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J.R. Reynolds scored 30 points against the Terrapins. |
With less than 2 minutes remaining Sunday, it seemed as if University Hall had one last regular-season hoorah up its old sleeve. After all, Virginia had rallied back from an 18-point second-half deficit to take the lead and the hosts had possession of the ball. In a matter of moments, however, everything changed. UVa missed a shot, Maryland hit a 3-pointer in transition, and the Terrapins spoiled the party with a 71-70 victory over the Cavaliers despite 30 points from J.R. Reynolds.
Those few seconds provided a bittersweet end for the final regular-season game in University Hall, which closes its doors as the home of men’s and women’s basketball after 41 years. That didn’t stop the fans in attendance from giving the Cavaliers – both past and present – an endearing farewell in the postgame ceremonies.
Speaking with the media after the game, Virginia coach Dave Leitao said it was hard to put it all in perspective in such a short amount of time.
“Obviously, it’s an extremely emotional time for me, both good and bad, to understand it exactly in the present and try to figure out from a basketball standpoint the whys and wherehows about today,” Leitao said. “Obviously, we’re disappointed. I don’t think that we played as well from a totality standpoint as we could.”
Statistically, UVa did struggle in certain categories, most notably shooting. Virginia shot just 36.5 percent for the game and just 30 percent in the first half; from 3-point land, the Cavaliers made just 7 of 21 attempts. Defensively, the Cavs allowed Maryland to shoot 49 percent. The Terps also racked up 21 assists, 9 blocks, and 7 steals to make life tough on the Cavs. The Terps have won 6 straight games against Virginia, including this year’s season sweep.
Still, the Hoos were in position in the final two minutes to pull off a remarkable second-half comeback. After trailing by as many as 18 points, the hosts put together a 24-7 scoring burst down the stretch to take their first lead since 15-13 in the first half. Sean Singletary capped the run with a pull-up jumper from 15 feet to make it 66-64 with 3:32 to play.
Reynolds and senior Billy Campbell, the lone participant in Senior Day, sparked the spurt. Campbell hit a key 3-pointer in the run and really turned the heat up defensively, while Reynolds kept the team going offensively with several timely baskets.
Leitao said there were two reasons for the second-half surge.
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Senior Billy Campbell hit both of his shots (two 3-pointers), including this one, Sunday. |
“Two people. It was J.R. and it was Billy Campbell. There was one instance where Billy Campbell pressured the daylights out of the ball and forced a turnover by going down and taking the ball out of [Ekene] Ibekwe’s hands. That really energized the rest of the guys on the floor. We had been in a fog previous to that,” Leitao said. “And J.R., as I mentioned, put us on his shoulders offensively, stayed out of foul trouble, and I think it just got the building into it. All of the sudden, we woke up, and started to believe and chipped away. We took the lead but just didn’t maintain it down the stretch.”
The team swapped points for several possessions to make the score 68 all when Reynolds, the undeniable star of the day, gave UVa the 70-68 lead with 2:09 remaining. After getting a stop on defense, the Cavaliers had a chance to make it a two-possession game, but after running the shot clock down, Singletary’s tough shot did not go.
Maryland streaked the other way, finding an opening on the wing against the Cavs’ unsettled defense. Mike Jones calmly drained the 3-pointer to give the Terps a 71-70 lead with 1:11 to play.
“That’s what I’m talking about [when I say that] a second late to this and a second late to that is really what costs you. Even that last basket that we gave to Mike Jones, it was just miscommunication for a split second between [Mamadi Diane ] and Sean and boom,” Leitao said. “Those are the things previous to this stretch that we had made our mark on: not making those kinds of mistakes because we were focused in, we were playing with an edge, we were executing. That’s why we were able to win those games that we won.”
Still, Virginia had chances in the final minute to take the victory. A five-second call on one inbounds play and a near turnover on another sideline play made it difficult for the Hoos to capitalize. On the last possession of the game, however, the hosts had one final opportunity.
Singletary dribbled the ball toward the right baseline in an effort to draw the defense. Reynolds came across the top of the key looking for a shot but was double-teamed as he caught the ball. He could not find another option and eventually put up a difficult heave from 3-point range that hit the iron, ending the game with a thud of disappointment.
“It was something we had used four or five times in the game that really worked. It was more counter movement because anything that we had going north and south to the basket or trying to enter it from the strong side was getting overplayed and crowded. So we thought that we would have a counter movement where we could send Sean on the wing toward the basket, draw help, and suck everybody down and allow J.R. to come off clean,” Leitao said. “Give credit to Maryland that they threw us off our rhythm. We didn’t get the ball up the court as quickly as I would have liked. I did not want to take the last shot because I wanted to leave time to foul and have another shot at it. … We had to scramble to get into our set and then run it. … I thought that we should have taken the shot sooner but to Maryland’s credit they threw us off our rhythm just enough to delay that.”
Reynolds said the shot felt like it had a chance to go in.
“It felt good when it left my hand, but it wasn’t a clean look,” he said. “It felt good but I don’t know what happened.”
That last shot can not detract from Reynolds’ spectacular performance in the game. He literally carried the team offensively in the first half and for long stretches throughout. In the end, the junior finished 10-of-19 shooting for a game-high 30 points. He also contributed 3 rebounds and 2 assists. Much of the production came with Singletary sitting on the bench in foul trouble.
Reynolds scored 11 of his points during the 24-7 run that gave Virginia the lead in the second half. He also scored the Cavaliers’ final four points.
“For a guy like J.R. to take the game and put in on his shoulders without his backcourt partner, that is truly an example of how amazing it is to be around this group of guys because he willed us back into that game,” Leitao said. “Obviously, the guys on the court and the crowd helped tremendously, but that is an example of what we’re dealing with in a lot of our guys and what kind of character they have.”
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