-0), who were already ranked No. 1 in the country by the media and will surely replace SU as No. 1 in the coaches' poll on Monday, as well, said SU's heart-throbbing run at heroics was expected regardless of how they had controlled much of the game's first 55 minutes.

"You go into this game knowing that is a very good possibility," Danny Glading, UVA's gifted senior attackman, said. "I remember at practice on Wednesday, Coach compared this game to an NBA game because the only thing that matters is what happens in the last minute of the game. I was just thinking at the end that I had the confidence in our goaltender and our defense to make a stop. They played their hearts out tonight, and they made a big stop when we needed one."

Glading admitted to being in almost a "dream-like state" as he soaked in the presence of the huge Dome following. Yet, he was awake enough to score three goals and got plenty of help from sophomore Shamel Bratton (4-1) and Garrett Billings (3-0). Virginia also benefited greatly from faceoff specialists Chad Gaudet and Ryan Benincasa, who won 17 of 29 draws (.586) and allowed the victors to control the ball. Finally, UVA got plenty of help from the Orange offense.

"All the turnovers we had, with some of the experience of our players, they just shouldn't be happening like that," Desko said. "We gave them the ball back and they were more patient than we were and tried to take the crowd out of the game a little but and made the most of their opportunities."

"We know it's not acceptable," Nims said. "It's not real characteristic of our team. This is an eye-opener for our team."

It would have been a much more sobering eye-opener had the team simply folded when the opportunity presented itself toward the end. Instead, its valiant comeback may just serve as a turning point in a still young season.

"I think a lot of other teams would have packed it up and looked forward to next week," Nims said, "but our guys . . . it started last year with the whole turnaround and the attitude and everything. I'm real proud of the way our team played down the stretch. We never quit, and that's what Syracuse lacrosse is all about."

Friday, Syracuse-Virginia was all about the best of college lacrosse. Yet, the Orange also threw in a few too many bad moments via turnovers - the final one coming on its last possession - to make it another happy ending.

 

'Cuse On The Wrong Side of Revenge
Posted by Russ Thompson February 27, 2009 11:09PM
Categories: SU Lacrosse

Syracuse and Virginia. #1 versus #2. The game lived up to all the hype with Virginia coming out on top 13-12 in thrilling fashion. Syracuse almost completed a historic comeback after being down 13-8 in front of the 3rd largest crowd ever in the carrier dome with close to 17,000 in attendance..

Chris McManus and Eric Rothman discussed the loss and the experience of Virginia inside WAER studios on the Double Overtime. They weren't totally negative saying this early season loss would be a good learning experience for the Syracuse Orange.

Chris and Eric thought that if a few things went the Orange's way the outcome of this game could have changed. They were very optimistic about this team's chances come tourney time. The guys thought that one loss doesn't change the season and that this team should still have very high hopes come May.

One of their biggest concerns about this game was faceoffs. The hosts talked about how Syracuse was exposed today at the faceoff X against a superior team. The guys still don't know who will step up and take command of faceoffs for this team.

Coming off a devastating loss to a lacrosse powerhouse, the guys didn't want to be too negative trying to pull as many positives out of this game as they could. Most of the discussion centered around how this game could have gone either way. The hosts still believe that Syracuse is a true national contender regardless of the outcome of this hard fought battle.
 

Cavaliers Hold Off Top-Ranked Syracuse 13-12
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/27/2009

SYRACUSE, NY—Second-ranked Virginia scored six third quarter goals to break a halftime tie and withstood a furious fourth quarter rally by top-ranked Syracuse to defeat the Orange 13-12 before a crowd of 16,565 at the Carrier Dome.

Virginia moves to 5-0 this season and becomes the first team to ever win three consecutive games at the Dome; the Cavaliers also won in 2003 and 2005.

Sophomore midfielder Shamel Bratton scored a career-high four goals to lead Virginia. Attackmen Garrett Billings and Danny Glading each scored three times. The trio combined to score all six Virginia goals in the third quarter.

