Toussaint’s Late Jumper Foils Virginia’s Furious Comeback, UVA Falls to Iowa 75-74
Tony Bennett said it best in the postgame press conference.
“It would have been a heck of a win.”
Virginia trailed Iowa by as many as 21 points, but the Cavaliers orchestrated a remarkable comeback effort and even took a one-point lead with 45 seconds remaining in the game.
Joe Toussaint made a tough jump shot with eight seconds left to put the Hawkeyes back on top. Virginia did not call a timeout and Kihei Clark drove to the rim, but his game-winning attempt was just off the mark and Iowa escaped John Paul Jones Arena with a 75-74 victory over Virginia in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Monday night.
Iowa came into the game averaging 97.2 points per game and having scored over 100 points in three of its first six games of the season. It was expected that they might score less than their average against Virginia, given UVA’s slow tempo and the fact that Virginia was the first major-conference opponent the Hawkeyes had faced all season. But, it certainly did not seem like Iowa was fazed by the UVA defense, as they put up 44 points on the Cavaliers in the first half.
In his first game away from Iowa City this season, Jordan Bohannon showed that his three-point shooting talent certainly travels with him on the road. Bohannon made four threes in the first half and finished with 20 points on 6/9 shooting from three-point range. Every time the Cavaliers lost track of Bohannon for even a split second, he made them pay with a long-range triple. Keegan Murray was just as much of a problem for the Hoos, as the 6’8” forward scored 11 of his 18 points in the first half, including a dunk to put the Hawkeyes up 40-19, their largest lead of the game.
The Cavaliers had largely weathered the Iowa offensive firestorm by making a few shots of their own on the offensive end, but they went cold for a few minutes and Iowa punished them for it. The Hawkeyes went on a 15-0 run, capped off by the Murray dunk, to make it a 21-point game with less than four minutes to go in the first half.
Those last few minutes of the half were crucial, as the game was in danger of getting completely out of hand for the Cavaliers. UVA scored on layups from Jayden Gardner, Kihei Clark, and Reece Beekman on three-straight possessions and closed the half on a pivotal 6-0 run to make it a manageable 14-point halftime deficit at 44-30.
Given Virginia’s slow pace, climbing back into games after falling behind by double-digits has never been a strong suit for the Cavaliers under Tony Bennett. The Cavaliers would need to continue to operate at a high-level on the offensive end and find a way to accumulate some stops on the defensive end.
UVA accomplished the first task by getting a few baskets from some unexpected sources.
Jayden Gardner is the team’s leading scorer, but he had not attempted a single three-pointer through the first seven games of the season. On back-to-back possessions, Gardner drained three-pointers from the exact same spot on the floor in the corner right in front of the UVA bench. Gardner led Virginia with 18 points and 8 rebounds.
Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, they could not help themselves back into the game on defense, as Iowa had an answer every time UVA tried to make a run. Jordan Bohannon made jumpers following both of Gardner’s threes to quell Virginia’s momentum.
At another point, Kihei Clark lobbed the ball to Kadin Shedrick for an alley-oop slam dunk to cap off an 8-0 run that got UVA within six points. But, Iowa responded again and built its lead back up to double-digits.
The other unlikely source of scoring for Virginia was freshman Taine Murray, who entered this game having recorded just 29 minutes played and four points all season. Murray made four-three pointers and scored 14 points, including 11 points in the second half to give UVA a massive lift off the bench.
A layup by Reece Beekman, who finished with 11 points, four rebounds, and five assists, made it 70-65 with 2:58 remaining. Taine Murray drained a corner three on UVA’s next possession to bring the Cavaliers within two points. After Filip Rebraca missed the front end of a one-and-one, Murray made another corner three to give UVA its first lead since the first minute of the game. John Paul Jones Arena was louder than it had been since March 2020.
Jordan Bohannon made his sixth three of the game to quickly put Iowa back on top and Bohannon raised a finger to his lips to quiet the UVA crowd.
Kihei Clark added to his long list of clutch plays on Virginia’s next possession, as he made a pull-up three from the top of the key to give UVA a 74-73 lead with 45 seconds remaining.
Bohannon missed a three on the other end and Taine Murray grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled. After everything Murray had done in his breakout performance to get the Cavaliers back in the game, he missed the front end of the one-and-one and UVA’s lead stayed at just one point.
Reece Beekman forced a held ball but Iowa had the possession arrow, so the Hawkeyes kept the ball with 16 seconds left.
Joe Toussaint took the handoff and drove down the right wing on Beekman. Kadin Shedrick came over to help and Toussaint elevated and hit a clutch fadeaway jumper over Shedrick to give Iowa a 75-74 lead with 8 seconds remaining.
Virginia elected not to call a timeout and Kihei Clark brought the ball up the court. Clark drove on Toussaint and put up a floater off the glass. The ball just barely glanced off the iron and bounced away. Kadin Shedrick picked up the rebound and attempted a last second putback but his shot was rejected out of bounds by Patrick McCaffery as time expired.
It was a heartbreaking finish for the Cavaliers, who showed some incredible grit and persistence to get themselves back in the game. Had the Hoos played just a little better in the first half and not dug themselves such an overwhelming hole, Virginia would have likely come away with the victory.
Instead, UVA’s four-game winning streak comes to an end and the Cavaliers fall to 5-3 on the season. Up next, Virginia welcomes Pittsburgh to John Paul Jones Arena on Friday night for an early-season ACC contest.
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