Virginia Basketball Defeats Illinois 70-61 | Live Updates
The No. 16 Virginia Cavaliers (4-0) defeated the No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini (4-1) 70-61 to capture the Continental Tire Main Event Championship on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
See below for score updates, play-by-play, and live analysis for the game. Most recent updates are at the top of the page.
Read a full recap of the game here: Virginia Earns Gritty Win Over Illinois, Wins Main Event Championship
Final: Illinois 61, Virginia 70
Franklin draws a charge on Shannon to all but put this game away. Beekman leaks down the floor on the inbounds play and gets fouled as he tried to send in a dunk. Beekman makes both free throws and it's an 11-0 run to open up a 69-58 lead. Skyy Clark splashes a three-pointer from the left wing to put an end to the drought, but it's too little too late. Beekman makes one of two free throws. Illinois misses a three-pointer and the clock expires. UVA wins 70-61.
Virginia goes into Vegas and comes away with the Main Event title. What a win and what a weekend for the Cavaliers.
Final. Virginia 70, Illinois 61
Virginia gets a stop but then turns it over right away as Gardner throws a pass to the corner just as Vander Plas started to cut and the pass flies out of bounds. Dainja is called for an offensive foul going for a rebound and Vander Plas goes to the free throw line. He makes one of two and UVA leads by 5 points. Vander Plas plays great defense in the post on Dainja and forces a bad miss. UVA sinks the dagger on the next possession as Franklin drives down the lane uncontested for a layup to push the lead to seven points. Virginia gets yet another stop and Beekman hits both free throws. The Cavaliers are on an 11-0 run over the last three minutes. Talk about clutch.
Illinois 58, Virginia 67 | 21.4 2H
Beekman uses a great move on Shannon in the post and and scores with his left hand off the glass to push the UVA lead to 4 points.
Illinois 58, Virginia 62 | 2:12 2H
Caffaro is called for a foul while going for an offensive rebound and Dainja hits one of two free throws at the other end and Illinois leads 58-56. Gardner gets the feed from Beekman down low and is fouled. He makes the first free throw, but air-balls the second. Beekman steals the ball from Shannon and Clark sends the pass down the floor to Beekman, who finishes off the glass despite getting fouled. Beekman completes the three-point play at the free throw line, a huge momentum swing for Virginia.
Illinois 58, Virginia 60 | 2:46 2H
Vander Plas is called for a foul as he swiped Cole Hawkins, who goes to the line for a one-and-one. Hawkins misses the front end but Dainja works hard for the rebound, which goes out of bounds off of Vander Plas. Illinois gets a couple of more offensive rebounds and Epps eventually knocks down an open three-pointer to tie the game at 53-53. Clark turns the ball over and Dain Dainja cashes in with a dribble move to get past Shedrick for a dunk. Illinois is on an 8-0 run to take the lead. Vander Plas is fouled on a three-point attempt and makes all three three throws. Hawkins spins in the paint and hits a floater off the glass.
Illinois 57, Virginia 56 | 3:38 2H
Shannon euro-steps through the lane and finishes the layup. A hectic sequence unfolds with fast-break opportunities on both ends. Caffaro blocks a shot on one end and UVA takes it the other way as Beekman gets a wide open dunk - some very un-Virginia-like up and down basketball ends in UVA's favor. Ben Vander Plas is fouled in the paint and makes both free throws. Kihei Clark draws a charge, but for some reason the refs call it a block. Illinois takes advantage of the poor call as Hawkins knocks down another three-pointer. Vander Plas draws another foul and makes both free throws. Dain Dainja grabs an offensive rebound off of a missed Illinois three and lays it in. Armaan Franklin maintains his pivot foot inside and gets his floater to go after bouncing off the back iron. Franklin works around a screen and pulls up for a mid-range jumper. UVA doubles Dainja in the low post and Illinois works the ball around for Jayden Epps, who hits an open corner three.
Illinois 50, Virginia 53 | 6:05 2H
Kihei Clark is having a lot of success driving baseline. This time, he gets by Epps, who is forced to foul and Clark makes both free throws. Mayer uses some nice footwork to get around Shedrick for a layup. Virginia forces a few bad misses on three-pointers from Illinois with great defense and solid contests. Both teams aren't shooting very well, sitting below 40% from the floor.
