University of Virginia Library

Cavalier Upset Fails,
Pack Perseveres, 71-66

By Hugh Antrim
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Photo By Mike Gartlin

Kevin Kennelly Drives On N.C.State's Joe Dunning In 71-66 Virginia Loss Saturday Afternoon

Cavaliers Entertain Lefty Driesell's Speedy Terrapins Wednesday Night In University Hall At 8:00

Virginia put it all together
Saturday afternoon, and for a long
while it looked like that ACC
drought was getting all wet, but
North Carolina State took
advantage of poor Cavalier shooting
in the second half (9-40 from the
floor) and erratic ball handling
down the stretch to pull off their
17th win in 18 outings 71-66.

The Cavaliers, who had been
ahead since the half, 37-34, lost the
lead with 4:28 remaining in the
game, 62-63, but rallied to tie the
game, 66-66, with 1:38 left.

Vann Williford, one of N.C.
State's big guns, lost the ball out of
bounds, but the Cavaliers' Kevin
Kennelly, returned the favor
down court before Virginia could
get off a shot. Coach Bill Gibson
called for a timeout and a foul with
1:38 left on the clock, and Tim
Rash proceeded to foul Al Heartly
for one shot, the score still tied at
66. Heartly missed the free throw
but friendly Dan Wells sled the
rebound and tapped in what proved
to be the game-winning basket.

Coach Gibson called time again,
with 0:47 seconds remaining, but
the Cavaliers lost the ball to State
before taking a shot. In a futile
attempt to regain possession, Scott
McCandlish fouled State's Paul
Coder. Coder missed his first free
throw, but the officials had ruled
the foul intentional, and Coder hit
his second try to freeze the game
for the Wolfpack 69-66. Friendly
Dan Wells connected on two from
the line before the gun to finalize
the score, 71-66.

The Cavaliers had just lost their
tenth conference game in a row
(14th if one checks into last year)
but there was more emotion and
desire kicked around University
Hall Saturday, on the part of
players and fans as well, than in
many games in which the Cavaliers
won. Chip Case led the Virginians
with a brilliant effort; he suffered
through a cold spell in the second
half, but finished the game with 26
points and an incredible 16
rebounds to his credit. Virginia, as a
team, outplayed State on the
boards, out rebounding their
opponents, 46-31. One Wolfer, Dan
Wells, frustrated by this turn of
events, compensated for his failures
with a high elbow to the face of Bill
Gerry, sending Gerry to the
dressing room with a broken nose,
with 13 minutes left in the game.

Had the Cavaliers managed to
maintain a semblance of their first
half floor accuracy, they would
have withstood the State challenge
late in the game. The Cavs shot a
miserable 22.5 per cent in the
second period, finishing the game at
35 per cent. State, on the other
hand, needed a respectable 46 per
cent (a hot handed .517 figure in
the last 20 minutes) to win it.

Virginia stuck to a zone defense
throughout the contest, giving State
the outside shot, but taking control
of the defensive boards. State relied
on a tight man for man defense to
force Virginia into costly ball
handling errors. The final statistics
show the Cavaliers with 17
turnovers compared with State's
13.

State Coach Norm Sloan had
nothing but praise for the Cavaliers.
When queried as to why Virginia
should have a 0-10 ACC record, Mr.
Sloan replied, "I don't know...
maybe they're young. One win
would change the whole thing."

Bill Gibson: "I don't know what
to say, the kids are giving us
everything they've got." Coach
Gibson lamented on that second
half scoring drought, "The ball
wouldn't go in, the damn thing
wouldn't go in."

He added, "The kids deserved to
win." Yes they did, Mr. Gibson,
indeed they did.

Photo By Bob Gill

Cavalier Bill Gerry Goes Up Inside For Two Points

Gerry Sustained Broken Nose, Had To Leave Game