After trailing by double figures in the final four minutes, the Virginia men’s basketball team scraped its way to the lead before losing a heartbreaker at Duke on Monday night. Rasheed Sulaimon bounced home a 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds to go and the Blue Devils held on for the 69-65 win.
UVa has lost 16 straight games at Duke.
“They showed great heart getting back in the game. We were a little sideways early … but I thought we really reeled it in defensively in the second half and made them work,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. “We got them to miss the shot, were up one, it was an airball, [Amile] Jefferson grabbed it and kicks it to Sulaimon. That thing bounced up, hung on the rim … that hurt.”
The Cavaliers (12-5, 3-1 ACC) created some unexpected drama in those final moments thanks to a rugged rally in the final four minutes. The Hoos trailed by as many as 13 points in the second half and by 11 when Quinn Cook made two free throws to make it 63-52 with 3:44 remaining. That’s when UVa uncorked a 13-1 run to take a 65-64 lead.
Justin Anderson kick-started the comeback burst. Anderson took a London Perrantes’ inside-out pass and knocked down a 3-pointer at the top of the key. After Duke missed a free throw, Anderson came through again as he tipped in a Mike Tobey miss while being fouled. Anderson added the free throw to cut the 11-point deficit in half in just 52 seconds of action. He finished with 12 points and 3 rebounds.
Moments later, the Hoos smothered Sulaimon near halfcourt when he picked up his dribble and Joe Harris stole his attempted pass. Harris drove all the way to the rim for an easy lay-up and a one-possession game at 63-60. Harris tallied 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals in the game. Duke tried to respond, but the Cavaliers kept them outside the lane and Jabari Parker missed a long 3-point attempt late in the shot clock.
UVa’s Malcolm Brogdon delivered the next two big plays. At 1:25 on the clock, he drove hard to the basket and scored the lay-up despite being fouled. He converted the traditional three-point play with the free throw; that tied it at 63-63 with the visitors on an 11-0 run. After Sulaimon made a free throw to give Duke a one-point edge again, Brogdon attacked the paint and returned to the line after being hammered. He made both shots at the charity stripe to give the Wahoos their first lead of the night at 65-64.
Brogdon led Virginia with 17 points and added 5 rebounds too.
“Coach always talks about being hungry, but be hungry for the crumbs – going after the little plays, the ordinary stuff, and not trying to make any home run plays. There’s no 10-point plays in basketball,” Harris said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. “That was kind of our mindset when we were facing a little bit of adversity there. The crowd’s against you, a tough environment, and you’re down 10 or whatever it might be. We just talked about going after the crumbs, to make the little plays.”
The Cavaliers couldn’t close out the comeback, though. The Blue Devils bounced back – literally – with Sulaimon’s 3-pointer. On the play, Amile Jefferson grabbed an offensive rebound and kicked it out to Sulaimon in the corner. Despite a defensive contest from Brogdon, Sulaimon’s shot hit the back of the rim, bounced straight into the air, and through the net for eventual game-winning basket. The Hoos had a final opportunity to flip the score again, but a final out of bounds plays resulted in a loose ball scramble and two missed attempts in the paint that seemed hurried from Harris and Tobey.
Sulaimon finished with 21 points as he made 4 of 5 triples in the game. Rodney Hood added 14 points and 2 assists. Jefferson, who put the game away with two late free throws, finished with 10 points, 15 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals.
“I take blame for that one [rebound] there at the end. I should have got my body on him and cleared him out of the play and let somebody else try to come in and get the rebound,” Harris said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. “He’s a tough player. He makes the little plays that help teams win. He makes winning plays. It might not always show up on the stat sheet, but he’s one of those guys that’s a glue guy. He’s resilient, he works very hard, and he makes plays like that at the end of games that helps the team win.”
Virginia trailed immediately in the game as Parker hit a 3-pointer on the first possession and it fell behind 8-0 in the first four minutes. That made the rest of the night a scratch-and-claw endeavor for the Hoos, who closed the gap numerous times but never tied the score or took the lead until the late rally.
That proved true in large part due to a poor shooting night and struggles to finish near the rim. UVa shot 38.2% for the game due to a particularly poor first half (7 of 23). Tobey and Akil Mitchell couldn’t convert near the basket on their shots; Tobey went 2 of 9 in the game while Mitchell made 3 of 7 attempts.
“I think this team is hungry. This loss stung. We came in expecting to win the game. There’s no moral victories for us or anything like that,” Harris said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. “We’ll take a day off and then start preparing for Florida State, who is a very tough team but we’re looking forward to going home and playing in front of our fans.”