Billings and John Haldy scored a minute apart to push Virginia’s lead to 13-8 with 7:32 remaining. Syracuse stormed back with the game’s final four goals, including two by Kenny Nims to pull within one with 1:18 remaining.

The Orange claimed the faceoff following Tim Desko’s goal with 1:18 to play. Cavalier defenseman Matt Kelly knocked the ball away from Nims in the final minute and midfielder Max Pomper picked up the loose ball for Virginia. Pomper carried the ball into Virginia’s offensive zone and the Cavaliers called timeout with 15 seconds to play. On the restart, Syracuse was unable to regain possession as time ran out.

Virginia returns to action Tuesday at VMI in Lexington, Va. The game is scheduled to faceoff at 3:30 pm.

Virginia 3-1-6-3—13 record: 5-0
Syracuse 2-2-2-6—12 record: 2-1
att—16,595

Scoring (G-A)— V: Shamel Bratton 4-1, Garrett Billings 3-0, Danny Glading 3-0, Mike Thompson 1-1, Brian Carroll 1-0, John Haldy 1-0, Chris Clements 0-1, Steve Giannone 0-1, Steele Stanwick 0-1. S: Kenny Nims 4-0, Dan Hardy 2-1, Scott Kahoe 2-0, Josh Amidon 1-2, Tim Desko 1-0, Stephen Keogh 1-0, Joel White 1-0, Chris Daniello 0-1.

Goalie Summary—V: Adam Ghitelman 60 mins., 10 saves, 12 goals allowed. S: John Galloway 60 mins., 13 saves, 13 goals allowed.

Shots: V—49, S—34
Ground Balls: V—27, S—31
Clearing: V—20x22, S—23x26
Faceoffs: V—17, S—12
Penalties: V—4-3:30, S—2-2:00
EMO: V—1x2, S—1x4

 

Cavaliers Upset No. 3 Syracuse, 14-11
Courtesy: VirginiaSports.com
Release: 02/27/2009

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - The No. 4 Virginia women’s lacrosse team came out firing in the second half to overcome an even 6-6 halftime score and upset the No. 3 Syracuse Orange 14-11 Friday night in the Carrier Dome. The win keeps the Cavaliers undefeated this season at 4-0, while the loss was the first for Syracuse this year, dropping the Orange to 3-1.

Senior All-Americans Ashley McCulloch and Jenny Hauser led the attack, with McCulloch dishing out a career-high five assists to go with two goals and Hauser notching four goals and two assists for a career-high six points. Junior Whitaker Hagerman proved an offensive threat as well, as she fired five goals and tallied an assist, tying a personal-best.

“We’re really excited that our players came out and battled today”, head coach Julie Myers said. “I think our defenders did a great job in really stepping up and limiting some of Syracuse’s offensive power early in the game and our attackers were able to take over from there. At both ends of the field, everybody did their job really well. It was a hard fought game and I’m really proud of our effort.”

Junior Brittany Kalkstein jump-started the Cavaliers’ offense throughout the game, winning a career-high eight draw controls to move into third on the program’s all-time career draw control records. Early in the opening half, Kalkstein won three-straight draws in which Hauser was able to converted into goals for the Cavaliers, giving Virginia an early 4-2 advantage at 20:31.

“Britt did such a great job at winning so many draw controls and getting the ball into our offensive end that our attack able to take over from there,” Myers said.

The Orange eventually evened the score at four all, their first goal coming on a fast break transition in which Syracuse’s goalie Liz Hogan heaved a pass down field to Halley Quillinan who went one-on-one with junior goalkeeper Lauren Benner, and fired a shot into the back of the net. The Orange then evened the score by winning the next draw and getting the ball to Katie Rowan who tallied a goal, before Christina Dove gave Syracuse it’s first lead at 13:10, with a score.

McCulloch notched her second of the day at 9:12, before Hagerman put Virginia up, 6-5, at 2:05. Rowan evened the score a minute later, allowing the two teams to take an even 6-6 score into halftime.

