“Godspeed to him,” Ferret said. “It has been an honor to be a colleague of his in the ACC.”

No. 2 UVa continues its tough slate with Tigers
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
March 12, 2005

The Virginia men’s lacrosse team had limited time to enjoy its 12-11 victory last Saturday at Syracuse.

The reason? The next team on its schedule is Princeton.

The Cavaliers (3-0) host Princeton (0-1) this evening at Klockner Stadium at 7 p.m.

Under the direction of Coach Dom Starsia, Virginia’s schedule has always been among the most challenging and difficult in the nation.

This week would be Example No. 1 for that.

“It’s the next game on our radar right now. There are no thoughts of the postseason or anything at this point. We are just taking it a little bit at a time and taking care of all the things we need to in order to prepare for this game,” said Starsia, whose team fell to Princeton 8-7 last season.

Certainly proper preparation was key for the Cavaliers this week as Princeton plays a definitively more deliberate style than the Cavaliers witnessed against Syracuse. Of course, confidence is an additional asset for the Cavaliers at the moment.

For a team that finished 5-8 last season, a 3-0 start with a win at Syracuse has the Cavaliers’ psyches pretty high.

“The Syracuse game was a very exciting lacrosse game and we did things that I think will bode well for the future. It was a quality win no question. … We showed a determination that was a little bit remarkable in that setting,” Starsia said. “There is no question that genuine confidence is born out of actually doing something. If we had gone to Syracuse, played well and lost a close game it wouldn’t foster the same confidence. To actually win the game and do the things at the end to win the game, that creates a genuine confidence.”

In the Syracuse victory, Starsia may have seen the necessary glimpses to find a more permanent resolution to his goalie situation.

Sophomore Kip Turner, who had been rotating with redshirt freshman Bud Petit, played the entire game and registered 18 saves including several crucial ones in the the third and fourth quarters.

“Under any set of circumstances, even he had been the starter since September 1, this would have been one I worried about,” Starsia said. “In that environment, against those guys, that’s a lot to ask and he played very, very well. … He was resilient. He made some saves when we needed to have them. It was a remarkable performance in many ways.”

Starsia has not indicated that Turner’s performance has now earned him the starting role but certainly his comments speak for themselves.

Another player that distinguished himself in Syracuse was junior midfielder Matt Poskay. Poskay had four goals in the contest and is now second in the team in goals with nine. Matt Ward is the team leader with 10.

“We always thought that this was what Matt was capable of. He came from a small high school in New Jersey and there were a lot of doubters whether he would be a productive player at this level. We always had a sense that he would be,” Starsia said. “He needs to get the ball in good spots. Last year, we didn’t really set the table for him as well as we could have and he also didn’t finish as well as he’s capable of. We feel that he has got to begin to score for us to be a good lacrosse team and now it is starting to come through for him.”

Nittany Lions upset Virginia at Klockner
By Nate Rullman / Daily Progress correspondent
March 12, 2005

Earlier in the week, the defending national champion Virginia Cavaliers looked absolutely dominating in a 15-8 win over perennial powerhouse Maryland. Against the Terps, the Hoos went wild in transition, were rock solid on defense and controlled just about every draw.

It was a different story Friday night at Klockner Stadium as top ranked Virginia fell to No. 12 Penn State, 10-7.

The Nittany Lions (4-0) never allowed the Cavaliers to get their transition game going, were patient on offense throughout and won every critical draw to secure the win.

“I thought Penn State had an excellent game plan and executed incredibly well,” Virginia coach Julie Myers said.

Lori Havrilla gave Penn State the early lead as the junior capped off an opening Nittany Lion possession that took nearly two minutes off the clock. Virginia equalized with an Ashleigh Haas score and seized the lead a little more than three minutes later with the first of Tyler Leachman’s three goals.

Trailing 3-2, Leachman again knotted the score with a backhanded shot out of a spin through a Penn State double team. However, Leachman and the Cavaliers were never able to take a lead over the Nittany Lions as PSU continued to dominate time of possession and convert on the offensive end.

A pair of goals by Karen Long and scores from Emily Chambers, Kristen Burke and Lindsey Dutch gave Penn State an 8-4 lead at the halftime break.

The patience on offense not only resulted in Penn State goals, but more importantly kept the ball away from the sticks of a lethal Virginia offense, especially in transition.

