Cavs Find Their Legs, Finish Off Furman

“I’m always fresh,” said Gary Forbes, who scored 21 points.

Playing their fourth game in their fourth arena in eight days, fatigue may have been a factor for Virginia in its game against Furman tonight. The Cavaliers seemed a step slow most of the evening, allowing the pesky Paladins of the Southern Conference to stay close. But just when you’d expect them to be most exhausted, the Wahoos were at their most energetic.

No. 19 Virginia pulled away in the final 10 minutes, turning a tenuous two-point lead into a 15-point bulge before finishing with a 79-67 victory at University Hall. The Cavs (7-1) will now take a well-deserved 15-day exam break before playing Loyola Marymount on Dec. 23.

“We had to make it happen there at the end and that’s what we did,” said freshman guard Sean Singletary . “We turned up the intensity on defense and that sparked our offense.”

Gary Forbes provided a spark off the bench with 21 points, leading five Cavaliers in double figures. J.R. Reynolds scored 18 points, Elton Brown had 16, Jason Clark 12 and Devin Smith 10. Brown also grabbed 12 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season.

Jason Clark matched his career high with 12 points.

“It was like going to the dentist. It was painful,” said UVa coach Pete Gillen. “It certainly wasn’t pretty. But I think our kids showed some courage and determination and found a way to win.”

It was the end of a grueling eight-day stretch in which Virginia played at Northwestern, vs. Auburn in Richmond and at Iowa State before finally returning home. The only loss came two days ago in a wild, emotional game in Ames, Iowa, and Furman coach Larry Davis admitted that he hoped the Cavs would be both tired and overconfident against his team.

“Their players are human. I’m sure they looked out there and said, ‘Hey, this is Furman. We’re going to have an easy roll tonight,'” Davis said. “We bucked up and stood up to them a little bit. To Pete’s credit, he got them through the game and got them playing when they needed to.”

Davis said he felt good at halftime, when Virginia led 38-37 even though Furman’s best player, Quan Prowell, picked up two early fouls and did not score. The Paladins made seven 3-pointers in the first half, while no one looked sharp for the Cavaliers except for Forbes and Brown, who combined for 22 of the team’s 38 points. Singletary had to go to the locker room for treatment after injuring his left shoulder while taking a charge. Reynolds, who shot poorly against Iowa State, missed his first four shots tonight.

Things got worse early in the second half when Prowell scored seven quick points, including a 3-pointer and a breakaway dunk that gave Furman a 45-44 lead. Prowell finished with 14 points and got help from teammates Moussa Diagne (13) and Ben Earle (13).

J.R. Reynolds made four 3-pointers and a highlight dunk.

Gillen started sweating through his shirt, worried that his team was too fatigued from its brutal travel schedule.

“We could have lost. We didn’t have much left in the tank,” Gillen said. “Emotionally, physically, mentally, we were drained. Devin didn’t have any legs. He was on fire from 3s in Ames, Iowa, but he couldn’t make a shot tonight from the perimeter because his legs were burnt. That’s not his fault. He didn’t practice yesterday. He had three treatments in the hot tub just to get his legs ready for tonight.”

Still, Smith, who scored 40 against Iowa State, played a big role as the Cavaliers went on a 13-5 run, turning a 53-51 lead into a 66-56 cushion. Smith made a putback and two pullup jumpers, then Forbes drained a 3-pointer from the left corner. Finally, Reynolds got hot, making four straight shots, including a dunk on a fast-break lob from Singletary that brought the crowd of 6,972 to its feet.

“I was stunned. Sean alley-ooped him and I didn’t know J.R. could jump that high,” Gillen said. “But he’s a better athlete than people realize.”

Singletary missed all four of his shots and went scoreless for the first time, but his injury does not appear to be serious. He played 17 minutes in the second half with a shoulder harness and delivered six assists with just one turnover. “I’m fine,” he said.

Forbes picked up the offensive slack by making nine of 13 shots. He played a season-high 27 minutes and, unlike most of his teammates, looked ready to play another game minutes after this one was over.

“I’m always fresh,” he said, smiling.

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