The Cavaliers scored the first four goals out of the intermission to take a commanding 10-6 lead by 17:17. Senior All-American Blair Weymouth sparked the run and redshirt junior Whitaker Hagerman made it two-straight, scoring on an open net after Syracuse committed a turnover in their defensive end. Hauser scored her fourth goal of the afternoon at 18:41 and Weymouth capped the run at 17:17, scoring off an assist from McCulloch.

Syracuse responded with three of the next four goals, cutting Virginia’s lead to 11-9 with 12:14 to play, but Hagerman, junior Yeardley Love and junior Kaitlin Duff each recorded goals for the Cavaliers to push Virginia ahead 14-9 with 2:46 remaining.

The Orange worked to score two goals as time expired, but it wasn’t enough as the Cavaliers held on for the 14-11 victory.

Rowan and Dove led Syracuse with three goals each, while Hogan picked up 13 saves.

For the Cavaliers, Benner stopped nine shots, while Duff scooped up three ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Virginia will return to action on Friday, March 6, playing host to No. 6 Maryland in an Atlantic Coast Conference game. Opening draw is slated for 7 p.m. in Klöckner Stadium.

 

U.Va. has sweet memories of 1983-84 Final Four team
By Jeff White
Published: February 28, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – Reminders of happier times will lift the spirits of fans at John Paul Jones Arena this afternoon, if only briefly. The contrast between past and present, though, may make some University of Virginia men’s basketball supporters want to cry.

The school’s 1983-84 team will be recognized at halftime of today’s U.Va.-Wake Forest game. Terry Holland and his assistants on that Virginia team, including Jim Larranaga, Dave Odom, Seth Greenberg and Jeff Jones, have other commitments and won’t be able to attend. But most of the players from that team are expected back, and their presence is sure to cheer fans unhappy about the program’s decline.

Against 13th-ranked Wake Forest (8-5 ACC, 21-5 overall) today, yet another loss is likely for Virginia (3-10, 9-15). Things weren’t always so bleak for the Cavaliers. Twenty-five years ago next month, U.Va. made a stuning run to the NCAA tournament semifinals and nearly reached the championship game.

It was Virginia’s second trip to the Final Four in four seasons. The first, however, was no surprise. That team, led by Ralph Sampson, Jeff Lamp and Lee Raker, spent part of the season ranked No. 1 nationally. The ‘83-84 Cavaliers went 6-8 in the ACC and then got ousted in the conference tournament’s first round.

“I think we were all thinking NIT,” recalled Jim Miller, then a junior forward at U.Va.

Fortunately for Virginia, the NCAA selection committee thought differently. The Cavaliers were seeded No. 7 in the East Regional of what was then a 53-team tournament(CQ; there were five play-in games).

“It was the first time that strength of schedule truly seemed to be a factor, not just for us, but throughout the bracket,” Holland, now the athletic director at East Carolina, said this week.

“The NCAA went out of their way to send a message: We’re interested in strength of schedule, and if you don’t play a good schedule, you could get left out in favor of somebody who has played a good schedule. So I think it was just a lot of good timing for us, because quite honestly, the way we had played down the stretch, I couldn’t have made a case for us.”

Holland’s starters that season were Miller, senior forward Kenton Edelin, freshman center Olden Polynice and senior guards Rick Carlisle and Othell Wilson. Reserves include point guard Ricky Stokes, small forward Tim Mullen and big man Tom Sheehey.

“I give Ralph a lot of credit, because he taught us how to win, to expect to win,” Stokes said this week. “You had guys who weren’t used to losing and were experienced.”

The season before, U.Va. had finished 29-5 after being upset in the West Region final. Other than Sampson and power forward Craig Robinson, most of that team returned in 1983-84. Still, recalled Stokes, nobody knew what to expect with the 7-4 Sampson gone.

“We always had Ralph to lean on,” Stokes said. “I think there were a lot of big question marks. Big shoes to fill, pun intended.”