“They killed us on the draw control,” added Myers. “In transition, we really didn’t help ourselves. We weren’t in the right spots and didn’t work hard enough to get deep enough down the field to give eachother good hard cuts up the field.”

Leachman recorded the hat trick with the opening score of the second half to bring the Hoos within 8-5. The Virginia faithful, anticipating a Cavaliers’ comeback quickly realized that you have to have the ball to score.

The Nittany Lions controlled the ensuing draw following Leachman’s goal and stayed on the offensive end for more than four minutes. As it had in the first half, Penn State capped off the long possession with a goal - the second of the night from Maslin.

Appelt, frustrated all night by a Nittany Lions defense that was quick to double on the scoring machine, found the net with 18:18 remaining on the clock, cutting the PSU advantage to 9-6 while at the same time keeping the Cavaliers’ comeback hopes alive.

Those hopes were dashed as Virginia was just simply unable to get the necessary possessions to make a run.

Penn State, poised to run time off the clock at this juncture, added goal number 10 by way of Dutch’s third of the game. Cary Chasney answered by converting a pass from Kate Breslin into a Virginia goal with 5:28 remaining. But again, the Nittany Lions won the ensuing draw and as it had all game long, the Penn State offense retained possession of the ball to ensure the PSU win.

Controlling the ball was not the only key to the Nittany Lions’ win. Between the pipes, goalkeeper Lee Tortorelli showed why she was honored as a first team All-American last season.

“This was huge for us to come out and play a good team the way we did,” Penn State coach Suzanne Isidor said. “This was the biggest win for us in recent years. It was a game we were ready for. Everybody came in confident and we knew it would take a team effort to beat Virginia.”

Virginia (2-1) will look to rebound on Sunday when the Cavaliers host Richmond. Game time is set for 1 p.m. at Klockner Stadium. Penn State travels to William & Mary on Sunday for a noon matchup with the Tribe.

Gillen kept battling in ACC tourney
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
March 12, 2005

WASHINGTON
Pete Gillen coached with unbridled passion in Friday’s game against fifth-ranked Duke in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals. Until the bitter end, he was constantly in motion, encouraging his players, more animated toward questionable calls, fighting all the way.
When it was over and his Virginia basketball team went down for the final time this season with a 76-64 loss to the Blue Devils, Gillen seemed at peace.
His seventh season, almost certainly his last as coach of the Cavaliers, came to a close with a losing record as his physically and emotionally battered team had little left in the tank.

No comment
Gillen didn’t want to talk about the future, which includes an anticipated announcement perhaps as early as Monday from Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage. If you believe the whispers, it will be Gillen’s last day on the job.
“I don’t want to talk about that,” Gillen said. “That will be addressed next week. I’ll just say this ... Virginia deserves better than 14-15. I’ll take the blame for that, not the players.”
Once 8-1, the Cavaliers unraveled once they began play in the ACC, where they won five of 13 games, including only the second ACC Tournament win of Gillen’s seven-year career at UVa. With six years remaining on his contract and only one NCAA Tournament trip under his belt during his tenure, the personable Gillen’s time appears to be up.
Afterward, there was apparently no mention of the coach’s plans when he talked to his team.
“He didn’t talk about that,” added senior forward Devin Smith. “It is not for me to decide. It’s for our athletic director and our faculty at the school to decide, not me. We feel he’s a great coach. He supports us through everything. He takes a lot of blame for our faults.”
Apparently Gillen took the blame for even more. While he insisted he wasn’t complaining about UVa’s academic standards, the embattled coach did point out that losing key starting forward Jason Clark was a blow to the team.
“We lost one of the best players on our team,” Gillen said. “He’s eligible by NCAA standards but not Virginia’s standards.”

Tough breaks
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who said he hoped it was not the last time he would coach against Gillen, empathized with the loss of Clark, along with an injury to Smith early in the ACC campaign.
“You don’t understand the magnitude of those injuries,” Krzyzewski said. “If you have that team all year, I don’t think they go 14-15. Obviously, they win 20 games, go to the NCAAs and the point is mute.”
Krzyzewski admired how Gillen handled the heat over the past two years and expressed a sorrowful goodbye if indeed this was the Virginia coach’s last game.
“Godspeed to him,” Coach K said. “It has been an honor to be a colleague of his in the ACC.”

