Monday, February 22, 2010

Cavaliers fall in another Monday night classic

Another Monday night, another exciting Virginia game. The Cavaliers' one-point loss to Maryland - "Timeout!" - was featured on the ACC's Monday night television showcase, and so was last week's double-overtime win over North Carolina. So when things got interesting between the Seminoles and the Cavaliers, we merely shrugged and said, "Here we go again."

Monday's games

No. 9 Florida State 59, No. 21 Virginia 58: The lasting image of will be of Ariana Moorer's 6-foot runner in the lane falling short at the buzzer and Moorer crumpling to the ground in frustration. But Cavalier fans should also remember - and celebrate - the 8-0 run Virginia engineered over the final two minutes, when the combination of Monica Wright's defense - aided by an officiating crew that swallowed their whistles - and clutch plays by Wright, Chelsea Shine and Paulisha Kellum lifted the Cavaliers to a brief lead in a game we thought had gotten away. Moorer shouldn't feel too badly about her last-second miss; the sophomore's play kept Virginia afloat in the second half when the Seminoles (24-4, 10-2 ACC) were threatening to pull away. Virginia fans shouldn't be too upset, either. After all, Florida State is really good. And if the Cavaliers (20-7, 8-4 ACC) can put up that kind of performance against that kind of team, it means they must be really good, too.

South Carolina State 63, Norfolk State 51: Thud. And so goes the Spartans' best chance to avoid going 0-for-the-MEAC. Of course, anything is possible, but only road games remain on NSU's schedule, and the Spartans (4-19, 0-13 MEAC) haven't won a MEAC road game since 2007.

Hampton 65, Florida A&M 48: Nice bounceback effort by the Lady Pirates (15-11, 10-4 MEAC) after Saturday's clunker at Bethune-Cookman. The victory was Hampton's ninth in its last 10 games, and combined with Maryland-Eastern Shore's victory over Morgan State and Delaware State's win over Bethune, it left the Lady Pirates alone in second place in the MEAC standings.

Liberty 65, Charleston Southern 55: Avery Warley and Devon Brown combined for 42 points and 22 rebounds as the Lady Flames (20-5, 10-2 Big South) beat the Buccaneers for the 27th straight time.

Coastal Carolina 62, Radford 50: The losing streak is now at eight for the Highlanders (5-19, 4-9 Big South), and a team that is 1-11 on the road will have to travel for its final three games.

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