U.Va. opened the NCAA tourney by edging No. 10 seed Iona 58-57 on a late jumper by Wilson, then shocked No. 2 seed Arkansas 53-51 when Carlisle hit a 10-foot jumper in the final seconds of overtime.

The Cavaliers then moved from East Rutherford, N.J., to Atlanta, where they eliminated No. 3 Syracuse. 63-55. That set up a date with No. 4 seed Indiana, which had upset the top-seeded North Carolina Teels – to the immense relief of Virginia.

‘We were so excited when they lost to Indiana, because we didn’t want to play them again. We didn’t have enough firepower,” Stokes said. “Points came hard to us.”

Virginia made enough shots to beat Bobby Knight’s Hoosiers. Miller, the East Regional’s most outstanding player, scored 19 points in a 50-48 win, and the ‘Hoos were headed to Seattle for the Final Four.

They needed no introduction to their semifinal opponent, Houston, and its star center, Akeem Olajuwon. The Cougars – known then as “Phil Slamma Jamma” -- had beaten U.Va. 74-65 in Houston during the regular season.

The rematch was closer. U.Va. erased a six-point deficit in the final 3:03 to force overtime before falling 49-47 in the extra period. In the NCAA title game, Patrick Ewing and Georgetown whipped Houston 84-75.

“I don’t know if we could have beaten Georgetown,” Holland said, “because obviously Ewing would have been a lot for our guys to handle, but we could have matched them up at the guard spots.”

A quarter-century later, the sting of the semifinal loss has faded. Happy memories remain for the players and coaches who took that magical ride, and for the fans who watched it.

 

Cavaliers host high-flying Deacons
By Whitey Reid
Published: February 28, 2009

So what happens when the best shooting team in the ACC meets up with the worst offensive and defensive squad?

Swing by John Paul Jones Arena this afternoon and find out.

Virginia, which ranks last in the league in field goal percentage and field goal percentage defense, hosts No. 13 Wake Forest today. The Demon Deacons are No. 1 in field goal percentage and second in points per game, behind only North Carolina.

“They’re another good team,” said UVa freshman Sylven Landesberg, stating the obvious. “In this conference, you never get a day off. You’re going to play a good team every night. We just have to get back to work.

“I’ve seen them play a few times. They’ve got a lot of weapons and are very strong. We’re just going to have to contain their guys.”

After North Carolina, Wake Forest (21-5, 8-5) has, arguably, the most talented roster in the ACC. The Demon Deacons, who are coming off a home win over N.C. State on Thursday night, have two surefire future NBA players in guard Jeff Teague and forward Al-Farouq Aminu.

Wake, which sits in a third-place tie with Clemson and Florida State in the conference, also has a slew of talent at just about every other position on the floor.

The question, as the season winds down, is whether the Deacons can maximize it. Wake won 14 of its first 15 games, including victories over North Carolina and Duke, to start the season but then hit a rough patch. The Demon Deacons dropped three of four games before bouncing back to win three of their last four.

In the win over N.C. State, sophomore forward James Johnson had career highs of 28 points and 18 rebounds to lead the Demon Deacons. Late in the game, lightning quick Ishmael Smith found Johnson for an alley-oop dunk that put the Wolfpack away.

Of course, Virginia’s latest performance is still pretty fresh in Wahoo fans’ minds. In their loss to Miami on Thursday, UVa’s effort was there but their execution down the stretch was not.

After the Cavaliers (9-15, 3-10) tied the game at 55 on a Jeff Jones’ 3-pointer, they turned the ball over three straight times, then allowed Jack McClinton to get open for a 3-point dagger.

What will be interesting to watch is how much of Miami’s defensive strategy on Landesberg Wake Forest will choose to employ. The Hurricanes played mostly zone and forced Virginia’s leading scorer to beat them from the perimeter. In the first half, he was able to do so when he knocked down three 3-pointers. But in the second half, Landesberg had trouble getting any kind of shot and was forced into crucial turnovers.

