Jackets light up Cavaliers

By Andy Bitter

Published: March 13, 2008

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Possession after possession, Georgia Tech bombed away from the 3-point line, unchallenged in most cases and unbothered whenever the Cavaliers managed to get within an arm’s length.
Virginia’s yearlong defensive deficiencies were on grand display Thursday night, and a 94-76 loss to seventh-seeded Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament’s first round seemed like an appropriate conclusion to a season in which the Cavaliers looked anything but the tough-minded, aggressive defenders coach Dave Leitao had hoped to develop.
“It’s happened a number of times this year for a number of reasons,” Leitao said of his team’s defensive shortcomings. “It’s upsetting and disappointing at the same time.”
The final stats were among the ugliest the 10th-seeded Cavaliers (15-15) have allowed this year.
Georgia Tech (15-16) shot 57 percent from the field, the 10th time an ACC opponent topped 48 percent against UVa this season.
The Yellow Jackets went
13-for-24 from 3-point range (54 percent). Of the Cavaliers’ opponents this year, only Xavier and Clemson — teams that beat UVa by 38 and 31, respectively — shot better.
And Georgia Tech, which plays second-seeded Duke in the quarterfinals tonight at 7, had balance, with five scorers in double figures, led by Anthony Morrow and Jeremis Smith, who both finished with 18.
“It’s just a mentality we’ve got to work on,” guard Calvin Baker said of UVa’s lacking defense. “I think we became more offensive-minded than defensive-minded. You can’t win games like that. We showed it today.”
The game might have been the last in the brilliant career of Virginia point guard Sean Singletary, who scored 20 points to go with 10 assists and three steals.
He had to work for that line, though. Georgia Tech hounded him all night. The deeper Yellow Jackets planned to run the Cavaliers into the ground, and the key was to make Singletary work for every inch on the court. They double-teamed the UVa guard on every inbounds pass and chased him the length of the court on most possessions.
It worked to a degree. Singletary reached double digits in assists, but he had six turnovers. Plus, Leitao was forced to be more judicious with finding time for his guard to recuperate on the bench.
“It’s very, very difficult to constantly have two people guard you 94 feet, set up the offense, make a play for yourself, make a play for your teammate,” Leitao said. “We didn’t get anybody else making plays for us. It really fell a lot on his shoulders today.”
For a while, Singletary and UVa were up to the challenge. The Cavaliers trailed 44-42 at halftime but quickly took the lead after the break thanks to the hot hand of Mamadi Diane. The guard came off the bench and hit his first seven shots (four of them 3s). He had 14 first-half points and made his first two shots of the second half to tie the game at 46.
Virginia seized a five-point lead, going ahead 56-51 with 14:26 left on a rare 3-pointer by forward Mike Scott, who had two in the game, matching his career total prior to Thursday.
But Leitao never felt comfortable.
“It was going to come down to who was going to string together a few defensive sequences that were going to allow you to dictate the rest of the game,” he said. “And we never did that. So once we were up five or down five or whatever the case may be, it was never a feeling that we were taking control of the game that way.”
Georgia Tech’s 25-8 run over the next seven minutes proved him right.
As the Yellow Jackets took off, Virginia’s offense stalled. Diane cooled, missing his next six shots to finish with 18 points. Singletary ran into defenders at every turn and couldn’t find room to get his shot off. He finished 4-for-14 from the field.
“It’s the end of a career,” said Singletary, who received a nice ovation from the crowd when he left the game in the final minute. “I’m sure I’ll play basketball again somewhere else, but not playing in the program and family we’ve built for three years. My time has come to an end.”
Maybe not, though. While an NIT bid is unlikely for a team that went 5-12 in ACC games, there remains the inaugural College Basketball Invitational, an additional 16-team tournament which begins March 18-19. Bids come out Sunday night.
Leitao, for one, wasn’t thinking about that Thursday, though.
“The only reason I’m thinking like that is because it’s not in my hands,” he said. “It’s not in my control.”