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Wolfpack Cagers Stave Off Cavalier Rally, 66-62

State's Williford Paces All Scorers

By Hugh Antrim
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Photos By Bob Cullen

Cavalier Captains Carmichael, Case Shooting Against Wolfpack Saturday

It looked pretty fishy when Mrs.
Norman Sloan, wife of the
Wolfpack's coach, sang the National
Anthem near the State bench. Not
quite the deliverance of Jose
Feliciano at the World Series, Mrs.
Sloan's rendition did inspire her
husband and the rest of the
Wolfpack to a 66-62 victory over
the Cavaliers in Raleigh.

Vann Williford could have sung
the Anthem for that matter; he
certainly did everything else.
Standing a meek 6-6 and a light 190
pounds for a center, Williford
pumped in a game high 26 points
and led his team with eight
rebounds.

Some 7,000 fans massed at the
William Neal Reynolds Coliseum
for the game. They were not to be,
disappointed by what they saw.
Extremely adept at wailing "Go
State!" at the appropriate time, the
State gathering saw a hard-fought
game in which the lead changed
several times. Virginia ahead 36-33
at the half, pulled farther in front
as the second half began. N.C. State
promptly rallied and moved out at
55-46 with about 11 minutes left
on the clock. Long jumpers by
Tony Kinn and Kevin Kennelly
brought the Cavaliers back to
within three points with three
minutes left. But some clutch free
throws by Williford put State ahead
for good, 64-60.

The weather outside in not so
friendly Raleigh was near carbon
copy of the foul meteorological
conditions in which N.C. State
blasted the Wahoos' ACC title
hopes last fall.

The fog and rain proved equally
as frustrating for the cagers. Chip
Case, who played such magnificent
basketball against the North
Carolina Tar Heels last week, was
cold if not frozen from the floor.
The Cavalier co-captain, still plainly
recovering from a knee injury, hit
on but one of ten field goal
attempts and wound up the night
with just six points.

The Cavaliers threw up both a
zone and man-to-man defense
during the course of the evening,
but neither could effectively curtail
the heroics of Vann Williford. When
Williford was tied up by Norm
Carmichael, Doug Tilley and Dick
Braucher kept up the Wolfpack
momentum with some timely field
goals.

The Cavaliers appeared to be in
firm control of everything but the
scoreboard in the first half. An
intermittent full court press by the
Wolfpack gained them only additive
exercise. Case and Kinn found
Carmichael, Wilkes, and Gidding
underneath; and Virginia held a
20-12 edge off the boards. The
Cavaliers went into intermission
shooting a respectable 43.3 percent
from the floor. But State held the
hotter hand with a 46 percentage,
and Williford scored 13 points to
characterize the slim 36-33 Virginia
lead.

Virginia charged out in the
opening moments of the second
period to a 42-37 lead, but the
Wolfpack stormed back with
Williford and Tilley leading the
attack. Two quick fouls by Gidding
put him in trouble with four and
brought the Wolfpack into a 42-42
tie. Virginia's rebounding advantage
seemed to dissipate a bit, and N.C.
State built up a nine point lead
55-46 with some II minutes
remaining.

State's tight zone kept Virginia
away from the inside, and Coach
Gibson turned to Tony Kinn and
Kevin Kennelly for help. Long
jumpers by both guards brought the
Cavaliers back and cut the deficit to
one, 61-60, but Vann Williford's
foul shots put the Wolfpack up
64-60.

The game was still in doubt with
only eight seconds left. The
Cavaliers were down 64-62, and
Williford was at the line for one and
one. Williford missed on the front
end, and Mike Wilkes grabbed the
rebound; but his pass down court
went askew, and State preserved
the victory.

Wilkes finished the game as high
scorer for Virginia with 14 points
and nine rebounds. John Gidding,
crippled with four fouls during
most of the second period, wound
up with 11 rebounds and 13 points.
Tony Kinn and Norm Carmichael
were the other Cavaliers in double
figures. Both tallied ten points,
with Carmichael providing a solid
game underneath with eight
rebounds.

North Carolina State by virtue
of Saturday night's win upped its
seasonal mark to 12-6. The
Wolfpack now have a solid grasp on
third place in the Conference with a
5-3 record, trailing North Carolina
and South Carolina.

The Cavaliers, on the other
hand, dropped in the standings into
a tie with Duke for fifth. The loss
to State put Coach Bill Gibson's
team into the precarious 500 level.
Virginia now stands 9-9 on the
season, with some tough contests in
the offing. On Tuesday, the
Cavaliers visit Blacksburg, the home
of the Giant Gobbler, to take on
Virginia Tech. Returning to
University hall next Saturday
afternoon, the cagers face the
University of Maryland and the
television cameras.