Mixed results in finales

By Andy Bitter

Published: March 9, 2008

Seconds later, Singletary, fresh off a 27-point performance that made him the fifth member of Virginia's 2,000-point club, received a standing ovation from the John Paul Jones Arena crowd in what was likely his final game in Charlottesville.

"It feels real good to win, senior game or any other game," said Singletary, who had his jersey retired in a pre-game ceremony. "Any kind of win I'm happy, no matter how we get there. The points and the senior night was just extra."

The Cavaliers (15-14, 5-11 ACC) had six players score in double figures to seriously damage the NCAA Tournament hopes of Maryland (18-13, 8-8), which has plenty of work to do as the sixth seed in next week's ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

The game had no bearing on UVa's seed. The Cavaliers enter as the 10th seed and will play Georgia Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

But Sunday night was all about Singletary, who turned in a typical all-around performance, with eight assists and six rebounds.

"It's hard to come up with more words, more superlatives for Sean," Leitao said. "He saved his best for last."

Singletary entered Sunday needing 25 points to join Bryant Stith, Jeff Lamp, Buzzy Wilkinson and Ralph Sampson as the only players in UVa history to score 2,000 career points.

The guard scored 14 first-half points and slowly closed in on the mark in the final minutes. A 3-pointer from the corner with 3:28 left gave Virginia an 80-68 lead and got him within two points of 2,000.

He joined the club three possessions later, taking a pass from Mamadi Diane on the fastbreak and laying it in with one hand when the Terps had cut the lead to seven.

Singletary put two exclamation points on the night, lofting up an alley-oop that Diane threw down after out-leaping teammate Jamil Tucker. He followed that with his 26th and 27th points on a layup after faking a pass to Lars Mikalauskas while driving to the rim.

"Especially in the second half, he was a one-man wrecking crew," Leitao said. "Offense, defense - he did it all."

Singletary's teammates made sure he went out a winner. Fellow senior Adrian Joseph, who was recognized before the game along with Tunji Soroye and Ryan Pettinella, finished with 13 points, as did Tucker. Diane added 12.

"They didn't say anything (to me before the game)," Singletary said. "But they're actions speak louder than anything they could have said."

Maryland shot 48 percent to take a 37-36 lead to the locker room after a back-and-forth first half.

But Virginia took a page out of the Terrapins' playbook in the second half, making it a point to throw the ball inside. The Cavaliers used a 13-4 run to take a seven-point lead, then went on a stretch where they got the ball in the paint on 10 straight possessions.

Mikalauskas, who finished with 11 points, scored six points during that span and made a nice dish out of the post to Diane for a dunk, one of his three assists. Minutes later, Tucker beat his man off the dribble and got an open dunk before Singletary's 3-pointer capped the 22-12 run.

Once Leitao got his time out with 36.6 seconds left, Singletary's teammates embraced him in a group hug before his name was announced as he walked off the court to a fitting ovation.

"There are a lot of people here, a lot of young kids who will remember this night and say, 'I was there. I saw Sean get 2,000 points in a great performance,'" Leitao said. "'I was witness to one of the greatest basketball players that this university, this league has ever seen.'"

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