Cavaliers flatline at ACC tourney
Virginia's season ends with ACC Tournament loss to Duke
By Andrew Joyner / Daily Progress staff writer
March 12, 2005

WASHINGTON - It may have ended almost exactly like it began.

Lee Melchionni and Daniel Ewing each has 16 points to lead third-seeded Duke to a 76-64 victory over eleventh-seeded Virginia in the ACC Quarterfinals on Friday at the MCI Center.

The loss ended Virginia’s season and likely the seven-year tenure of UVa coach Pete Gillen. The Cavaliers finished with a 14-15 record, providing remarkable symmetry, as it was the first losing mark since a 14-16 campaign in Gillen’s initial year in 1998-99.

Sean Singletary led Virginia with 16 points. Devin Smith had 13 and J.R. Reynolds finished with 11.

J.J. Redick, despite a poor shooting night, had 15 for Duke (23-5). The Blue Devils now advance to face N.C. State in today’s semifinals.

A somber and deflated Gillen was asked about his future in the postgame session with the media. His answer wasn’t verbose but it was quite telling and foreshadowed perhaps the inevitable.

“I don’t want to talk about that. I’d prefer to talk about the game. It will be determined and addressed next week. … All I have to say is that the University of Virginia deserves better than 14-15,”said Gillen, who is 131-107 in his seven seasons at UVa.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski was asked to comment about Gillen’s situation as well and he defended his fellow coaching fraternity member.

“He’s a veteran coach and he’s won like 56 percent of his games at Virginia. … He’s handled it well. Godspeed to him. It’s been an honor to be his friend and colleague in this league,” Krzyzewski said.

Pure logistics play a role in Gillen’s fate at this point.

Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage is in Indianapolis this weekend with the NCAA Division I basketball selection committee. Littlepage is essentially sequestered with that group until it announces the pairings and seeds for the tournament Sunday. Littlepage then returns to Charlottesville late Sunday night.

Littlepage has repeatedly said he will evaluate the progress of the basketball program at the end of the season. That may entail a meeting with Gillen upon Littlepage’s return.

Of course, there is valid reasoning to believe a decision has been made and an announcement of Gillen’s dismissal could come as early as Monday and certainly Gillen’s comments sounded like that of a man that already knew his fate.

“I don’t know what the future holds but I know we would like to have Coach Gillen next season,” Singletary said.

Virginia twice led by as many as seven in the opening half but the Blue Devils finished with a 16-4 run for a 40-28 lead at halftime.

The Blue Devils gained that advantage with little help from Redick. The junior guard was just 1 of 8 in the opening 20 minutes but his void was filled by Melchionni. He had 14 first-half points and was 4 of 7 behind the 3-point arc.

Virginia made one final push to extend its season and perhaps its coach’s tenure right after intermission.

The Cavaliers opened the half on a 13-3 run, and when Reynolds converted a three-point play with 16:05 remaining, Duke’s lead was just 43-41.

The Cavaliers, however, never broke that two-point barrier despite at least two open-look 3-point attempts in the next two minutes.

“We cut it to two but we just couldn’t make shots. We had nothing in the gas tank. We just had nothing left,” Gillen said.

Finally, Redick connected on a 3-pointer with 13:50 left, which ignited a 9-2 Duke spurt, and Virginia never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

Duke ends UVa's year
The Blue Devils move on while Cavs' coach Pete Gillen waits to hear about his job status.
By Doug Doughty
981-3129
The Roanoke Times

WASHINGTON - Virginia has grown accustomed over the past eight years to having its ACC Tournament hopes ended by Duke, so maybe it was fitting Friday night that the Blue Devils brought some closure to the Pete Gillen coaching era.

Third-seeded Duke overcame an early seven-point deficit and an unusually cold night from junior guard J.J. Redick in dispatching 11th-seeded UVa 76-64 in the final quarterfinal game of the men's ACC Basketball Tournament at the MCI Center. The Blue Devils (23-5), who have beaten UVa in the ACC Tournament four times in the last eight seasons, advanced to the 4 p.m. semifinals today against seventh-seeded North Carolina State, an 81-65 winner over Wake Forest in Friday night's first quarterfinal.

The loss dropped Virginia to 14-15, eliminated the Cavaliers from consideration for a postseason tournament and set the stage for a meeting Monday between Gillen and UVa athletic director Craig Littlepage, who was not at the game Friday.

