Cavalier Comeback Keeps Season Alive

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Pete Gillen lives to coach another day.

J.R. Reynolds made five 3-pointers and scored 32 points.

Showing “courage and confidence and togetherness,” as Gillen described it, the Cavaliers – not exactly known for those attributes this season – overcame an eight-point deficit in the final 10 minutes and defeated Miami 66-65 in the first round of the ACC men’s basketball tournament tonight at MCI Center. Gillen jumped into the air and raised his arms when Hurricane guard Anthony Harris ‘s 3-pointer bounced off the rim at the end, knowing his coaching career wasn’t quite over yet.

“I’m excited about every game. I’m excited when we win at dominoes,” Gillen said. “I’m emotional. I cry when supermarkets open.”

Virginia, the #11 seed, snapped its five-game losing streak and advanced to Friday night’s quarterfinal against #3 seed Duke. Tipoff is at 9:30 p.m. If the Wahoos (14-14) win, they will be eligible for the NIT.

Miami (16-12), with its fifth loss in six games, will probably end up in the NIT.

J.R. Reynolds broke out of his shooting slump with a career-high 32 points – 16 in each half – and carried the Cavalier offense. He made four of his five 3-pointers in the first half, then attacked the basket and drew fouls in the second.

“Coming into the game, I was struggling a little bit,” said Reynolds, who went 0 for 6 in the regular-season finale at Florida State but went 10 for 14 tonight. “But my coaches believed in me. My teammates believed in me. When I made a few shots, I got in a rhythm and my teammates did a great job of getting me the ball.”

Reynolds led the comeback after Virginia fell behind 53-45 with less than 10 minutes to go. He made two layups and three free throws to cut the deficit to two. Devin Smith, who missed eight of his first nine shots, then drained a 3-pointer to give UVa a 62-61 lead with 2:25 remaining. Sean Singletary hit a leaner and a free throw to push the margin to four.

Devin Smith had a rough game but made the go-ahead shot.

The Hurricanes made just one field goal in the final 10 minutes, but they still supplied some drama at the end. Guillermo Diaz, who led Miami with 20 points, hit four straight foul shots to make it 66-65 with 22 seconds left.

On the ensuing inbounds pass, Reynolds lobbed the ball to Smith, but Miami’s Anthony King stole it near the foul line and the Canes called timeout. Diaz ran down the clock, penetrated and passed to Harris, who was wide open in the left corner. But his shot missed, giving Virginia its seventh victory by two points or less this season.

“I’m proud of the kids,” Gillen said. “I thought they played very hard and refused to lose.”

Besides Reynolds, no one scored in double figures for Virginia. Elton Brown had nine points and seven rebounds, while Singletary had eight points and five assists.

Miami’s trio of dynamic guards – Diaz, Harris and Robert Hite – combined for 41 points on 11-of-41 shooting. They scored 62 points in a 91-80 win at University Hall on Jan. 12. This time Gillen decided to use a triangle-and-two defense against Diaz and Hite, the No. 2 and 3 scorers in the ACC.

“Simply put, we didn’t want Hite or Diaz to beat us,” Gillen said.

The Hurricanes didn’t make a single shot longer than five feet for the first 13 minutes and ended up shooting 31.3% for the game. But they stayed in contention by dominating the glass. They outrebounded Virginia 47-33 and pulled down 22 offensive boards.

The Cavs led 17-8 after 10 minutes but fell behind 34-30 at the half when Miami made four 3-pointers and Diaz hit two foul shots with 0.1 seconds left after a questionable foul call on Reynolds near midcourt.

The Canes went up by nine early in the second half, but Virginia staved off elimination with a spirited rally fueled by Reynolds and a partisan crowd here in Washington. The fans also figure to be rooting for Virginia against Duke, which beat the ‘Hoos 80-66 in Durham on Jan. 16.

“It’s going to be a tough battle tomorrow,” Reynolds said, “but we’re going to come in ready to play.”