“The zone naturally means you can’t drive as much,” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao. “When he did have driving lanes, his man kind of stayed on his hip and the extra defender — [Jimmy] Graham or [Dwayne] Collins — helped defend it very well.

“They did a good job with their scouting report.”

Dunks

Wake Forest leads the all-time series, 65-59, including wins in the last two meetings. … Jeff Teague had 12 points against the Wolfpack, marking his 30th consecutive game in double-figures. … Landesberg is 6 of 11 from 3-point range in his last three games. “It’s just putting a lot of extra time in the gym,” he said. “I feel more comfortable shooting 3s and pulling up. I’m just trying to expand my game.”

 

Deacs get no time to enjoy win
Wake Forest, fresh off big victory over N.C. State, is on road at Virginia today
By Dan Collins
JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: February 28, 2009

Having steered clear of the dreaded bubble all season, 13th-ranked Wake Forest will complete a two-part dress rehearsal for the NCAA Tournament today at Virginia.

Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena. The game will start just 40 hours after Wake Forest finished off N.C. State 85-78 on Thursday night at Joel Coliseum.

"I'm going to tell the kids, if we're fortunate enough to be there, you're going to have to play an NCAA Tournament game on Thursday evening and an afternoon game on Saturday," Coach Dino Gaudio of the Deacons said. "We have to look at it like that."

But as of late Thursday night, Gaudio had more on his mind than another game with a quick turnaround. Midterm exams are looming for the Deacons, who will play their next-to-last game of the regular season at 9 p.m. on Tuesday at Maryland.

"We had the exact same scenario last year," Gaudio said. "We had three games in six days during midterms. That's tough.We'll get the kids ready, and we're going to have study hall on the road (yesterday). That's part of it."

For one Deacon, the grind provided little opportunity to celebrate his best game in a month and a half.

Center Chas McFarland emerged from a slump to contribute 15 points and eight rebounds against N.C. State, hitting 7 of 9 shots, blocking two shots and altering a number of others.

It was the first game since Wake Forest played at Boston College on Jan. 14 that McFarland scored more than nine points. But it was pushing 11 p.m. by the time he left Joel Coliseum.

"We've got to be over at the gym at 7:30 (Friday) morning to leave at 8," McFarland said. "We're all young. I don't think anybody is older than James (Johnson). We're 22. So we're all young. We'll be fine.

"Last year we did the same thing. We went down to Georgia Tech and lost in overtime, so I think a lot of that is just a maturity thing. The ACC is tough, especially on the road."

The victory over struggling N.C. State wasn't as impressive as the way it was accomplished.

Leading scorer Jeff Teague (20.3 ppg) never found his range and managed to hit just 3 of 12 shots and score 12 points. Al-Farouq Aminu, a candidate for ACC rookie of the year, struggled for the second game in a row. That left it to Johnson, a 6-9 sophomore, to carry the Deacons. In what teammate L.D. Williams described as Johnson's best game at Wake Forest, Johnson hit 12 of 16 shots from the floor and burned the Wolfpack for 28 points and 18 rebounds -- both career highs.

"He wouldn't let us lose," Gaudio said.

Johnson has said that he took plays off during his freshman season, even though he led the Deacons with 14.6 points and 8.1 rebounds. But he appears to have saved his best for this season's stretch run, judging from his play over the past three games.

Johnson had 24 points and 11 rebounds at home against Georgia Tech and 26 points and 11 rebounds at Duke, giving him averages of 26 points and 13.3 rebounds for the three games.

"I've wanted to be more aggressive because I feel it's kind of hard to contain me," Johnson said. "If they put a big guy on me, I like to just go by them left-handed or right-handed. But if a little guy is on me, I like to post up."

Strong, agile and remarkably quick for a player his size, Johnson presents one of the toughest match-ups in college basketball. But teammates say that his greatest attribute might be his confidence.

"See the thing is, with James you're never going to kill his confidence," Williams said. "He always knows that he's better than the next guy, and I love that about him. Because with a guy like that, if his confidence goes down, he might not come out of a shell.

