Virginia Survives Boston College in Overtime, Advances to ACC Semifinals
Survive and Advance. No. 3 seed Virginia (23-9) is on to the ACC semifinals after surviving an overtime thriller against No. 11 seed Boston College (19-15) and coming away with a hard-fought 66-60 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2024 ACC Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Read our full game story here: All Hands on Deck for Virginia in Gritty Overtime Win Over Boston College
Boston College hit six three-pointers in the first half, including three triples from Claudell Harris Jr. in the first two and a half minutes of the game, and led by as many as 10 in the first half. Virginia clawed back into the game behind eight first-half points from Jake Groves and six each from Taine Murray and Andrew Rohde off the bench, but UVA still trailed 35-29 at halftime.
The Cavaliers gradually worked themselves back in the game and eventually took the lead on a pair of Jake Groves free throws with 29 seconds remaining. Boston College did not call a timeout and after Jaeden Zackery grabbed the offensive rebound off of a missed three, the ball came to Mason Madsen, who hit a stepback jumper as time expired to tie the game at 57-57 and send the last quarterfinal of the day to overtime.
Virginia bounced back in a big way in overtime, holding Boston College to just three points in the five-minute bonus period. After not making a single field goal in regulation, Isaac McKneely knocked down a huge three-pointer and then later assisted on a clutch three from Reece Beekman to give UVA a six-point lead. Claudell Harris Jr. hit another three to make it a one-possession game with 57 seconds to go, but Virginia answered as Beekman found Jordan Minor rolling to the basket for a layup. Minor then came up with a steal to seal the victory for the Cavaliers.
Jake Groves led Virginia with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double and Reece Beekman also tallied a double-double with 11 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds. Taine Murray was also in double figures with 11 points on 5/6 shooting.
Read Val's Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.
Virginia advances to ACC Tournament semifinals and will take on No. 10 seed NC State on Friday at approximately 9:30pm with a spot in the ACC Championship Game up for grabs.
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