Virginia Survives Another Close Call in 57-55 Win Over Notre Dame
At the end of the day, winning is all that matters. On paper, Virginia went 2-0 this week, so that should qualify as a successful week, right?
Well, it certainly won't feel that way for the seventh-ranked Wahoos, who failed to suppress any doubts this week by winning two games against the bottom two teams in the ACC standings by a combined margin of five points.
For the second game in a row, the Cavaliers were pushed to the limit in a game that shouldn't have been that close. This time, Virginia truly got away with one as Dane Goodwin, a near 40% three-point shooter, got a wide open look from three that would have won the game for the Irish, who came into the game with a 2-13 ACC record.
Instead, Goodwin's three was off the mark and Virginia once again eluded an upset with a close-call 57-55 win over Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.
Although the game overall was a low-scoring, slow-tempo affair with neither team executing particularly well on the offensive end, there was a brief stretch in the first half where a three-point shooting contest broke out at JPJ. Over a two-minute period, Virginia and Notre Dame made a combined five three-pointers in six possessions with each triple coming from a different player.
After the brief eruption of scoring, the Cavaliers settled things down and delivered a solid spell of sound defense, holding the Fighting Irish scoreless for nearly seven minutes. The only problem was, UVA also went cold during that time and failed to fully capitalize on the opportunity. Virginia did manage to go on a 7-0 run and built a lead as large as nine points behind strong first-half performances from Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman. Clark made all three of his field goal attempts in the first half and led all scorers with 10 points while Reece Beekman, who struggled on the offensive end in Wednesday's game at Louisville and didn't make a single shot, had a solid first half with eight points and three assists against the Irish.
Still, the Cavaliers didn't do nearly as much as they could have on the offensive end to built a sizable lead, giving Notre Dame a window back into the game. The Fighting Irish did just that, closing the first half on a 7-2 run as they caught the Cavaliers uncharacteristically napping in transition defense, allowing an open three for Cormac Ryan and an easy layup for Nate Laszewski. A layup from Marcus Hammond just before the buzzer made it 29-25 Virginia at halftime.
The Fighting Irish sustained that momentum to start the second half, putting together a 13-2 run spanning the end of the first half and the start of the second half. Notre Dame scored six straight points out of halftime, capped by a Laszewski layup that gave the Irish their first lead since early in the first half. Laszewski led all scorers in the game with 18 points. The two teams went back and forth after that as the game saw five ties and four lead changes in the first eight minutes of the second half.
Jayden Gardner helped to Hoos keep pace and eventually, stay in front, as he recorded eight points and eight rebounds in the second half alone. He finished with a near double-double with eight points and 12 rebounds. Then it was Armaan Franklin's turn to give the Cavaliers some separation, as he scored nine of his 12 points in the second half.
Overall though, Virginia's offense lagged well behind its defense in this game. Notre Dame gave the Cavaliers plenty of opportunities to build a substantial lead and run away with the game, but UVA simply couldn't score enough to get it done.
A three-pointer from Ben Vander Plas gave Virginia an eight-point lead with six minutes left, but Notre Dame responded with a quick 5-0 burst behind a three from Laszewski and a tough turnaround jumper from Dane Goodwin. The Fighting Irish made some tough shots against good defense from Virginia to keep themselves in the game down the stretch.
A layup from Kihei Clark made it 55-50 with 3:22 remaining, but the Cavaliers then went ice-cold from the floor, failing to make a single shot for the remainder of the game. Notre Dame's Marcus Hammond made a jumper in the paint and then knocked down a pair of free throws to get the Irish within one at 55-54 with 24 seconds left.
Kihei Clark was fouled and made both ends of a one-and-one to push it to a three-point lead, but Notre Dame still had a chance to tie the game. Virginia delivered a solid possession of defense and Ryan Dunn contested Dane Goodwin's three-point attempt well enough to force a miss. Jayden Gardner controlled the rebound and was fouled, but he missed the front end of the one-and-one, giving the Irish another chance to tie the game.
Gardner fouled Trey Wertz, who went to the line and made the first free throw before Mike Brey called timeout with his team trailing 57-55 with 3.9 seconds remaining. The ensuing play couldn't have been executed any better for Notre Dame to have a chance to win the game. Wertz perfectly missed his free throw off the back iron to send it high into the air. The scrum for the rebound sent the ball right into the hands of Trey Wertz, who quickly shoveled the ball to Dane Goodwin on the left wing.
Kihei Clark admitted after the game that he thought Goodwin's three was going in as it flew through the air. He certainly wasn't the only one in the building who thought that.
Goodwin had made two of his six three-pointers in the game to that point and came into Saturday's contest shooting 39.2% from three on the season. With a wide open look at a game-winning three-pointer, the statistics seemed to suggest that the Irish were about to pull off a stunning upset at the buzzer.
The Cavaliers got lucky. Goodwin's three missed off the left side of the iron and several thousand Cavaliers breathed a sigh of relief as the buzzer sounded, giving Virginia a nerve-wracking 57-55 victory.
Kihei Clark led the way with 15 points and four assists. His third assist of the game, a dish to Jayden Gardner for a short baseline floater, gave him 684 career assists, passing John Crotty for most all-time in program history.
Armaan Franklin had 12 points and four rebounds and Reece Beekman contributed 11 points, five assists and four rebounds. Both Franklin and Beekman had two three-pointers in the game.
Virginia made just seven of its 24 three-point attempts (29.2%) and shot 36.5% from the floor, hardly a recipe for success. Against a better team, UVA's offensive performance almost assuredly would have ended in a loss.
The last two games haven't exactly inspired confidence, but any win this late in the season should not go underappreciated. Virginia is now on a four-game winning streak and has won 12 of the last 13 games to improve to 21-4 overall and 13-3 in ACC play. Most importantly, the Cavaliers continue to hold serve in the ACC title race. A loss by Pittsburgh, who plays at Virginia Tech on Saturday at 5pm, will give UVA sole possession of first place in the ACC.
Up next, Virginia plays at Boston College on Wednesday at 7pm in Chestnut Hill.
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