"He's always, always, always got so much confidence. On any given day, any give game he can get a 28 and 18 on them."

 

ACC foes finding ways to slow UVa’s Landesberg
By Chris Lang
Sports writer
Published: February 28, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE — It was evident from the start Thursday that Sylven Landesberg wasn’t going to be able to play his preferred style of basketball.

Miami opened the game in an active 2-3 zone, closing every little gap that may have been open to drive. Unlike earlier in the season, though, Landesberg adjusted, hitting three first-half 3-pointers to keep the Cavaliers in the game.

Landesberg’s outside prowess was another sign that his game continues to evolve, even as the Cavaliers continue to struggle through their worst ACC season since the 2004-05 team went 4-12. The road doesn’t figure to get any easier today when 13th-ranked Wake Forest visits John Paul Jones Arena.

When Landesberg, who is second in the nation in freshman scoring behind Liberty’s Seth Curry, first arrived on campus, he was an aggressive, athletic driving wing whose scoring came almost entirely off the dribble.

But athleticism alone won’t carry a player in a league as grueling as the ACC, and teams quickly found ways to slow Landesberg. Whether it was trick defenses like the triangle-and-two or basic defenses like a good, active zone, Landesberg’s production dropped as his driving lanes disappeared.

During back-to-back losses to North Carolina and Maryland, Landesberg scored nine points on 3 of 19 shooting.

The emergence of a 3-point shot — Landesberg has hit 6 of 11 3s in his last three games after hitting just nine 3s in his first 21 games — give opponents something else to think about.

“I’ve been putting a lot of extra time in the gym,” Landesberg said. “I feel more comfortable shooting 3s and pulling up. I’m just trying to expand my game.”

Like the rest of the Cavaliers, Landesberg doesn’t view the last few games of the season as “playing out the string.” Next year, Virginia loses only little-used seniors Mamadi Diane and Tunji Soroye from this year’s roster.

Virginia has played well since an ugly home loss to Boston College Feb. 4, and any positives the Cavaliers can find in the season’s final few games can only help the team’s confidence going forward.

“We definitely should have been doing some of these things earlier,” Landesberg said.

“But it’ll definitely carry into the next season.”

 

Cavs take 2 games from Rams, Hens
By Jay Jenkins
Published: February 28, 2009

With power from the arm of a rookie in the opener and a pair of bats in the nightcap, Virginia swept a doubleheader on Friday, outlasting Fordham and Delaware.

Danny Hultzen fanned 12 batters in the opener as the Cavaliers topped Fordham 6-2, and Jarrett Parker and John Hicks sent pitches over the fence at Davenport Field as the team mounted a rally in an 11-4 victory over Delaware.

Virginia (7-0) shuffled the weekend’s schedule, moving the tilt with Delaware up a day after impending weather threatened to impact play today and Sunday. Due to weather concerns, the Cavaliers will play this morning at 9 a.m. against Fordham (1-4) and have a lone game slated with Delaware on Sunday at 3 p.m.

In the opener, Hultzen (2-0) worked with precision over six innings, allowing six hits and one walk as he registered the highest strikeout total since Sean Doolittle whiffed 13 in 2006 against Maryland.

It was the first Friday start of Hultzen’s young career, as he replaced senior right-hander Andrew Carraway in order to allow the rookie to focus on playing first base as the weekend progressed.

“I moved Danny to Friday for two reasons: Danny has Friday kind of stuff, but so does Andrew Carraway,” Virginia coach Brian O’Connor said. “Also, Danny plays a lot of first base for us and I wanted him to have a day off on Thursday before he starts on the mound. He can start on the mound and concentrate on playing a position.

“He has great stuff. He has a great fastball, he has great change-up and he has a great breaking ball. He has three above-average pitches and he is left-handed. He has heart. He has all the things that you look for.”

Hultzen was spotted an early lead as Virginia roughed up Fordham starter J.P. Mack (0-2) for three runs in the first inning and three more in the third.