Illinois 40, Virginia 43 | 11:29 3H
Terrence Shannon steps back into a mid-range jumper and knocks it down. Shedrick slips a screen and gets the ball down low for an easy layup. Coleman Hawkins fakes a handoff and fools Gardner and Shedrick, as neither tag Hawkins, who glides to the rim uncontested for a layup. Shedrick is fouled and goes 1/2 from the line. Illinois breaks down the Virginia defense and uses some nice ball movement to find Hawkins for an open three from the right wing. Reece Beekman has the answer on the other end with a pull-up three-pointer from the top of the key.
Illinois 38, Virginia 41 | 15:17 2H
Clark drives baseline and dishes to Gardner in the paint for a two-hand slam. Shedrick uses a great move in the post to get around Shannon, who is forced to pick up his second personal foul to avoid the layup. Shedrick makes both free throws and UVA goes in front 33-31. Beekman jumps a passing lane and takes it the other way. Gardner has his layup blocked in transition, but Shedrick is there for the rebound and dunk. Illinois calls timeout as UVA goes on a 6-0 run to start the second half.
Illinois 31, Virginia 35 | 18:32 2H
Terrence Shannon vs. Reece Beekman will be a matchup to watch all game long. Shannon gets the better of Beekman this time, drawing a foul, but he misses both free throws. Franklin pokes the ball loose and Virginia takes it on the fastbreak, eventually resulting in a couple of free throws for Jayden Gardner, and he makes one of two. Coleman Hawkins gets a very fortunate bounce as his three-pointer hits every part of the rim and the backboard before falling in. Reece Beekman is called for his second personal foul on a charge. Illinois takes a 31-29 lead into the halftime break.
Illinois 31, Virginia 29 | 0:41 1H
Terrence Shannon gets an extra possession for Illinois as he pokes the ball off of Vander Plas and out of bounds. Skyy Clark cashes in with the three-pointer. Vander Plas misses a three-pointer and then Sencire Harris is fouled on the other end, making one of two free throws. Gardner gets around Mayer inside and finishes the open layup. Gardner is hacked in the lane with no call and Illinois takes it the other way and Shannon passes to Harris for a transition layup. Beekman pump fakes out of a three and drives to the basket late in the shot clock, drawing a foul. He makes both free throws. Epps uses a nice hesitation move to get by Clark and drives to the basket for an easy layup. Gardner grabs an offensive rebound and gets the putback to go off the glass plus the foul. Gardner completes the three-point play at the free throw line to tie the game. Melendez cuts to the basket and gets the feed from Shannon, finishing the dunk. Beekman gets an offensive board and drives to the basket, finishing at the rim plus the foul.
Illinois 28, Virginia 28 | 3:30 1H
Epps uses a screen to find a lane and then hits a floater. UVA gets a couple of offensive rebounds on a single possession and Francisco Caffaro finally lays it up and in. Kihei Clark knocks down a three-pointer from the left wing. Epps works around a screen and hits another floater off the glass. Clark drives baseline and sends a great bounce pass to the corner to McKneely, who hits the triple. Shannon gets underneath Beekman on a back-cut and lays it in. Shedrick is whistled for his second personal foul on another offensive foul.
Illinois 18, Virginia 19 | 7:33 1H
UVA goes small with Ben Vander Plas as the tallest player on the floor. Jayden Gardner draws a foul inside and makes one of two free throws. Jayden Epps shakes Clark and gets inside for a layup. Isaac McKneely checks into the game. Melendez hits a catch-and-shoot three from the left wing, his second three-pointer of the game. Illinois takes a 12-11 lead.
Illinois 12, Virginia 11 | 11:37 1H
Kihei Clark splashes a corner three just 12 seconds into the game to get the scoring started. UVA gets a stop and then Clark gets loose inside with a fake and finishes the open lefty layup and Virginia takes a quick 5-0 lead. Illinois gets on the board as RJ Melendez hits a corner three. Kadin Shedrick is whistled for an offensive foul as he elbowed an Illinois player. The refs review the play and assess a flagrant 1 foul to Shedrick. Skyy Clark goes to the free throw line and hits both free throws to tie the game at 5-5. Kihei Clark beats his man off the dribble and finishes a reverse layup - he has scored each of Virginia's first 7 points. Matthew Mayer cuts backdoor and Shannon finds him for an open layup. Armaan Franklin has the answer as he picks up from where he left off on Friday night and drains his first three-point attempt.
Illinois 7, Virginia 10 | 15:24 1H
