Cavaliers Win Their ACC Opener

Virginia Coach Dave Leitao thought he saw a weakness in Georgia Tech's game -- free throw shooting -- and he was right.

Calvin Baker scored with 10 seconds remaining in overtime to break a tie and help Virginia to an 88-84 victory over Georgia Tech last night in Atlanta in the ACC opener for both teams.

Mike Scott added two free throws with two seconds left for Virginia (6-4, 1-0 ACC).

The Yellow Jackets could have won the game if they had converted free throws. Georgia Tech made only 16 of 33 (48.5 percent). Virginia, meanwhile, hit on 17 of 22 (77 percent).

"We felt that was one area we could take advantage of," said Leitao, adding that late in the game, "We tried to get them to the line."

"Obviously, free throw shooting was a problem," Georgia Tech Coach Paul Hewitt said. "We let one get away tonight."

Georgia Tech's Gani Lawal stole a pass and scored with 15 seconds left to tie the score at 84 in overtime.

Sylven Landesberg led Virginia with 26 points. Jamil Tucker added 15, Baker had 13 and Mustapha Farrakhan had a season-high 12 off the bench.

"They made some runs, we made some runs and the last two minutes before overtime, with the game hanging in the balance, some of our guys stepped up," Leitao said. "To finish it off in overtime was huge."

Lawal led the Yellow Jackets (7-4, 0-1) with 21 points. Lewis Clinch and Iman Shumpert added 18 points each.

Tucker hit a three-point basket for Virginia with 14.7 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 74. Georgia Tech's Shumpert missed a 15-foot jumper with two seconds remaining to send it to overtime.

The Yellow Jackets fell to 2-7 in ACC openers under Hewitt.

Virginia had lost 12 of its previous 13 ACC openers before yesterday.

· NORTH CAROLINA 97, RUTGERS 75: Tyler Hansbrough had 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the No. 1 Tar Heels won their school-record 12th straight double-figure victory.

Ty Lawson added 19 points for North Carolina (12-0) which shot 51.5 percent at home.

The Tar Heels surpassed the previous mark of consecutive blowouts set by the 1992-93 team that went on to win the national championship. No opponent has come within 15 points of these Tar Heels.

Freshman Mike Rosario scored 26 points for Rutgers (9-4).

· PURDUE 59, VALPARAISO 45: In West Lafayette, Ind., E'Twaun Moore scored 14 points to help the No. 10 Boilermakers (11-2) post their sixth consecutive victory.

Urule Igbavboa and Jake Diebler each scored 13 points for Valparaiso (3-9), which has lost five in a row.

· UCLA 78, LOUISIANA TECH 55: Josh Shipp returned from a two-game absence to score 16 points, and the 13th-ranked Bruins (10-2) never trailed in beating outmanned Louisiana Tech in Los Angeles.

Freshman guard Jrue Holiday added 12 points, a career-high 10 rebounds and 5 assists for UCLA which led by 20 points at halftime. The Bruins have won six in a row by an average of 26.3 points.

UCLA played without freshman guard Malcolm Lee, who injured his left knee in practice Friday. He will be re-examined tomorrow. Shipp said he wasn't bothered by the sprained ligament in his thumb which caused him to miss two games.

Magnum Rolle led Louisiana Tech (6-7) with a career-high 17 points and seven rebounds.

· MINNESOTA 82, HIGH POINT 56: In Minneapolis, Ralph Sampson III scored a career-high 17 points to lead the No. 23 Golden Gophers (12-0) to their best start in 60 seasons. Eugene Harris led High Point (4-8) with 18 points.

Late Saturday

Maurice Joseph scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures, lifting Vermont to an 83-72 win over George Washington on Saturday night in Honolulu.

The Catamounts (7-3) led throughout the game in the first round of the Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic.

Vermont led by 14 points with 12 minutes 33 seconds to play after Marqus Blakely hit a mid-range jumper off an assist from Joey Accaoui to make it 55-41.

Rob Diggs led the Colonials (6-3) with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

George Washington pulled within five points on Damian Hollis's turnaround banker to make it 70-65 with 3:57 to play.

But Vermont's Garvey Young answered with a three-pointer and the Colonials could get no closer. Vermont outrebounded George Washington 37-30.