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Coach Dave Leitao was ejected after receiving two technical fouls at the four minute mark of the first half |
Following a near two-week break for exams, things didn’t go quite as planned for some Virginia individuals on Saturday afternoon against Hampton. Sean Singletary ‘s near school record free throw streak ended with a second-half miss. J.R. Reynolds missed double figures in scoring, and coach Dave Leitao was ejected from the game in the first half.
As a team, however, things went how the Cavaliers wanted following such a long layoff. They were tested for a half before imposing their collective will offensively and defensively on the way to a 91-69 victory against the Pirates; UVa outscored HU after the half, 49-33, while holding the visitors to 13-of-36 shooting.
“They responded in the second half and they went at us and played Virginia basketball,” Hampton coach Kevin Nickelberry said. “They got out in transition, they shot some threes on us, and got some second shots. … You’ve got to keep Singletary off the free-throw line … and we kept fouling him and putting him on the line. They played Virginia basketball in the second half and we just didn’t do what we needed to do to respond.”
While a continually growing Hoo lead took center stage in the second half, the first theatrics belonged to Coach Leitao, who became the first UVa coach to be ejected from a game since Terry Holland, who was dismissed on Jan. 14, 1976 against Virginia Tech in a 91-69 loss. It was also the first ejection of Leitao’s career.
After UVa enjoyed an early foul discrepancy, the totals started to even out with a handful of foul calls against the Hoos on the offensive end. Numerous whistles had drawn the ire of Leitao and finally one pushed the wrong button. Leitao kicked the scorer’s table and referee Duke Edsall delivered a technical foul, which the coach had been close to earlier in the game.
The real drama started after the T, though. Leitao, who clapped when the technical foul was called, started egging on the crowd by raising his arms up and down. He even turned to the students and sections behind Virginia’s bench with his arms waving, trying to intensify the booing that was already loud.
It worked.
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Assistant Coach Rob Lanier took over for Leitao after he was ejected from the contest. |
Unfortunately, it also caught the eye of referee Curtis Blair, who incredibly called a second technical foul on Leitao for the antics. It brought a slight smirk to Leitao’s face, followed by a long conversation with the officials as he slowly parted the court with an ejection. Edsall, meanwhile, wouldn’t go anywhere near that side of the building and even walked toward the wrong free throw line for the technical free throws. Assistant coach Rob Lanier took over the coaching duties after Leitao’s ejection.
“Before I talk about the game, I just want to apologize to the University for getting kicked out of the game and my actions that led to it,” Leitao said after the game. “Even though I’m demonstrative and I try to challenge everybody, it’s not to leave my players without some level of leadership. That’s not why I came here and that’s not what I’m about. So, to President Casteen, Craig Littlepage, my boss, and everybody included, I apologize.”
While Leitao’s day ended early, Singletary had plenty of chances to wipe away any frustrations from the streak-ending miss (he missed another later). Singletary had made 39 straight freebies when he missed; that is believed to be the third longest streak in school history behind Jeff Lamp’s record 48 in 1979-80 and Roger Mason Jr.’s 45 consecutive free throws in 2000-01.
Singletary finished with 27 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 14 of 16 from the stripe. The Cavalier point guard started slowly from the field, making just 1 of 5 shots before intermission. After the half, however, he picked up slightly from the floor as he knocked down four field goal attempts.
“I didn’t really realize [about the streak],” Singletary said. “It’s something that I been practicing a lot on in the offseason because when I had the surgery, I really couldn’t do much so I was shooting a lot of free throws.”
“I was still disappointed [with 14 of 16] because I don’t like to miss shots period,” Singletary added with a chuckle.
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Ryan Pettinella scored while being fouled on a play late in the game. He completed the traditional 3-point play. |
While much of the attention in the game was diverted by Leitao’s ejection and Singletary’s scoring, there were other key developments. At the top of the list: the play of Ryan Pettinella. He posted the first double-double of his UVa career against the Pirates with 14 points and 10 rebounds. As expected, he also was a bundle of energy, diving on the floor, battling in the paint, and really providing a boost against a team whose style of play was “ratty” in terms of Leitao’s description.
“He’s playing with a lot of energy and we really need that,” Singletary said. “That’s why he’s starting out because he gets a lot of offensive rebounds and things like that. He’s just a hard worker.”
Going somewhat unnoticed because of a below average shooting night was Mamadi Diane , who scored 10 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Diane added 11 rebounds as well. Reynolds, who finished with 9 points, added 5 assists despite foul trouble, and Adrian Joseph came off the bench to add 12 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists.
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