Littlepage is a member of the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee, which is in Indianapolis this weekend, picking the field for the Division I tournament. Littlepage said he will return to Charlottesville on Sunday night.

Gillen has six years remaining on a contract that pays him $900,000 per year, but the contract was restructured last season to include a buyout. Gillen and Littlepage had expressed hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid, but the Cavaliers have not gone to NCAAs since the 2001 season.

"That'll be determined next week," Gillen said of his status. "I'll just say this, the University of Virginia deserves better than 14-15 that we gave them this year, and I take the blame for that."

The loss pinned Virginia with a losing record for the first time since they were 14-16 in Gillen's first season, 1998-99. For the second straight year, they won their ACC Tournament opener, but the loss Friday was their sixth in seven games to end the season.

Fifth-ranked Duke, which defeated the Cavaliers in the quarterfinals for the third year in a row, broke open a close game by scoring the last 10 points of the half, part of a 24-5 run that had the Blue Devils on top 40-28.

Junior Lee Melchionni, a 6-foot-6 walk-on from Lancaster, Pa., had 14 points at the half, including four 3-pointers. Melchionni, who averaged 1.0 and 1.5 points in his first two seasons, has scored in double figures in each of the last four games and five of the last six.

The Cavaliers led by seven points on three occasions in the first half, the last time on an Elton Brown 3-pointer with 9:06 remaining. Brown had not made a 3-pointer in two years, going 0-for-17 after hitting 22 3-pointers over his first two seasons.

Duke went on an 8-0 run in taking a 24-23 lead on a Daniel Ewing 3-pointer. Redick missed nine of his first 10 shots, but the Blue Devils unveiled some unfamiliar 3-point weapons in freshmen DeMarcus Nelson and David McClure.

$2-million price tag for a coach doesn't come cheaply
Some early departures would make no sense

By Doug Doughty
THE ROANOKE TIMES

From all indications, money will not be an issue if and when Virginia conducts a search for a new men's basketball coach. I'm hearing that the Cavaliers may be willing to pay $2 million a year.

That could make for some interesting conversations in Charlottesville, where football coach Al Groh makes less than $1 million per year, and in Blacksburg, where Seth Greenberg makes less than $500,000 and may be named ACC men's basketball coach of the year when that announcement is made Tuesday.

"It might be one of your guys," an official with some knowledge of the balloting told a Virginia reporter, "but I'm not going to tell you which one."

(Gee, wouldn't that be something if Pete Gillen were fired one day and, the next day, was named ACC coach of the year?)

It would take more than $2 million to land a Tubby Smith, not that Virginia could get him, or a Mike Montgomery, who is in the first year of a four-year, $10-million pact with the Golden State Warriors. So how soon is Al Groh going to knock on athletic director Craig Littlepage's door and how much is he going to want?

Presumably, an ACC coach-of-the-year selection would get Greenberg a raise without him having to ask, but there is a ripple effect. If the new UVa men's basketball coach makes $2 million, or something in that neighborhood, is women's coach Debbie Ryan going to want a piece of the pie after winning 20 games and getting her team back into the NCAA Tournament?

And, if the new coach gets $2 million and Debbie Ryan gets a raise and Seth Greenberg gets a raise, what about Tech women's coach Beth Dunkenberger? Dunkenberger, on the NCAA Tournament bubble in her first season, probably isn't paying much attention to her contract right now, but UVa could be driving up the market on a lot of levels.

THE CONSENSUS at the ACC Tournament this weekend is that Duke junior forward Shelden Williams and North Carolina junior point guard Raymond Felton are the two ACC underclassmen most likely to renounce their college eligibility.

Wake Forest sophomore point guard Chris Paul probably belongs in the same category, but players from Duke and North Carolina generally come under much heavier media scrutiny.

Williams is on a path to graduate by the end of the summer and his parents have been given Duke's blessing to investigate his draft prospects. As for Felton, if he's the only North Carolina underclassman to turn pro, the Tar Heels probably have gotten off lucky.

The NBA has been mentioned as a premature destination for UNC juniors Sean May and Rashad McCants, as well as freshman Marvin Williams, but May and Williams have indicated they will return and an illness that has kept McCants out of four late-season games would suggest that his stock might be higher next year.

