 |
|
Devin Smith had 23 points, four 3s and eight rebounds. |
RICHMOND – Virginia’s run-and-gun, sweet-shooting, helter-skelter game against Auburn on Friday night was the polar opposite of its walk-it-up, stuck-in-quicksand snoozer at Northwestern two days before in every respect but one: The result.
Led by Sean Singletary and Devin Smith, the 24th-ranked and still-unbeaten Cavaliers won another close one, outgunning the Tigers 89-87 in an exciting offensive spectacle at the Siegal Center. That came on the heels of Wednesday’s 48-44 victory over the Wildcats that was played at an entirely different tempo.
“I think it’s a great sign,” Smith said. “We showed we could win a halfcourt game, then tonight we showed we can win a running game.”
The Wahoos (6-0) won their first five games by relying primarily on defense and rebounding. That wasn’t the formula for success Friday. The Tigers, despite playing nobody taller than 6-6, outrebounded Virginia by one. They also shot 53 percent from the field, including 48 percent from 3-point range, and freshman guard Toney Douglas scored 33 points.
The Cavs prevailed by shooting just as well as Auburn, avoiding turnovers (just eight for the game) and making a few more big plays down the stretch. Singletary and Smith combined for 48 points – the team’s total against Northwestern – while making 18 of 30 shots. Elton Brown had 17 points and J.R. Reynolds delivered 12 points and five assists despite persistent cramps in both calves.
“We had trouble guarding them man-to-man with our two big guys and when we went zone they carved it up,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen, whose team had not given up more than 60 points in a game this season. “We’re fortunate offensively we were able to score because we couldn’t stop them.”
 |
|
Singletary scored 25 points and grabbed seven boards. |
Unlike Wednesday’s win, in which every possession was precious, no lead was safe Friday. Virginia scored the first 11 points and surged to a 17-3 advantage in the first five minutes. But the Tigers stormed back behind Douglas, who scored nine points in the next two minutes and had 19 in the first half. Auburn went on a 19-5 run to erase its deficit and led 44-38 at the break.
“They have great shooters,” Brown said. “They weren’t missing anything.”
The Cavaliers didn’t miss much either. Auburn went 13 for 27 from behind the arc, while Virginia made 10 of 21. Smith swished four 3-pointers and Singletary and Reynolds each drained three. Singletary asserted himself in the second half. He scored 15 of his 25 points in the final 13 minutes, hitting some tough shots under pressure and drawing fouls to get to the line. He had eight points in a late 10-5 run that gave UVa the lead for good.
“I thought Sean was great. I thought he played a terrific game. He was aggressive,” Gillen said. “The other night, I talked to him. He was a little tentative, a little hesitant. He admitted he was a little nervous, which is natural. He’s a freshman playing on national TV.”
The game featured two of the nation’s best freshmen guards in Singletary and Douglas, a Parade All-American who scored 38 points in his third college game against Nicholls State. He was on pace for the same kind of night at halftime, when Gary Forbes asked Gillen if he could guard Douglas.
“He was killing us in the first half,” Forbes said. “I wanted to do whatever I could to slow him down.”
 |
|
Elton Brown scored 17 points and also had one big assist. |
Douglas still scored 14 points in the second half, but Forbes blocked one of his shots and pressured Douglas into dribbling the ball off his foot at midcourt with just under three minutes left. On the next possession, Smith buried a 3-pointer from the left corner to give Virginia an 84-78 lead. The assist went to Brown, who bounced a nice pass to Smith from the right block.
“I was surprised. I thought Elton had a layup,” Smith said. “Usually when Elton has a layup, he doesn’t pass the ball.”
The Cavs still had to sweat it out several times in the final minutes. Nathan Watson swished a 3-pointer for Auburn to make it 84-81, and Douglas and point guard Ian Young each missed 3-pointers that could have tied the game. Two free throws by Reynolds pushed the lead back to five with 29 seconds left. Reynolds and Singletary smiled as they each made one of two foul shots on the next two possessions.
“What I was upset about is we have some young players who were celebrating with 45 seconds to go,” Gillen said. “The game wasn’t over.”
No, it wasn’t. Up 89-84, Singletary made a foolish foul, putting Young on the line with 3.8 seconds remaining. Young made the first free throw and missed the second. Quinnel Brown rebounded for Auburn and scored while getting fouled. Down 89-87 with 1.7 seconds left, the Tigers needed another basket, so Brown intentionally missed the foul shot. Fortunately, the ball was tipped toward midcourt, preserving the victory.
“I think we’ll learn from that,” Reynolds said. “You have to stay focused the whole game.”
(For complete coverage of the Cavaliers, please sign up for Sabre Edge. Edge subscribers can listen to postgame audio of Coach Gillen, Auburn coach Jeff Lebo, Sean Singletary , Devin Smith and J.R. Reynolds.)
