Positions on Virginia's all-time scoring list are starting to roll by like highway mile-markers for Virginia senior Sean Singletary.

Singletary, who was in an 18th-place tie after three seasons, moved into the top 10 Wednesday with a career-high 34 points in a 70-69 overtime loss to Virginia Tech.

In the process, Singletary moved ahead of former three-year backcourt partner J.R. Reynolds and set his sights on Reynolds' fellow Roanoke native, Curtis Staples.

Staples, with 1,757 points, stands ninth on UVa's career scoring list. Singletary has 1,729.

That includes a 19-point effort Saturday night as the Cavaliers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 84-66 victory over Boston College.

"Singletary is who he is," said Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton, whose Seminoles (12-7, 1-3 ACC) entertain the Cavaliers (11-5, 1-2) at 7 p.m. Wednesday. "He just destroyed a very good Boston College team the other day."

In other words, Hamilton hopes that the Seminoles can shut down Singletary's supporting cast.

Singletary did a good job of keeping everybody involved Saturday night, passing up an uncontested layup to set up junior Mamadi Diane for a dunk. Singletary, who entered the game with a 1.32-to-1 assist-turnover ratio, finished with 10 assists and one turnover.

"Not only that, but he controlled the game," UVa coach Dave Leitao said. "He really did a good job of pressuring the basketball. He stole the ball six times, which means he had a real serious effect on the game on the defensive end, which is something we've been asking him to do more and more.

"His mind gave him 19 and 10, as well as his talent. He did a terrific job mentally, as well as he always does physically."

Singletary leads the ACC in scoring in league games and ranks first in assists in all games.

n Reynolds is scoring a team-high 16.6 points for Vanoli Soresina, which has an 11-5 record and is tied for first place in the Italian League's A-2 Division.

Reynolds is shooting 47 percent from the field, including 41.6 percent on 3-pointers, and 83.3 percent from the free-throw line.

Kinder gentler

The Cavaliers saw a more mellow Leitao following their loss to Virginia Tech, but Singletary cautioned reporters about reading too much into that.

Singletary said it was a good practice Friday that altered Leitao's mood.

"I don't think that I coached Saturday with any less vigor than I normally do," Leitao said. "I still yelled at some people and I was demanding, but what happens is, I don't yell a whole lot when we practice well, and that's consistent.

"As a result of Friday's practice, I think everybody, including myself, was in a much better frame of mind. It became a quote-unquote kinder, gentler version [of Leitao], but I think the guys have a lot to do with me and how I operate."

At the same time, it was Leitao who said the Cavaliers didn't devote two minutes of conversation to Virginia Tech after that loss.

"I was surprised actually, coming off a loss, at how calm he was," Calvin Baker said. "He wasn't angry. He wasn't punishing us. I think that really affected us in a good way. It showed he had our backs, no matter what."

Said Leitao: "I think it starts at the top. I have a tendency to bark and bark and bark. Sometimes you've got to smile. It's not been fun for anybody the last three weeks, so we just wanted to make sure that win, lose or draw, we changed our mind-set."

In football

The recruiting weekend did not end well for the Virginia football staff, which learned that coveted Concord, N.C., offensive lineman R.J. Mattes had committed to North Carolina State.

Mattes' father, Ron, was one of the stars of UVa's 1984 Peach Bowl team. ... Virginia also finished second for A.J. Price, a wide receiver from South Lakes in Reston who committed on his visit to Penn State.