That’s not the way the Virginia men’s basketball team wanted to enter its annual exam break. After a six-game winning streak, the Cavaliers wrapped up Wisconsin week with two straight losses, including Saturday’s 75-72 setback at Green Bay.
In frustrating fashion, the loss to the Badgers on Wednesday hinged on poor offense – just 23.4% shooting – while the defeat against the Phoenix featured shaky defense – the Hoos allowed 51.0% shooting , a season-high.
“It means a lot for the team, for the program,” Green Bay guard Keifer Sykes said in newspaper reports. “To do it on this stage – where Tony Bennett is coming back and what he did for the university – when we are playing a high major team, an ACC team, it was just good to see all the guys rise to the occasion.”
Sykes proved to be one of the main culprits in Virginia’s defensive undoing. He finished with 21 points and 10 assists. He made 6 of 10 shots and 7 of 8 free throws. Sykes helped the Phoenix establish dribble attacks on offense, which led to too many easy looks at the rim as well as drive-and-kick opportunities. Green Bay made 7 of 14 triples as part of that offense.
Greg Mays joined Sykes with a big offensive night. He poured in a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Mays caught a back-screen lob for a dunk and used a shot fake to dribble in for a slam during the second half; the second driving dunk gave his team a 69-66 lead late.
Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon answered that play with a 3-pointer that tied the score at 69-69; that shot finally erased what had grown to a 13-point deficit in the first 4 minutes of the second half. That’s when Mays teamed up with Sykes to give the Phoenix the lead for good. They set a cross screen to pull Mike Tobey away from an upcoming on-ball screen, which freed Sykes to turn the corner. He drew the help and wrapped a pass around the defense to Mays for a lay-up. Jordan Fouse quickly added a steal and a lay-up as Green Bay took a 73-69 lead.
“We knew they were a good team and were going to make a run,” Green Bay coach Brian Wardle said in newspaper reports. “It’s a good thing we had that big cushion because we knew it was coming, but we made the big plays in the last two minutes to win the game.”
UVa didn’t go away quietly as Justin Anderson nailed a 3-pointer at the top of the key to make it 73-72 and the Hoos had a possession to take the lead on their next trip. However, Joe Harris missed a pull-up 3-point attempt. With a chance to tie in the final 4 seconds, Anderson missed a trey near the top of the key again and the Phoenix survived.
“We had to get a 3, and he got a good look,” Bennett said in newspaper reports. “I thought he did. It was actually a pretty heads-up play to pump fake and then clear, and he had hit one from kind of the same spot. I’m OK with that.”
Anderson finished with 10 points and 3 assists, one of five players in double figures for Virginia. Brogdon led the charge with 17 points and added 6 rebounds and 2 assists too. Harris and Anthony Gill – who helped start Virginia’s second-half comeback with some offensive rebound buckets – each chipped in 12 points, while Akil Mitchell added 10.
That all helped the Hoos finish at 50.0% shooting (23 of 46), thanks in part to 10 offensive rebounds. Still, Virginia had 14 turnovers and just 10 assists.
“We showed some composure and some fight to at least claw back into a one-possession game and have a chance,” Bennett said in newspaper reports. “I take my hat off to them. They took it to us early and they were the aggressor.”
