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Feb. 15, 2002

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. –

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The Game
Virginia, ranked 15th in the AP poll and 13th in the USAToday/ESPN poll, stands at 16-6 overall and 6-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference this season. The Cavaliers are coming off a 73-63 victory over North Carolina (Feb. 12) at University Hall. Wake Forest, ranked 19th in the AP poll and 17th in the USAToday/ESPN poll, stands at 17-8 overall and 7-4 in the ACC. The Demon Deacons are coming off a 118-115 double overtime loss to Clemson (Feb. 13) in Clemson, S.C.

The Series vs. Wake Forest
Virginia led the all-time series with Wake Forest entering the 1990s, but the Demon Deacons have had the better of the Cavaliers the last decade and now lead the series 58-55. The Deacs have won 12 of the last 18 meetings and 17 of the 29 matchups since the 1989-90 season. The Cavaliers won the first meeting this season 86-74 (Jan. 15) in Charlottesville for their second consecutive win over Wake Forest. The two teams split the 2000-2001 season series with both teams winning at home. Wake won the first meeting last season 96-73 (Jan. 2) in Winston-Salem, N.C. in a matchup of two top 10 teams (UVa was ranked eighth in the AP poll and Wake was fourth). Virginia won the second meeting 82-71 (Feb. 3) in Charlottesville.

Virginia has not had much luck on the western end of Tobacco Road. The Cavaliers are 3-9 in the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum and 11-30 all-time in Winston-Salem against Wake Forest. UVa snapped a five-game losing streak to the Deacs at Lawrence Joel Coliseum with a 76-67 win in the 1999-2000 season (Jan. 30). Previously, the Cavaliers’ last victory at Wake was a 61-59 win on January 26, 1994.

Mason and Watson Earn All-District Honors From NABC
Junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., and junior forward/center Travis Watson are members of the 2002 Division I All-District 5 Team as selected by the members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Mason is a first-team selection and Watson a second-team selection. Members of the 15 All-District teams are now eligible for the NABC Division I All-America Team to be announced at the conclusion of the 2001-2002 season.

Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy and Jason Williams of Duke and Maryland’s Juan Dixon join Mason on the first-team. In addition to Watson, Lonnie Baxter (Maryland), Anthony Grundy (N.C. State), Josh Howard (Wake Forest) and Darius Songalia (Wake Forest) were named to the second-team.

Tough to Shoot Well vs. Wake Forest
Virginia has had a rough time on the offensive end against Wake Forest since the 1989-90 season. The Cavaliers have shot 46 percent or better against Wake Forest just six times in the last 29 games. All six games resulted in Virginia wins. The Cavaliers are 12-17 vs. Wake Forest since 1989-90.

UVa has shot 40.9 percent from the floor and averaged 65.4 points per game against Wake Forest since 1989-90.

Similarly, the Cavalier defense has been almost as stingy as Wake’s. The Deacons have made 42.9 percent of their field goal attempts over the last 29 meetings and have averaged 67.2 points per game.

Wake Forest topped 50 percent shooting from the floor only four times since 1989-90. Those games are-52.1 percent (25-48) in a 74-66 win on February 10, 1991, 55.8 percent (29-52) in an 81-64 win on January 24, 1996, 52.9 percent (27-51) in an 80-67 win on March 2, 2000 (the only time since the 1989-90 season Wake has eclipsed 50 percent shooting at University Hall), and 58.1 percent (36-62) in a 96-73 win on January 2, 2001).

A breakdown of both teams’ offensive performance since the 1989-90 season in wins and losses is below.

                  UVa                WFU                  FG%      PPG       FG%      PPGCombined (29)    .409      65.4     .429      67.2UVa wins (12)    .454      71.0     .401      63.7UVa losses (17)  .380      61.5     .450      69.8

Earlier This Season vs. Wake Forest
Virginia defeated Wake Forest 86-74 (Jan. 15) at University Hall for its second consecutive ACC win. Junior forward/center Travis Watson and junior guard Roger Mason, Jr., led the Cavaliers to the victory.

Watson registered his eighth double-double of the season with 20 points and a career-high 17 rebounds. He also made 10 of 11 free throws. Mason tallied 25 points and connected on seven three-point field goals, which is a career best. Mason scored eight of his 25 points after returning from the locker room after injuring his right shoulder with 16:01 left in the game (he re-entered the game at the 15:07 mark). Senior forward Chris Williams added 15 points and connected on six of seven attempts from the floor. Freshman guard Jermaine Harper chipped in with 10 points, five rebounds and two steals.

Wake Forest came out of the gates quickly, opening up an 11-point lead ( 21-10) 7:10 into the game. UVa used a 10-0 run to take a 32-31 lead at the 4:06 mark, its first edge since the opening basket of the game. The Cavaliers went on to take a 41-39 lead at intermission.

The Demon Deacons began the second half with a basket to tie the game at 41-41, but Mason answered with a three-pointer 54 seconds into the half to give the Cavaliers the lead for good. Virginia outscored Wake 15-6 in the first five and a half minutes of the second half to open up a 56-45 advantage. UVa’s lead grew to as many as 14 points (77-63) and never fell below six points (77-71).

Josh Howard led Wake Forest with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Broderick Hicks and Darius Songaila added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

UVa shot 49.1 percent (28-57) from the floor in the game and 55.6 percent (10-18) from three-point range. The Cavaliers also held a 37-33 edge in rebounds.

Watson Scores 1,000th Career Point
Junior forward/center Travis Watson became the 37th Cavalier and third this season to score 1,000 career points. Watson reached the milestone with a dunk with 33.8 seconds left in UVa’s win over North Carolina (Feb. 12) at University Hall. He concluded the game with 1,001 points.

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