Liberty stuns lackluster Cavs

By Jeff White

Published: November 26, 2008

CHARLOTTESVILLE -- As University of Virginia fans trudged toward the exits, disbelief etched on their faces, the section behind the visiting team's bench stayed full.

Nobody associated with Liberty men's basketball wanted the moment to end, and who could blame them? Some 10 years after the Flames stunned U.Va. at University Hall, they repeated the feat at John Paul Jones Arena.

Liberty 86, Virginia 82.

Rarely has a U.Va. team played defense as poorly as fourth-year coach Dave Leitao's squad did last night, especially against an opponent from a mid-major conference. Liberty, of the Big South, shot 69.6 percent from the floor in the second half -- 60 percent from beyond the 3-point arc -- to stun the Cavaliers (3-1).

"Not to take anything away from Liberty," Virginia big man Mike Scott said, "but we know we definitely should have won this game."

The Cavs have themselves to blame. After closing 2007-08 with a horrid defensive effort in a loss to Bradley, Leitao and his returning players vowed to improve at that end. But Liberty (2-1), which starts no one taller than 6-5, spread out the Wahoos and carved them up.

"Embarrassing," said Scott, who grabbed 17 rebounds. "You say one thing and do another."

When the Flames weren't dribbling past Virginia defenders for layups, they were bombing in 3-pointers. Kyle Ohman made six treys for Liberty, and Seth Curry added four.

Yes, he's one of those Currys. Son of former Virginia Tech great Dell Curry and brother of current Davidson star Stephen Curry, Seth matched Ohman's 26 points last night.

"I think he has a chance to be one of the best players ever to put on a Flames jersey," Liberty coach Ritchie McKay said of Curry, who like his brother was passed over by high-major Division I programs.

Redshirt freshman point guard Sammy Zeglinski made six treys and led Virginia with a career-high 24 points, all coming in the second half. Leitao started a small lineup in an attempt to match up with the Flames, and guards Sylven Landesberg and Calvin Baker added 17 and 15 points, respectively, for Virginia.

But senior swingman Mamadi Diane, a team captain, went scoreless on a night when the Cavaliers desperately needed him to lead by example, and Scott didn't touch the ball nearly enough. The 6-8 sophomore took only four shots -- he made three -- as Virginia settled for 3-point attempts on many possessions.

The Flames led by six with 50 seconds left, but a 3-point by sophomore guard Jeff Jones pulled U.Va. to 81-78 moments later. The Virginia fans in the crowd of 9,263 dared to dream, and their hopes rose when Liberty threw away the inbounds pass.

With a chance to cut its deficit to one or pull even, Virginia got nothing on its possession, as Jones and then Mustapha Farrakhan missed from beyond the arc. The Flames then made 5 of 6 from the line in the final 30 seconds to pull away.

"Not acceptable," Zeglinski said of U.Va.'s effort. "We'll fix it."

Virginia plays its first road game Friday night, against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.

Contact Jeff White at (804) 649-6838 or .