Cavaliers Survive Upset Bid From Cal

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London Perrantes set up Malcolm Brogdon for an overtime 3-pointer with this pass and then hit his own 3 moments later. ~ Mike Ingalls

For 44 minutes Tuesday night at the John Paul Jones Arena, No. 5 Virginia didn’t provide a lot for 13,265 fans to get excited about.

It took just 55 seconds however for Cavalier fans to go home happy for the holidays as London Perrantes’ 3-pointer with 12 seconds to play in overtime lifted Virginia to a 63-62 win over upset-minded California. The Hoos led for a total of 32 seconds, but still managed to grab their ninth straight win.

“Once he hit the shot, I ran up and hugged him,” Virginia forward Anthony Gill said of Perrantes’ game-winning shot. “I knew I had time to get back on defense, but I wanted to give him a hug real fast.”

“Well when I got hit I thought maybe it would be short, but I just put all of my legs into it,” Perrantes said of his game-winning shot. “I was tired from the game. I used all of my legs and it went in. I did not know for a fact, but I have been shooting the ball pretty well as of late.”

After trailing by as many as six points at 60-54 in the extra session, the Cavaliers flexed their muscles late and showed why they are worthy of their top 5 ranking. UVA (10-1) closed overtime on a 9-2 run, allowing just two free throws in the final 2:22.

“You just keep playing,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “I want to credit Cal for how talented they are, how hard they played, and how well they played. We didn’t start well – we had a hard time. We were a little impatient offensively and were not dialed in defensively. We thought we prepared well for it but we were not. In the second half, we started scrapping defensively.”

The Hoos needed to scrap to stay in the game. The Golden Bears (9-3) led by as many as 11 points in the second half – Virginia’s largest second half deficit this season – as the visitors looked like they were primed for a signature upset win, but sputtered down the stretch. Cal hit 1 of its final 11 shots in regulation and posted 9-of-21 shooting (42.9%) in the second half.

Virginia forward Isaiah Wilkins’ steal with just more than a minute remaining led to a Darius Thompson one-handed slam to give Virginia its first lead of the game at 52-50. That set a fire under the Cavalier faithful as the building was “booming” according to Bennett.

The Golden Bears weren’t done, though. Freshman forward Jaylen Brown, who scored a game-high 18 points, hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 52-52 and then had a chance to win the game on the final possession of regulation. UVA’s Malcolm Brogdon, however, came up with a clutch defensive play – similar to the clinching moment against Wake Forest last season – when he stripped the ball away before Brown had a chance to get a shot off.

“Basically just trying to keep him in front,” Brogdon said of that play. “He’s a really good player. I tried not to let him get an edge toward the basket and once I initially cut him off, I knew he was going to have to settle for a jump shot. I just tried to get my hand in his motion going up for a shot and strip it.”

Brogdon added a big offensive play in the overtime period to help get the win. Just before Perrantes’ final 3-point heroics, Brogdon canned a 3-point look of his own on Bennett’s patented ‘Box Split’ play that the head coach used a lot with former Cavalier Joe Harris. Brogdon’s crucial shot pulled Virginia to within two at 62-60 with 55 seconds to go to pave the way for Perrantes’ game-winner.

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Anthony Gill scored 17 points to lead UVA. He added 6 rebounds as well. ~ Mike Ingalls

Perrantes and Brogdon scored 10 points each. Perrantes added 6 assists and 3 rebounds to his stat line while committing 0 turnovers. Brogdon also had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Two other Virginia players scored in double figures, including Gill. He continued his hot play with 17 points and 6 rebounds. Freshman Jarred Reuter surprised many with a career-high 11 points while playing a career-high 16 minutes. He also helped with some solid defense on Cal freshman Ivan Raab, who scored just 9 points but did snag 12 rebounds.

The Golden Bears outrebounded the Cavaliers, 36-30. Virginia turned the ball over just 7 times.

While the Hoos did put four players into double figures, they had a tough start offensively and spent the whole night clawing back into contention. Virginia made just 4 of 22 shots in the first half, an abysmal 18 percent. That marked the first half with less than 20% shooting since the Wisconsin game on Dec. 4, 2013 when the Hoos shot 3 of 20 (15%). Cal grabbed an early 8-0 lead as a result, shocking the Virginia home crowd. The Cavaliers didn’t score their first point of the game until the 15:37 mark of the first half and didn’t connect on their first field goal until there was 14:49 remaining as Perrantes nailed his only other 3-pointer of the night.

The Hoos worked their way back into the game with defense down the stretch and much better shooting after halftime. UVA made 13 of 24 shots (54.2%) in the second half and 4 of 8 shots (50%) in overtime. The hosts scored 4 points in the paint in the first half, but poured in 20 points in the paint in the second half. That helped raise the Cavaliers’ shooting percentage to 38.9% for the game. Virginia did continue its strong 3-point shooting as the team knocked down 7 of 12 triples, including the two critical ones in the final minute of overtime.

The close game was just the latest test on Virginia’s non-conference schedule, which has included West Virginia, Ohio State, and Villanova as well. The Golden Bears provided a preview of what UVA will see come January when conference play starts as Cal boasts one of the most athletic teams in the country, and started two players at least 6’11”. Bennett’s team will face one last quality out-of-conference opponent before ACC play when Oakland comes to town on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Oakland led No. 1 Michigan State by as many as 15 points and took the Spartans to overtime on Tuesday night before falling, 99-93.

“You learn a lot in those games, we were fortunate to come away with that one [tonight],” Bennett said. “You’re trying to find out as much as you can – and not to look to far ahead because I do want to enjoy Christmas, but Oakland is one of the better mid-majors in the country. They’re a heck of a team.”

Final Stats