UVa falls in CBI semifinals with disappointing defense

By Andy Bitter

Published: March 26, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE — Shortly after the last of his 27 points dropped in Bradley’s 96-85 win against Virginia in the College Basketball Invitational semifinals, guard Jeremy Crouch sat at the John Paul Jones Arena press room dais and spoke about how much of a matchup nightmare the Braves’ 3-point happy offense can be for an opposing defense.
UVa coach Dave Leitao respectfully thought that missed the point.
“Any offense has been giving us trouble,” he said. “Somewhere along the line, our defensive presence and attitude has not been there with any level of consistency.”
Bradley (20-15) shot 56.7 percent in the second half and finished with 11 3-pointers to end the Cavaliers’ season one win shy of a berth in the CBI’s best-of-three championship series.
“Our defense has been killing us,” UVa forward Mike Scott said. “And it showed tonight.”
Virginia (17-16) simply couldn’t keep up with Bradley’s offensive pace, despite Jeff Jones’ best game to date. The freshman guard made six 3-pointers and finished with a career-high 26 points, his best game since scoring 15 at Arizona in the third game of the season.
It was a less glorious finish for Sean Singletary, whose memorable career officially came to an end. The guard never found a rhythm offensively, missing 11 of his first 15 shots before getting some late buckets to finish with 17 points.
“You’re saying goodbye to, after 24 years (in coaching), one of the greatest people that I’ve ever meet,” Leitao said. “That’s very hard to swallow for me, because you can coach for 100 years and you may never see that again.”
Singletary wrapped up a career in which he was the first player in ACC history to reach 2,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals. He left the game with 48.2 seconds remaining to a standing ovation and the congratulations of his teammates, but he said he didn’t have many emotions.
“I told you before, I cried during the season. All those losses were tough,” said Singletary, a likely NBA Draft pick this June. “I’m good now.”
Fellow senior Adrian Joseph finished with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Mamadi Diane added 10 points, but as has been a problem all season long, Virginia simply couldn’t get any defensive stops.
Bradley broke open a 58-all tie with a 22-5 run midway through the second half. The Braves created mismatches on almost every possession, setting screens to get their smaller, quicker guards matched up against UVa’s big men.
The Braves, who had made the 14th most 3-pointers in the nation entering the game, didn’t scorch the nets (11-for-31 from long range), but they did manage to consistently get to the hoop for layups against Virginia’s defenders, who were always a step slow.
Worse yet, if those shots didn’t fall, Bradley still got to the boards. The Braves’ undersized lineup out-rebounded the Cavaliers 43-38 and scored 18 second-chance points.
“I put it all into one package,” Leitao said. “Rebounding is the same as defense.”
Crouch led the Braves’ attack, scoring 21 points after halftime and making five 3-pointers. That came on the heels of an 0-for-7 effort in the first half from 3-point land.
“I went in and washed my hands and just kind of tried to let it all go,” said Crouch, whose 27 points were two shy of a career high.
Does he always wash his hands after the first half?
Bradley coach Jim Les couldn’t help but interrupt: “He will now.”

BRADLEY (20-15)
Wilson 5-11 7-10 17, Salley 5-6 1-1 11, Crouch 9-18 4-4 27, Ruffin 4-14 0-0 11, Warren 3-8 4-5 11, Collins 3-4 0-0 6, Maniscalco 3-6 1-3 9, Austin 0-0 0-0 0, Singh 0-0 4-4 4. Totals 32-67 21-27 96.
VIRGINIA (17-16)
Tucker 0-5 0-1 0, Diane 4-10 2-3 10, Pettinella 3-5 0-3 6, Jones 9-14 2-3 26, Singletary 7-18 1-2 17, Baker 1-4 0-0 2, Mikalauskas 2-5 1-2 5, Joseph 6-7 0-0 15, Scott 2-6 0-0 4, Tat 0-0 0-0 0, Meyinsse 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-74 6-14 85.
Halftime—Tied 42-42. 3-Point Goals—Bradley 11-31 (Crouch 5-12, Ruffin 3-9, Maniscalco 2-3, Warren 1-4, Wilson 0-3), Virginia 11-27 (Jones 6-8, Joseph 3-4, Singletary 2-6, Baker 0-2, Tucker 0-3, Diane 0-4). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Bradley 43 (Salley 10), Virginia 38 (Diane 8). Assists—Bradley 17 (Ruffin 8), Virginia 16 (Singletary 8). Total Fouls—Bradley 14, Virginia 20. A—5,852.