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Two things have quickly become trademarks of Dave Leitao’s Virginia teams: defense and rebounding. Both proved critical – and rewarding – in the Cavaliers’ first ACC home game. UVa held Clemson to 39.7-percent shooting and out rebounded the Tigers 39-21 en route to the first ACC win for Leitao. Virginia prevailed 64-58 on Saturday, drawing a thunderous and appreciative ovation from the University Hall faithful of 8,279.
Leitao was happy to get the conference win, particularly because of the attitude his team portrayed in getting the victory.
“Cherish them, because as I learned today, they don’t come easy,” Leitao said of the ACC win.
“The best way to describe our guys today is resilient,” Leitao added. “What we wanted to do was to try to keep them off balance, because they’re a very good rhythm team, try to disrupt their rhythm. Just changing defenses I thought was a pretty good thing for us and caused them to miss a few shots, and we did a good job on the backboards.”
Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said he thought rebounding was the biggest key. The Cavaliers allowed only 10 offensive rebounds to the Tigers, who came into the game as a solid rebounding team (they out rebounded their opponent in 11 of 14 games coming in), had been strong on the offensive glass throughout the season. In fact just days earlier, CU defeated Florida State 61-55 thanks to a big rebounding advantage. In that Wednesday game, Clemson held a 42-28 rebounding edge and a 16-7 advantage in O-boards.
“The major reason we struggled all night, from the opening tap, was the backboards. Part of it was because we were so small out there [with the lineups we used] and part of that was because we weren’t boxing out on the weak side at all. Because of the rebounding, we found ourselves behind all night,” Purnell said. “We haven’t been beaten that badly on the boards all year long.”
Playing key roles for the Hoos were Adrian Joseph , Jason Cain, Tunji Soroye , J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary , all of who started the game. Joseph and Singletary led the way offensively. Joseph finished with 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Singletary was dynamic off the dribble en route to 17 points and 6 assists. Singletary also hit the go-ahead shot in the final moments as Virginia retook the lead and closed out the Tigers.
Reynolds also had a good game despite shooting struggles (3 of 12). He closed with 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. Cain and Soroye, meanwhile, provided the inside presence the Cavaliers have been seeking. Cain posted 12 points and 9 rebounds; he went 4 of 9 from the field and 4 of 6 from the free-throw line, including several key freebies late. Soroye was a defensive force with 4 blocks and 5 rebounds; he also was a key screener on several baskets for the Hoos.
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“Joseph hurt us bad. He hit at least three open jump shots that really hurt us. I remember one out of bounds play where he hit a big basket,” Purnell said. “He hurt us. He was solid, didn’t make mistakes, made big shots [and] some big free throws.”
The game was decided in the late moments after the teams swapped a pair of second-half runs. First, the Cavs streaked to a 7-2 edge for a 52-42 lead. That was followed by Clemson’s 11-0 run to jump on top at 53-52. Then the late-game showdown took hold. Virginia responded with a determined effort in the final 4:00 to get the win.
“Today there was an energy level that was sustained,” Leitao said. “It wasn’t here and there. We’ve had good halves like we did today. There was a stretch at the beginning of the second half and then when Clemson came back after being down 52-42, when we were a little flat, a little fatigued, but I thought the guys did a great job maintaining, not only their poise but their resiliency.”
Much of the late-game damage for the Cavaliers was done at the free-throw line. Cain hit 3 of 4 free throws in a 2-minute span to pull Virginia out of its 53-52 deficit and into a 55-53 lead. Both trips to the line for Cain were created by drive-and-dish plays from Singletary and Reynolds.
Clemson’s Cliff Hammonds answered that mini-spurt from the Cavs with a traditional 3-point play at 1:33. On the play, Hammonds drove the left side of the lane and banked in a shot while running over Cain, who was called for the block. The free throw made the score 56-55.
That’s when Singletary took matters into his own hands. With 1:11 to play, the Cavalier point guard drove hard into the paint, freed himself from CU’s Vernon Hamilton and sank a 15-foot jumper that gave UVa a 57-56 lead it would not relinquish. The Cavaliers came up with a couple of defensive stops in the final minute and made several free throws down the stretch for the 64-58 win.
“[Singletary] got a little sloppy in taking care of the ball, but again he made a big three and then a big pull-up 15-footer, which speaks to who he is, that he could be resilient enough and bounce back,” Leitao said.
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Posted in Article, Basketball
