Cavaliers run out of gas
Zags overcome Singletary's 35 points
By Whitelaw Reid / Daily Progress staff writer
December 18, 2005

SPOKANE, Wash. - Gonzaga's Adam Morrison brought all the hype. Virginia's Sean Singletary brought all the game.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, that scenario only lasted for the game's first 35 minutes.

Virginia, playing in an environment as hostile as anywhere west of Cameron Indoor Stadium, led by six points deep into the second half against the No. 10 team in the country. The Cavs seemed poised to score the biggest win of the Dave Leitao era.

But then they imploded.

The end result was an 80-69 loss - the team's third straight - that spoiled an at-times brilliant 35-point effort by Singletary.

"I shot the ball well, but we didn't play good team defense and lost," said Singletary, playing with a hip injury that caused him to miss the team's loss to Fordham last week. "It's difficult to [take anything good] out of that."

Singletary didn't get much help. Only one other Cavs player - J.R. Reynolds - scored in double figures (10 points).

Said Cavs coach Dave Leitao: "You play one of the best teams in the country and you have to play your behind off in order to win. We didn't do that for the 40 minutes."

The game was tied at 64 with 5:45 remaining. That's when everything began to unravel. First, the Cavs (3-4, 0-1) didn't get out on Zags sharpshooter Derek Raivio, who buried a 3-pointer. Then, while the Cavs were attempting to inbound the basketball, Reynolds became entangled with Morrison and was called for a technical foul.

"[The ref] said I threw him to the ground," Reynolds said, "but he was just holding my arm and I was trying to get away from him."

The crowd - a sea of blue and red that seemed to be doing jumping jacks all night long - went even more nuts.

Raivio hit only one of the two technical foul shots, but the Zags took possession of the ball. That's when Morrison - who had just nine points at the half - went to work, driving hard to the basket to draw a foul on Reynolds.

Morrison made one of two free throws, but Singletary made a sloppy pass on the Cavs' next possession that was intercepted by Zags guard Pierre Altidor-Cespedes, who dribbled the length of the court for an easy lay-in and a seven-point lead.

As the Zags' crowd continued to burn calories, Cavs players seemed shell-shocked.

Morrison, who somehow managed to finish the game with 27 points, scored five of the Zags' final seven. He also had a sweet dish to Sean Mallon off penetration that resulted in a lay-up.

"We just ran out of gas," Singletary said. "We just fell apart."

Singletary had his way with all the Gonzaga guards in the first half, scoring 19 points. He hit from all angles: long outside shots, hanging scoops shots in the lane, runners in transition.

He knocked down three straight 3-pointers to give the Cavs a 29-24 lead.

"He's Jameer Nelson," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few, comparing Singletary to the former St. Joseph's point guard. "It just reminded me of that show [Nelson] put on four years ago.

"He's got so much freedom, yet he's so smart with his decisions. He can shoot it, drive it, he's a great passer and he understands when to do all that."

The Zags (7-2) came out like they were the unranked team riding a two-game losing streak, committing nine turnovers in the game's first nine minutes.

Morrison was invisible for most of that stretch. The preseason All-American, who has been compared to Larry Bird, didn't score until 11 minutes left in the half.

The Cavs put a hodgepodge of defenders on Morrision, who seemed a little frustrated.

"We were just trying to keep a body and somebody in front of him and keep him out of the paint," Leitao said.

Singletary did a great job on the defensive end, igniting a couple of easy transition baskets, including a Billy Campbell 3-pointer that gave the Cavs their biggest lead of the half at 34-28.

However, the Cavs - much like in the Arizona game - didn't finish the half strong.

Morrison cut to the hoop for an easy lay-in, then the Cavs allowed a leak-out dunk to J.P Batista at the buzzer, which cut their lead to one.

Despite playing the Zags a lot tougher than most everyone expected, Leitao said nothing positive could be taken away from the game.

"If you believe progress was made, then you just weren't watching the last eight or nine minutes of the game where we started to allow their offense to attack people and we started fouling," Leitao said. "I couldn't tell you that was a sustained 40 minutes of effort. We got real sloppy when they switched to a zone. We got confused. We didn't attack and move the ball. We allowed too much dribble penetration, and then just had no fight against it."

Added Singletary: "We just need to turn the page."

DUNKS: Gonzaga extended their home winning streak to 29 games, the second longest in the nation (Washington). ? In pregame introductions an entire section of the Gonzaga student body comes onto the court to form a human tunnel to greet Zags players. ? The Zags have sold out every home game since the '99 season. ? Season ticket holders - the majority of the people in attendance - have their names printed on their seats. ? The Cavs' Donte Minter and Matt Deasey did not make the trip to Spokane. ? Jason Cain got his first start of the season in place of Laurynas Mikalauskas. He scored two points and seven rebounds (losing "The Clash of the 'Stache" with Morrision).

 

Will Cav fans step up for bowl game?
By Jerry Ratcliffe / Daily Progress sports editor
December 18, 2005

Just how many times over the past decade have we heard complaints from disgruntled Virginia football fans about the Cavaliers getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop when it came to the bowl selection process?
Plenty of times is the answer and we won't belabor you with the year-by-year details.