Until I heard Thursday that Florida State sophomore Von Wafer might turn pro, the most ridiculous scenario I had heard involved Maryland junior point guard John Gilchrist who was the ACC Tournament MVP last year but did not make first-, second- or third-team All-ACC this season.

Gilchrist has been nothing special this season and who's to say he would even be drafted, but Maryland is in NBA territory and Terrapin players hear that talk all the time. As for Wafer, here's a guy who failed to score in the Seminoles' final two regular-season games and then went 1-for-6 from the field Thursday against North Carolina State, missing all three of his 3-point attempts.

Who's to say Wafer could even make an NBDL roster?

IF THERE'S ONE ingredient that the Virginia Tech men's basketball roster lacks, it's a consistently productive bench, a situation that was not helped by the restrictions that were in place when Greenberg was named coach.

At the time, a team could not sign more than five players in one year or eight players in two years. If the scholarships had been available, Greenberg thinks he could have been a player in the recruiting of Jared "J.R." Dudley, a 6-7, 212-pound sophomore who averages 16.3 points and 7.6 rebounds for Boston College and this week was named first-team All-Big East.

Dudley is from San Diego, a part of the country where Greenberg has ties going back to his days as the head coach at Long Beach State. In fact, one of Greenberg's first Tech signees was Justin Holt, a much-travelled Spokane, Wash., product who is now headed to New Mexico after a year in junior college.

Cavaliers’ season ends; Gillen’s fate to be decided
By ED MILLER, The Virginian-Pilot
© March 12, 2005 | Last updated 2:30 AM Mar. 12

WASHINGTON — Virginia’s ACC tournament experience ended Friday night the same way it did each of the previous two seasons, with a quarterfinal round loss to Duke.

This one carried more weight, however. It ended the Cavaliers’ season — at 14-15 they are not eligible for even an NIT bid — and it quite possibly marked the end of the Pete Gillen era at Virginia.

Click here Virginia fell 76-64 on a night in which the Cavaliers largely held Duke’s best players, J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams, in check. Redick missed 11 of his first 12 shots. Williams was bothered by a collapsing Virginia defense.

Duke got contributions from other sources. Lee Melchionni provided the outside scoring Redick failed to provide early. Seldom-used freshman David McClure provided spark off the bench.

Virginia threatened at times. The Cavaliers quickly cut a 12-point halftime deficit to two, opening the half with a 13-3 burst fueled by guards Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds.

Duke pushed the lead back to 10. Virginia cut it to five. Duke pushed it back to 12, as Redick finally began finding his range, canning a 3-pointer and a jumper from just inside the arc.

A final decision on Gillen’s future might not come until next week. Athletic director Craig Littlepage is a member of the NCAA tournament selection committee, which won’t wrap up its business until Sunday night.

Gillen exhorted his team until the final seconds, perching on a towel on the sideline. Criticized for his use of timeouts, he finished the game with one to spare.

Gillen has six years remaining on a contract that pays about $900,000 per year. He retained his job only after a lengthy review following last season, when Virginia finished 18-13 and failed to make the NCAA tournament for the third straight season. Littlepage said he expected improvement this season. Instead, Virginia finished tied for last in the ACC with a 4-12 record.

Duke led 40-28 after a strange first half in which Virginia center Elton Brown made as many 3-point shots (one ) as Blue Devil sharpshooter Redick.

Brown’s trey gave Virginia its biggest first-half lead, 23-16, with 9:14 left.

With Redick cold, Duke turned to Melchionni, who made 4 of 7 3-point shots and led all scorers with 14 points.

Melchionni kick-started the Duke offense, which outscored Virginia 24-5 over the final nine minutes. He finished the half by hitting a 3-pointer .

Virginia came out with all the energy you would expect from a team staring at the end of its season. Gillen started freshman Tunji Soroye at center for the second straight game, in place of Brown. Soroye blocked three shots in the first half, setting the tone for a defense that bottled up Williams, holding him to two first-half points.

Redick shot just 1 for 10 in the half, 1 for 8 from behind the 3-point arc.

Duke beat Virginia 84-74 in the quarterfinals last year and 83-76 in the same round in 2003.

Over and out
Virginia's 10th straight quarterfinal exit likely means an end to the Pete Gillen era.
BY DAVE JOHNSON
247-4649
Published March 12, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Virginia's worst season in six years is now history. The question now becomes, how much longer until the same can be said of Pete Gillen's tenure as the Cavaliers' head coach?