Virginia catcher Franco Valdes, who had a pair of doubles, was one of four Cavaliers to register two hits in the opener.

In the second game, UVa found itself trailing 4-1 in the top of the second inning after starter Jeff Lorick stumbled on the mound. The junior allowed four earned runs in 1.1 innings after allowing four hits.

Virginia mounted a rally, however, as it scored five runs in the second inning and got near perfect work from three relievers (Tyler Wilson, Neal Davis and Matt Packer). The trio combined to pitch 7.2 innings, allowing just three hits while striking out 11 batters.

The offense also provided in a timely fashion. Parker led the way with a double and a homer to open the first inning, and Hicks connected on the first homer of his career during a three-run fifth inning.

“The second game was a total team effort. Delaware did a nice job of capitalizing in the first couple of innings, but it was great to see our team respond in the bottom of the second inning,” O’Connor said. “With so many new players you never know how they are going to respond to those situations.

“It was great to see them comeback, fight back and take the lead in the bottom of the second. There were a lot of clutch hits in that inning.”

On the day, Virginia’s pitching staff struck out 28 batters.

 

Update on Mosley and Walcott
Jeff White
Feb 28, 2009

CHARLOTTESVILLE – U.Va. football players Corey Mosley and Ausar Walcott, each facing a misdemeanor charge, had their cases continued in Albemarle County General District Court yesterday.

They’re due back in court March 20.

Mosley, a Henrico High graduate, started at safety for the Cavaliers last season. He’ll be a redshirt sophomore in the fall. Walcott, also a safety, will be a redshirt freshman.

University police arrested them Feb. 22 around 1 a.m. at a dance at U.Va.’s Student Activities Building. According to police, Mosley was charged with disorderly conduct “after he became combative during the event and refused to comply with event staff and [U.Va. police].” Walcott was charged with obstruction of justice after he allegedly tried to interfere with police as they were taking Mosley into custody.

 

Benedictine 82, Word of Life 62
By Jeff White
Published: February 28, 2009

Tristan Spurlock got the full Benedictine treatment last night at Memorial Gymnasium. The Cadets' basketball team threw waves of players at him, and the Cadets' student section heckled Spurlock whenever he was in shouting range.

Through it all, the University of Virginia recruit never lost his sense of humor.

"It was fun," Spurlock said of the chants directed at him. "I was laughing."

Spurlock, a 6-8 senior at Word of Life Christian Academy in Springfield, impressed a crowd sprinkled with U.Va. fans, totaling 26 points, six rebounds, five blocked shots, two steals and two assists. But the Ambassadors couldn't keep up with Benedictine and its University of Richmond-bound guard, Darien Brothers.

Watching the two stars were UR coach Chris Mooney and U.Va.'s Dave Leitao.

Brothers rang up 35 points in Benedictine's 82-62 rout. Kevin Tiller came off the bench to grab 11 rebounds for the Cadets (18-9).

Benedictine coach Sean McAloon said Brothers, who scored in every conceivable fashion, wasn't trying to outduel Spurlock.

"I think Darien's just been on a roll," McAloon said. "It's just a chance to go out on Senior Night and make sure he leaves the court the right way."

Benedictine, the No. 2 seed, will play at home Wednesday night against a to-be-determined opponent in the quarterfinals of Virginia Independent Schools, Division I state tournament.

Word of Life competes in the VIS's Division III, which comprises the state's smallest private schools. This is Spurlock's first year at Word of Life, and his supporting cast, unlike that of Brothers, is not stocked with fast, athletic, polished players.

Benedictine's relentless full-court pressure rattled the Ambassadors, who turned the ball over in bunches. The game, a 13-13 tie after one quarter, soon turned into a rout. After Spurlock hit his first four shots, including two pullup 3-pointers, McAloon changed his defensive strategy. There were usually two Cadets near Spurlock whenever he got the ball the rest of the way, and by the second half he was visibly winded.

"We're very fast, there's no doubt about it," McAloon said.