But now that UVa has finally gotten a break in terms of a bowl trip, where is the Wahoo Nation? As of this morning, you're MIA.

When we asked Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage how many tickets the school had been credited with as of Saturday morning for the Music City Bowl matchup against Minnesota, he confirmed a total of 5,800. Of that number, the school has purchased 1,500 for athletic program needs. That means fans have bought only 4,300.

Now, that's pathetic

Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to help UVa sell tickets. I will be covering the game whether there are 60,000 Cavalier fans or 6,000 in the stands. I get paid the same no matter how many fans show up. Virginia doesn't sign my paycheck.

However, having been a longtime observer of the program and possessing a keen memory as to what it was like before Virginia had ever played in a bowl game, parlaying those factors with what Wahoo fans want for the future of the program, I feel it is my job to point out what's at risk.

For years, UVa's program battled and overcame a perception by bowl officials that it wouldn't travel to postseason games. Two trips to the Peach Bowl in the mid-'90s followed by two trips to the then-Continental Tire Bowl in 2002 and 2003 changed that perception.

But now, are you guys about to blow it?

"We have to continue to build on that history so the efforts of the past bowl situations doesn't get wiped out at this point and time," Littlepage said.

When an official from the Nashville bowl showed up in Charlottesville to make an official invitation to the Cavaliers, he wasn't kidding when he said he expected to see his city coated with Orange and Blue.

If Wahoo fans don't show up in strong numbers, then Littlepage's fears could come true. All of the hard work by the school and its fans over the past 10 years to erase a negative travel image will go poof before their very eyes.

What does that mean?

Well, it means the next time Virginia is up for a better bowl, that bowl officials are going to look at Nashville and give you a big, fat thumbs down. You'll end up out west somewhere and the team - the players that you root for, get autographs from, buy their jerseys, snap their pictures - won't get their just reward.

When Littlepage realized a few weeks ago that Virginia's most logical postseason destination would be either Nashville or San Francisco, he lobbied hard for the Music City and with good reason.

"To ultimately get picked by Nashville was a great opportunity," the AD said.

There are really no excuses for a poor showing in Nashville other than fans bitter about a 6-5 finish. Granted it could have been better. Losses to UNC and Maryland (both to teams that didn't qualify for a bowl, and both on the road where it was difficult to win in the ACC this year) stung. But this is a team that beat ACC Champion Florida State and knocked off Georgia Tech, which ultimately was one factor in why UVa ended up in Nashville and not the Yellow Jackets.

Look at the facts. Nashville is approximately 545 miles from Charlottesville, all interstate. That's pretty darned close to the same distance from C'ville to Atlanta, where UVa sold more than 20,000 tickets every time it was invited. It's a few hours longer than the drive to Charlotte, N.C., but heck, there's a lot more to do in Nashville than in Charlotte.

"It's a city that Virginia fans will love," said former Daily Progress staffer Chris Wallace, who just moved from Nashville back to Charlottesville to take over the Rivals-affiliated Virginia site (www.CavsCorner.com).

As Littlepage points out, "Nashville's a really good town, we're playing in a tremendous facility [where the NFL's Tennessee Titans play]. These are people who do hospitality extremely well for the bowl game. It's a bowl played on a date that doesn't impact other plans [not too close to Christmas or New Year's]. It's played at a time of day [noon] so people can return home and be back by 10 or 11 p.m. by the latest for New Year's Eve festivities if they so desire. There's a lot of real good reasons for people to come to the game."

However, no reasons better than supporting their football program and preventing UVa's bowl reputation from being destroyed.

"The Music City chose us on the basis of a very good history in Atlanta and Charlotte and chose us due to the faith they had in our program and our fans," Littlepage said. "The folks in Nashville were getting a flurry of contacts back in late November and early December from people wanting to support Virginia, which influenced the bowl."

Wallace, who was still living in Nashville at the time, said he kept hearing from Music City Bowl officials that same thing and while monitoring Rivals' message boards, he noted that strong numbers of Virginia fans were writing, 'Please let us go to Nashville or even Memphis, but not out West.'

"Those were places they said they wanted to go, places to easily get to," Wallace said.

Littlepage said he remained optimistic that UVa fans would gobble up the 10,000 allotted tickets for the bowl and even surpass that figure, but admitted, "It has been slower than I would have anticipated."

One columnist in Minnesota has already taken a jab at UVa football, noting that, "As a program, Virginia is like the change between the cushions of a couch: It's always there, but unless you look, you wouldn't really see it. ... There's no pizzazz to Virginia, especially this year ... There's no Heath Miller at tight end. Tiki Barber isn't taking handoffs. A player the level of Matt Schaub isn't leading the Cavaliers' offense. ...The Cavaliers are an entirely mediocre football team."

Man, those are fighting words where I come from. Maybe UVa fans don't mind being perceived as a bunch that won't support their team except when times are good. That's not what being a fan is all about.