Its season extended another day with a come-from-behind win in Thursday's first round, Virginia went down for good in a 76-64 loss to third-seeded Duke on Friday night. The Blue Devils (23-5) advance to this afternoon's semifinals, where they will face N.C. State in the MCI Center.

The Cavaliers (14-15) threw a scare into the nation's fifth-ranked team and trailed by two points at the game's 14-minute mark. But in the end, Virginia didn't have enough to avoid its 10th consecutive quarterfinal loss.

Attention now turns to the almost-certain dismissal or resignation of Gillen, who is 118-93 in seven seasons and has led the Cavaliers to one NCAA tournament appearance. Asked about his future after the game, Gillen declined to address it.

"That'll be determined next week," said Gillen, who has six years remaining on his contract. "I'll just say this: The University of Virginia deserves better than 14-15. And I take the blame for that, not the players."

Virginia athletic director Craig Littlepage is in Indianapolis this week as a member of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee. He is scheduled to fly back into Charlottesville late Sunday night. Littlepage has offered little insight into Gillen's status, citing the standard procedure of his meeting with all coaches after the season is over to discuss their programs.

In a game in which it seemingly had no shot, Virginia actually led for an 81/2-minute stretch of the first half. Duke used a 16-4 run over the final 4:09 of the first half to go ahead by 12 at the break, but the Cavs didn't go away. A 15-5 run to start the second half enabled Virginia to cut the Blue Devils' lead to 45-43 on Sean Singletary's free throws with 14:39 remaining.

But there was no near-miracle on this night. J.J. Redick, who missed 11 of his first 12 shots, nailed a 3-pointer from the right corner. Shelden Williams, 1 for his first 7, scored in the post. And by the time Daniel Ewing went 2-for-2 from the free throw line, Duke's lead was back to double digits.

"We just didn't have anything left in the tank," said Singletary, who capped a strong freshman season with 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. "We couldn't finish."

The Cavaliers twice led by seven points in the first half - at 12-5 on T.J. Bannister's jumper with 13:56 left in the half; and at 23-16 on a rare Elton Brown 3-pointer with 9:12 showing. But the Blue Devils outscored U.Va. 24-5 from there to take a 12-point lead into the break.

Duke (23-5) has won 20 of the last 21 games in this series. Four of those games, including the last two seasons, have come in the ACC quarterfinals.
 

Devils shake off UVa
By BRYAN STRICKLAND : The Herald-Sun
bstrickland@heraldsun.com
Mar 12, 2005 : 1:24 am ET

WASHINGTON -- The Duke Blue Devils said they had the depth to make it through three days at the ACC Tournament, but for a while Friday night, it looked like they might not make it through their first game.

That's when the Blue Devils' depth -- what little they have -- came up big.

Junior Lee Melchionni, who recently rejoined the starting lineup because of an injury, and freshman David McClure, who recently returned to the court following an injury, spearheaded a late first-half rally that finally gave the third-seeded Devils a working margin against No. 11-seed Virginia.

There was, however, still work to be done in the second half. Virginia trimmed a 12-point halftime deficit down to two, but then the Duke stars who took a backseat in the first half returned to the forefront, helping the Blue Devils hang on for a 76-64 victory at the MCI Center.

Melchionni scored 14 first-half points and McClure scored seven -- more than he had scored in an entire game in his Duke career -- to help overcome a 2-for-15 showing from J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams.

But after Virginia closed within 45-43 early in the second half, Redick drilled a 3-pointer after missing 11 of his first 12 shots, and Williams scored inside to push the lead back to 50-43. Virginia, needing a win to extend its season and possibly the coaching career of Pete Gillen, couldn't get closer than five the rest of the way.

"McClure really came off the bench for us in the first half to give us a huge spark. He was sensational in the first half,' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said.

"He gave us big, big minutes, and we just need that.

"Guys have to keep stepping up while Sean is out."

Krzyzewski was referring to point guard Sean Dockery, whose absence the last four games because of a knee injury propelled Melchionni back into the starting lineup and made McClure's return more crucial.

McClure had played a total of 14 minutes since his return from a knee injury and had totaled six points. McClure played 20 minutes Friday and scored seven points in a key four-minute stretch late in the first half on his way to a career-high nine.

