 |
|
Adrian Joseph matched his career high with 5 made 3-pointers. |
There’s an old saying that good teams find ways to win even when they don’t have their best days statistically. Virginia fit that description on Saturday. After all, visiting Florida State prevailed in the shooting percentage and rebounding categories, but the Cavaliers still came out on top, winning the ACC showdown, 73-70.
Saturday’s win improved UVa’s record to 18-7 and 9-3 in the ACC. The Cavs reached nine league wins for the first time since the 2000-01 season when they finished 9-7. This year, the Hoos still have four games to play and they are in the conference title hunt – Boston College, North Carolina, and Virginia Tech join Virginia in the race to the top.
“This time of year winning games is paramount; you’ve just got to win. One of our focuses coming into the game was not to lose two league games in a row. We did that once before early in the year. We don’t want to do that particularly at this time of the year,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. “We play it day by day and get as many wins as we can. I don’t think we played our best basketball, particularly offensively where we left a number of points out there on the floor and we were still a little shotty defensively. I don’t think it was our greatest game of the year obviously but again you find different ways to get things done.”
It isn’t too surprising that Leitao didn’t think his team played its best basketball. The Cavs fell short in the shooting percentage (40.3% to 37.3%) and rebounding (41-40) categories, two statistics that Leitao’s team usually finds a way to win. Take the rebounding line for instance – Saturday’s game was only the sixth time this season the Cavaliers have been outrebounded by their opponent.
Still, as Leitao indicated, the Cavaliers got things done elsewhere. They didn’t turn the ball over, giving it away just eight times against FSU. They made enough 3-pointers (12 to be exact) to stay ahead – thanks in large part to Adrian Joseph ‘s 5-of-7 shooting performance. They picked up six steals – including one near the midway point of the second half when Sean Singletary broke up a fastbreak with a deflection; that play likely would have resulted in a layup and a Florida State lead.
“It seemed like they went up, we fought back and there was one possession where we needed to take the lead,” FSU’s Jason Rich said. “They found a way to hit a big three or get to the free throw line. It seemed like we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
 |
|
J.R. Reynolds drops off a pass for a Ryan Pettinella layup. Reynolds had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. |
In other words, Virginia kept coming up with plays when it needed them the most. One of the biggest plays of all? That belonged to Joseph.
Florida State had climbed to within 62-60 in the final five minutes before Joseph came up with a cold-blooded clutch shot at the 4:07 mark. The Cavalier forward caught a pass in the corner and appeared to be sizing up another 3-point bomb as the Seminoles’ Isaiah Swann came running at him on defense. Joseph calmly faked and watched Swann fly by. One dribble later, it was bomb’s away for 3 and UVa led 65-60. Virginia put the game away at the free throw line from there.
“We have always had tremendous respect for him. If you give him those looks, he’s going to knock them down,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “He scored one in transition, and he hit two shots after pump fakes; he hit two threes and that’s difficult to do – to catch the ball while a guy runs at you, pump fake, and then knock it down. That’s a very difficult shot to execute, and he hit two of them. That just shows he’s an outstanding shooter with a high level of concentration.”
Joseph finished with 17 points on the day, matching his career high of 5 made 3-pointers. The Cavaliers also got a solid effort from Tunji Soroye , who had 9 rebounds and 5 points to match his season high. Will Harris and Jason Cain scored 5 points each as well, but really contributed on defense by making Florida State’s Al Thornton work hard for every shot. Thornton scored 30 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.
FSU’s star forward was essentially negated statistically by the Cavaliers’ outstanding backcourt. Singletary and Reynolds combined for 36 points, 14 rebounds, and 12 assists. Singletary had 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists while Reynolds had 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists.
(Make sure to pick up an Edge subscription for basketball season because The Sabre provides the best hoops coverage available. Please sign up for the Sabre EDGE. EDGE subscribers get exclusive analysis, photos, and more!)