Please spare me the e-mails if you're one of the fans who does travel (I know there are some of you out there), and please spare me the e-mails that you just can't support a 6-5 team, which I might add suffered several key injuries during the heart of its season, injuries that probably cost the Cavs at least two wins.

Al Groh won't use it as an excuse, but it is reality. Ask Bobby Bowden or Frank Beamer how tough it is to win when your offensive line is beaten up and your top running back can't answer the bell.

"Looking at it from an AD's standpoint I can understand that going in 6-5 is a lot different than going into a bowl game 7-4 or 8-3," Littlepage said. "I understand there are probably some fans that might not be as enthusiastic."

But the AD noted that the serious football programs in the country that go to bowls year in and year out rely on the support of those fans just as much when struggling as when things are better. In other words, the bandwagon usually remains pretty full.

"That's part of having a big-time football program, that there is a critical mass that can be expected to show up on site for these kinds of activities," Littlepage said. "I think we're getting there."

Georgia Tech folks are steamed that Virginia got Nashville and there have been rumblings out of Atlanta that the Cavs promised to buy more tickets than Tech could have possibly negotiated with the bowl.

"That's all the more reasons for our fans to step up," said Littlepage, who denied any under-the-table deals. "We earned the bowl game fair and square on how good the folks in Nashville felt about UVa fans supporting their program. We didn't try to buy the game by saying we would do anything more than the ACC contracted, which was 10,000. We would hope to exceed that. We hope to fulfill what folks in Nashville anticipated of us."

The ticket sales have been so slow that UVa has already resorted to a practice that I don't particularly care for, encouraging some of its donors to purchase tickets by proxy. In other words, if you can't or don't want to go, buy the ticket anyway and maybe the bowl people can donate those tickets to some needy group or civic group in Nashville.

Well, maybe somebody will show up in those seats and maybe they won't.

In previous years, we have challenged Virginia's football team to fish or cut bait. Well, now it's the fans turn.

Show up or shut up.

 

Despite Singletary, Cavs can't prevail
U.Va.'s point guard scores career-best 35, but Gonzaga rallies
From Staff Reports Dec 18, 2005

Adam Morrison may be a national player-of-the-year candidate, but nobody in Gonzaga's gym shined brighter than Virginia's Sean Singletary last night.

Singletary, a sophomore point GONZAGA 80 VIRGINIA 69guard from Philadelphia, scored a career-high 35 points to put U.Va. in position to pull off an upset. But fatigue, coupled with 10th-ranked Gonzaga's superior depth and talent, ultimately did in the Cavaliers, who brought only seven scholarship players to Spokane, Wash., and failed to give Singletary much help.

The Zags trailed most of the second half before rallying for a 80-69 victory before a sellout crowd at McCarthey Athletic Center. After junior guard J.R. Reynolds' jumper gave Virginia a 63-59 lead with about 8 minutes left, Gonzaga (7-2) seized control with a 12-1 run.

"You play one of the best teams in the country, in their gym, coming out of [final exams], and you've got to play your behind off to give yourself a chance to win," said Dave Leitao, the Cavaliers' first-year coach, "and we didn't do that for the 40 minutes that the game was played."

The victory was the 29th consecutive at home for Gonzaga, which took the lead for good on junior guard Derek Raivio's fifth 3-pointer. That made it 67-64, and moments later Reynolds was called for a technical after a run-in with Morrison at the 5:22 mark. By the time the Cavaliers got the ball back, they trailed 69-64.

Leitao said officials told him "it was a contact technical foul. He grabbed [Morrison]. . . . It wasn't because he yelled at the ref or taunted him or swore or anything like this."

Morrison, a 6-8 junior who came in as the nation's leading scorer (28.5 ppg), led Gonzaga with 27 points.

Singletary, who'd missed Virginia's previous game with a hip injury, returned with a flourish. He matched his career best with four 3-pointers and added six steals and four assists. His previous high in scoring was 25 points.

"Individual performances when you lose don't mean a whole lot," said Leitao, who's nothing if not consistent after defeats. He'd refused to praise junior forward Jason Cain's play -- 16 points, 15 rebounds -- in a Dec. 7 loss to Fordham.

The Zags improved to 7-1 all-time against ACC opponents, including 2-0 against the Cavaliers. The teams' first meeting came in the 2001 NCAA tournament at Memphis, Tenn.

Virginia, the first ACC team to play at Gonzaga, lost its third straight game and fell to 3-4. The Cavaliers' next game is Friday night against Loyola (Md.) at University Hall.

In its Nov. 27 visit to Arizona, Virginia stayed close for a half but fell apart after intermission and lost 81-51. The Cavaliers showed more fight on the road last night. Still, with a chance to shock the college basketball world, they faltered late.

The Wahoos played well at times, Singletary said, but "everybody personally has to take responsibility for what happened tonight. We should have come away with a win."

Injured reserves T.J. Bannister (point guard) and Donte Minter (power forward) didn't make the trip to Spokane, and Singletary was asked to carry an enormous load. "Yeah, I was tired, but it was just something I got to play through," he said.