"I've been out so long with my knee, I'm just excited to get out there,' McClure said. "The only thing I knew was that we were losing at the time I went in. I just wanted to do anything I could to give energy to the team."

The Blue Devils were down 20-13 midway through the first half after hitting just 5 of 22 field goals, but then Duke outscored the Cavaliers 24-5 the rest of the half to head to the locker room with a 40-28 edge.

Duke led just 30-28 with two minutes to go but finished with a flourish behind Melchionni and McClure, who had hit his first career 3-pointer moments earlier to give Duke a lead it never relinquished.

McClure started the surge with a dunk on a feed from Shavlik Randolph, then Melchionni hit a 3-pointer following a Virginia turnover. McClure added two free throws the next time down, then Melchionni finished it off, drilling a deep 3-pointer from in front of the Virginia bench with four seconds left.

With that, Duke led by 12 at halftime despite getting little help from its usual leaders.

Redick, the ACC's leading scorer, suffered through a horrendous half -- hitting just 1 of 10 shots, 1 of 8 from 3-point range. Williams hit just 1 of 5 shots. Daniel Ewing played well -- when he played -- scoring seven points but missing seven minutes after picking up his second foul at the 14:31 mark.

"J.J. is just such an unbelievable shooter that he attracts so much attention. Even on off-nights, guys are still going to flock to him and go to him, which I just try to play off of him," Melchionni said. "I get open shots off of him and guys like Shelden and Daniel because I know they're the focal points of other teams' defense."

The victory advanced Duke to the semifinals today at 4 p.m. against No. 7-seed N.C. State, which whipped No. 2 Wake Forest 81-65 in Friday night's early game. Krzyzewski said he hadn't seen a lot of the Wolfpack in the second half of the season but did vividly remember catching N.C. State at the beginning of its late-season surge, a narrow victory at Georgia Tech.

"I told my staff, 'They're playing like men possessed,' " Krzyzewski said. "They're an NCAA Tournament team, and they're good enough to win this tournament."

NOTES -- Redick bounced back in the second half to finish with 15 points and also grabbed eight rebounds, while Williams closed with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Duke, which also got nine rebounds from Melchionni and eight from Reggie Love, dominated Virginia 54-30 on the boards. "I thought the difference in the game was our rebounding," Krzyzewski said. ... Sean Singletary, a member of the ACC's all-freshman team, paced Virginia with 16 points. J.R. Reynolds, who scored 32 points in Virginia's first-round victory over Miami, managed just 11.

Hokies, Cavs heed exit sign
U.Va. fights to the end, but drops quarterfinal to Duke in Gillen's likely swan song
BY JEFF WHITE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Mar 12, 2005

WASHINGTON -- At 11:29 last night, Virginia was officially eliminated from the ACC basketball tournament. The Cavaliers' season is over, and so too, in all likelihood, is Pete Gillen's seven-year run as their coach.

"I hope not," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after his team defeated U.Va. 76-64 DUKE 76 U.VA. 64in the last quarterfinal at MCI Center.

Virginia finished with a 14-15 record and thus is not eligible for the NIT.

Athletic Director Craig Littlepage is in Indianapolis, where he's serving on the NCAA tourney selection committee. Littlepage is scheduled to return to Charlottesville tomorrow night, and the school is expected to announce in the next few days that Gillen will not be back in 2005-06.

Asked last night about his status, Gillen said, "I don't want to talk about that. Let's talk about the game . . . That'll be determined next week.

"I'll just say this, that the University of Virginia deserves better than the 14-15 that we gave them this year, and I take the blame for that. Not the players."

Seeded 11th in the 11-team ACC tourney, U.Va. opened on a high note Thursday night by knocking off No. 6 seed Miami. The Cavaliers drew a tougher assignment last night: the nation's fifth-ranked team. Virginia played well early in each half, but the third-seeded Blue Devils (23-5) dominated the backboards and fought off every surge.

"We had nothing left and just got overpowered by a great team," said Gillen, whose record at U.Va. dropped to 118-93. In his seven seasons, the Cavaliers advanced to the NCAAs once -- in 2001 and to the NIT four times.

When Gillen met with his players after the game, sophomore guard J.R. Reynolds said, "He just thanked us for the year, said it was a great year and he enjoyed coaching us."

