March 9, 2001

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By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer

ATLANTA - Georgia Tech needed another victory to solidify its NCAA credentials. Alvin Jones made sure the Yellow Jackets got it.

Taking advantage of a team that simply had no one who could handle him, Jones led Georgia Tech to a 74-69 victory over No. 12 Virginia in the quarterfinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Friday.

The 6-foot-11 center scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked six shots as the Yellow Jackets made a powerful statement in their bid to reach the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1996.

"I know I'll sleep a lot better tonight," Tech forward Jon Babul said. "Winning this game will help us a lot come tournament time."

Of course, the Yellow Jackets (17-11) still have another tournament game to worry about. The No. 5 seed advanced to meet top-seeded North Carolina, ranked third nationally, in the ACC semifinals Saturday.

"We're not thinking about the NCAA right now," said reserve guard Darryl LaBarrie, who added 13 critical points for Georgia Tech. "We want to take it out of their hands. If we win two more games, we'll get the automatic bid and we won't even have to worry about the selection committee."

Georgia Tech won an ACC tournament game for the first time in five years and completed a three-game season sweep of the fourth-seeded Cavaliers (20-8).

Virginia simply didn't have anyone who could handle Jones, an All-ACC selection who lived up to the pregame assessment of Cavs coach Pete Gillen.

"He's a monster," Gillen had said.

Virginia lacks a starter taller than 6-8 but shied away from double-teaming Jones for fear of freeing up Tech's guards to shoot from outside. That was how the Yellow Jackets won both regular-season meetings.

At the offensive end, the Cavs tried to use their athleticism to get by Jones, but he kept turning them away.

"It was hard for us to get our shots over him," said Donald Hand, who was 3-of-14 shooting. "It seemed like everything we were throwing up, he was putting it back the other way."

Jones has been hampered by a cold and asked a couple of times late in the game to come out for a breather. But first-year coach Paul Hewitt wouldn't let him.

"No way," Hewitt said.

So Jones stayed in and helped Georgia Tech earned its seventh victory over a ranked team. This one might have been enough to get the Yellow Jackets off the bubble.

Hewitt was confident the Yellow Jackets would be part of the 65-team field if they could win at least one game in the ACC tournament.

They did, playing just a mile from campus before a tournament record crowd of 40,083 at the Georgia Dome.

After a sloppy first half, the final 20 minutes were thrilling with 16 lead changes and four ties. LaBarrie hit a 3-pointer with 1:31 remaining to put the Jackets ahead for good at 69-67, but it was left to Jones to finish off the Cavaliers.

First, he blocked an attempt at the tying basket by Hand. Then, Jones fought off a triple team to hit a basket with 49.8 seconds remaining that pushed the margin to four points.

Roger Mason, who led Virginia with 20 points, hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left, making it 71-69. Babul was fouled quickly after the inbounds pass and, as he strolled to the foul like, LaBarrie delivered a poignant message.

"We can go to the NCAA or the NIT," he said. "What are you going to do?"

Georgia Tech made only 9-of-21 free throws in the game, but Babul swished both of his attempts. Jones swatted away the Cavs' last gasp, a drive by Chris Williams, who fouled out going for the loose ball.

Teammates Travis Watson and Adam Hall already had picked up five fouls in a futile attempt to stop Jones.

"It was a good matchup for us because of Alvin," Hewitt said. "If Travis is playing against a guy he can exploit, he can put up some good numbers."

When the horn sounded, Jones stood at midcourt with his arms in the air until teammate T.J. Vines - more than a foot shorter - jumped into the big man's arms.

Hall had 14 points and 11 rebounds, and Watson managed 12 points and 11 rebounds. But Virginia could not overcome 36-percent shooting (24-of-67) and ran its ACC tournament losing streak to seven in a row.

"This team is capable of so much and we had our sights set on the championship," guard Keith Friel said. "That's why it's really tough to talk right now."

Nevertheless, the Cavs are expected to earn their first NCAA bid since 1997.

Neither team looked worthy of the NCAA during a chaotic first half. There were airballs, missed layups, a 3-pointer that caught the side of the backboard and a total of 22 turnovers.