Jan. 22, 2002
By KEITH PARSONS
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA – Travis Watson hit the go-ahead basket with 1:12 to go, and Elton Brown scored a career-high 20 points as No. 7 Virginia rallied for a 69-65 victory Tuesday night over Georgia Tech.
Tony Akins missed a tying layup in the final seconds for the Yellow Jackets, who lost their fifth straight game, and Chris Williams added two free clinching free throws.
Roger Mason Jr. added 12 for the Cavaliers (13-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their fourth in a row. Watson finished with 10.
Virginia took its first lead at 62-61 with 3:10 left in the game, and after Luke Schenscher gave Georgia Tech its final lead with a hook, Watson rebounded a miss to put Virginia ahead to stay.
Brown made one free throw for a 67-65 lead before Akins missed his layup.
There was two ties in the final minutes before Jermaine Harper’s 3-pointer gave the Cavaliers their first lead at 62-61 with 3:10 left.
Clarence Moore and Ed Nelson had 15 apiece for Georgia Tech (7-12, 0-6), off to its worst start in the conference in 21 years. The 1980-81 team finished 0-14, its second year in the ACC.
The Yellow Jackets couldn’t overcome bad games by leading scorers Akins (two points) and Marvin Lewis (seven).
Georgia Tech scored 10 straight points to break a 23-all first-half tie. Five players scored during the run, including Schenscher, playing for the first time in 12 games.
Schenscher, a 7-footer, was 4 inches taller than any Virginia player and made an immediate impact. Entering the game with 9:07 left in the first half, he had four points, two rebounds and three blocks in just 3 minutes. He had been sidelined since Nov. 28 with a broken foot.
The Cavaliers scored the final four points of the half to trail just 35-31. They had 11 turnovers before halftime.