Reynolds, who'd scored a career-high 32 points Thursday night against Miami, had 11 against Duke, which has won eight straight over U.Va. Senior forward Devin Smith scored 13 for Virginia but shot only 4 of 12 from the floor.

"Devin was in cement, J.R. was in cement," Gillen said. "We were just physically beat up from the night before, so we didn't have much energy left."

Still, on a night when ACC player-of-the-year candidate J.J. Redick missed 13 of 17 shots from the floor, Virginia had an opportunity to advance to the semifinals for the first time since 1995. With 8 minutes left in the opening half, the Cavaliers led 23-16, but they couldn't keep Duke off the boards or keep junior forward Lee Melchionni (16 points) from scoring.

The Blue Devils closed the half with a 10-0 run that included two Melchionni 3-pointers and led 40-28 at the break. Virginia opened the second half with a 10-2 spurt, and two free throws by freshman point guard Sean Singletary made it 45-43 with 14:39 left. But Redick bombed in a trey, and all-ACC center Shelden Williams scored inside, and U.Va. never got closer than five points in the final 11:45.

"I think we played well, we just ran out of energy," said Singletary, who paced Virginia with 16 points.

Singletary, who stands 5-11, also led the Cavaliers with seven rebounds. Duke outrebounded Virginia 54-30 and grabbed 23 at the offensive end. Six Devils had at least five rebounds apiece.

"We just got worn down," Gillen said.

And so ended a season marked by adversity and obstacles that U.Va. failed to overcome. Smith sprained his ankle in December, and the team never regained its rhythm after he returned from his injury. Then, in January, the Cavaliers lost their starting power forward, co-captain Jason Clark, for academic reasons.

The strain on Gillen showed at times late in the season, but he's "handled it well," Krzyzewski said. "Godspeed to him. It's been an honor to be his friend and his colleague in the ACC."

At Virginia, It's Time To Pick Up the Pieces
By Michael Arkush
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, March 12, 2005; Page D13

The Virginia Cavaliers must have known it was coming. Beating Miami was one thing. Beating Duke? This was not the team, and certainly not the year, to pull off that kind of stunner on such a big stage.

Even so, the official conclusion to the season for Virginia was still not easy for the players to accept. There had been so much promise: A win against then-No. 10 Arizona, the weeks ranked among the top 25, the prospect of an NCAA tournament berth for the first time since 2001.

"He can't go out there and play the game for us," guard T.J. Bannister said in support of Pete Gillen, above, under fire after a 14-15 season. (Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)

Then, in January, it all started to fall apart and never really turned around. The Cavaliers lost their first five conference games, and their last five. There was a brief period of hope, a three-game run in the middle of February, but that was derailed by an 85-61 setback to North Carolina.

"A couple of losses took us back," said forward Elton Brown, who ended his career with nine points and four rebounds. "The whole team got rattled, not realizing it's a long season. We had a young team. It's a tough conference. To never go to the tournament, it hurts."

Another factor, in the view of some players, was the loss of senior forward Jason Clark, who was ruled academically ineligible in January. Clark had been acknowledged as the team's best defensive player the last two seasons.

"He was a big part of our team," guard T.J. Bannister said. "It took a lot away."

Still, there was plenty of pride in the locker room, a feeling that, one night after surviving a tough first-round match against sixth-seeded Miami, they had put forth a very courageous effort against one of the premier teams in the country. The Cavaliers, after trailing by 12 points at the half, could have given up. Instead, they sliced the lead to two and had the momentum. The possibility of an upset appeared tantalizing.

"We outplayed them in a lot of areas," said freshman point guard Sean Singletary, who led the Cavaliers with 16 points and seven rebounds. "We just didn't have enough in the tank. They were fresh; that's why they won."

Added senior Devin Smith, who scored 13 points: "We were in there for the majority of the game."

Singletary and Bannister, a sophomore, both voiced support for Coach Pete Gillen, whose seventh season on the Cavaliers sideline concluded disappointingly. They expressed hope that, despite the persistent rumors, last night was not Gillen's last game.

"I feel he's a great coach," Bannister said. "He's taught me a lot of stuff. I don't want to see him go. I'll be praying for him. He can't go out there and play the game for us."

Nonetheless, regardless of whatever happens with Gillen, the two guards see better days ahead.

"The future is bright," Singletary said. "We've just got to keep together. We have a strong class coming in."