University of Virginia Library

Terps' First Half
Sinks Cavaliers, 79-71

By Hugh Antrim
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

College Park, Md. - Unable to cope
with Maryland's man for man press,
the Cavaliers fell behind early, 13-2,
and could never catch the
hot-shooting Terps, losing 79-71.

Cole Field House was packed
with 14,200 sereaming Turtle fans,
and those Turtles could do little
wrong. Maryland opened up its
early advantage, hitting the first six
attempted field goals; Virginia did
not score from the floor until Bill
Gerry broke the lee with a short
jumper almost four minutes into
the game.

Virginia managed to cut the lead
to six 15-9, but then suffered a dry
streak that enabled the Terps to
move way out in front, 25-9. By
intermission the Cavaliers found
themselves in the hole, 44-25,
behind a sputtering 34.6 per cent
floor accuracy.

Coach Gibson had started the
same lineup that was so successful
against Duke, but Chip Miller
resprained his ankle and was
replaced by Kevin Kennelly. Then
Chip Case, who was not supposed
to see action at all due to a severe
muscle bruise, was pressed into
service to help stabilize Virginia's
errant attack. Case responded well,
hitting seven of 11 shots for 14
points.

The Cavaliers were forced to
play catch-up in the second half.
Abandoning the 3-2 zone, Mr.
Gibson went to a man for man
defense after intermission, trying to
force Maryland's game while hoping
to upset their shooting composure.

Virginia was able to close the
gap to 14 points, 55-41, and then
to 13, 59-46, with ten minutes left,
but there was no stopping the Terps
down the stretch as they coasted

                     

Virginia Box	Field	Goals	Free	Throws	Rebounds	Total
	M	A	M	A		Points
Tim Rash	4	12	1	1	4	9
Frank DeWitt	1	5	1	3	3	3
Chip Miller	0	0	0	0	0	0
Scott McCandlish	6	13	3	4	6	15
Bill Gerry	8	17	7	11	14	23
Kevin Kennelly	2	5	1	2	1	5
Chip Case	7	11	0	1	5	14
John Hill	1	1	0	0	0	2
Totals	29	64	13	22	33	71

into the 79-71 finish.

The loss put Virginia's overall
mark at 9-14, 3-11 in the ACC.
Lefty Driesell's team lifted itself
above the magic .500 level,
finishing 13-12 on the season, with
a 5-9 conference record.

Bill Gerry was again high man
for the Cavaliers with 23 points,
while Scott McCandlish tallied 15.

The game Saturday was decided
in the first ten minutes of play.
"We're not a catch-up ball club,"
commented Coach Gibson, "We
lost our poise ... that surprised me."

The officiating was, to be
complimentary, dubious. Virginia
was called for 24 fouls; Maryland
was plagued with 16. Case fouled
out, while Rash, DeWitt, and Gerry
finished the game with four
personals each.