Virginia Upsets Duke As Reece Beekman Nails Game-Winning Shot

Virginia won on a late shot by Reece Beekman
Reece Beekman uncorks the game-winning shot for Virginia. ~ Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Media Relations

Virginia guard Reece Beekman had hit a game-winning shot in North Carolina before, but his encore Monday night had a much bigger audience.

With his team trailing by two at storied Cameron Indoor Stadium in the final seconds, Beekman caught a pass in the corner and drained a 3-pointer to lift UVA to a 69-68 win at No. 7 Duke. Unlike Beekman’s buzzer beater to top Syracuse in the ACC Tournament in a nearly empty Greensboro Coliseum last season, this shot swished through with 1.1 seconds remaining and reduced a raucous crowd to murmurs. When the Blue Devils missed one final shot, the Hoos’ 10th ever win at Cameron proved to be a memorable one.

“That was Coach [Jason] Williford,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said of the final inbounds sequence. “Obviously trying to get a clean look. I can’t quite remember exactly how it happened. I don’t know if it was right off the play, but it was an attack and a play. Our guys kept their composure. You’ve got seven seconds and you don’t have to let it fly right away.”

“We had a set for either Armaan [Franklin] or Kihei [Clark] to get the shot,” Beekman said. “I think having Mark Williams on the ball for them, he kind of got lost. So when I came up, I was just kind of wide open. I didn’t know if Kihei was going to pass or if he’d see me, but he [saw] me again – this is the second time for the game-winner, seeing me, so just another big shot and I hit it.”

The game-winner wasn’t Beekman’s only crucial play down the stretch. After having his shot blocked with 1:52 to go, he pulled off a sneak attack steal from behind Duke’s Jeremy Roach and tied the game at 66-66. Combined with the final triple, he scored the last 5 points for the Hoos. That came at the end of a night where he battled foul trouble and sat for long stretches in the second half. When he got a chance down the stretch, however, he made the most of it and joined some legendary Hoo moments in the process. He finished with 7 points, 3 assists, and 2 steals.

Beekman had company in the key plays category. A lot of it.

On the game-winning shot, Kihei Clark delivered the assist. The only reason that opportunity existed? Clark tied up Duke center Theo John after he grabbed a defensive rebound that could have sealed the win with 10 seconds to go. The possession arrow pointed the Cavaliers’ way and they produced the winning play after a pair of timeouts. That final pass turned into Clark’s 9th assist, his high for the season and the 17th time that either he or Beekman had 6+ assists in a game. Clark tallied 8 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, and 2 steals with only 2 turnovers in the win.

The performance of Clark and Beekman helped Virginia finish with only 5 turnovers, which offset advantages for Duke at the free throw line and from 3-point range because the hosts had 15 turnovers. The Hoos posted 16 assists for approximately a 3-1 ratio.

Armaan Franklin rounded out a good night for the backcourt with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, and 4 steals. He helped UVA get off to a good start – something Bennett told his team would be important prior to the game – with 4 points in the first two minutes. He also had a 3-pointer with 2:18 remaining in the first half that gave the visitors their largest lead at 32-20.

Virginia won 69-68.
Kadin Shedrick slams home a shot for Virginia. ~ Photo courtesy of Matt Riley/Virginia Athletics Media Relations

With the perimeter trio scoring and dishing, Virginia managed to carve up the Duke defense whether it stuck with man or switched to zone periodically. That’s because the Hoos put together a strong performance in the paint where they piled up 52 points. It all added up to 47.7% shooting. That took on a lot of different looks, but Jayden Gardner, Kadin Shedrick, and Francisco Caffaro were the big beneficiaries.

Gardner knocked down 8 of 19 shots to lead the team with 17 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 steals. He knocked down some high post jumpers in key situations as part of that line. Caffaro added 8 points and 6 rebounds too. Shedrick, meanwhile, flourished in his home state. He poured in a career-high 16 points and 6 rebounds on 8-8 shooting. The unblemished line had several dunks, including one on a halfcourt alley-oop assist from Clark.

“They’re a team you need a couple of days to prepare for because they run their stuff so well,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “They have two really outstanding guards who don’t turn it over. Their precision with Clark and Beekman is one of the things that makes them really good and they carved us up. 20 of their first 22 points are in the paint. They had 52 for the game.”

The balanced offensive attack paired with a competitive defensive effort that made things tough for Duke’s talented roster. The Devils shot 42.3% for the game and struggled to the tune of 37.0% shooting in the first half. Mark Williams led the way with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots, while John chipped in 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.

Virginia made things the most difficult for three freshman. Paolo Banchero posted 9 points and 9 rebounds to go with 3 assists, but he managed only a single shot attempt in the second half. That one came as time expired following a long pass from the opposite baseline as Duke tried to answer Beekman’s big shot and he had a turnover with 32 seconds to go that left the door cracked for a Cavalier upset. Trevor Keels joined Williams as the only other Blue Devil in double figures with 12 points, but he hit just 3 of 11 shots. AJ Griffin, meanwhile, had only 2 points on 1-7 shooting after a three-game stretch where he scored 22 at Louisville, 13 at Notre Dame, and 27 at UNC. None of those players – or any Devils to be fair – had many chances in transition as they scored only a single fastbreak point in the whole game.

Essentially, Virginia forced Duke into its style of fight, absorbed a late counter-punch flurry, and then dealt the knockout blow just before the bell. That pushed UVA to 15-9 and 9-5 in the ACC.

“You have a tendency sometimes to make this bigger than it is when you come in here because it’s an unbelievable atmosphere, you grow up watching it, you know how talented their team is, Coach K, and all of that,” Bennett said. “We just said be laser focused to start and play our game. Get it to our kind of game if we can and battle. … I thought the guys did that.”

Virginia Basketball Final Stats

5 Responses You are logged in as Test

  1. Excellent account of a truly amazing Win. The Cavs are improving from week to week. If this trend continues….Tony Bennett could be Coach of the Yesr again!

  2. I’ve said this every single game since the Navy loss. CTB is going to coach the heck out of these guys, and they will look like a completely different team at season’s end.

  3. Officiating seems to be really spotty. Shedrick got clobbered and nothing happened. Banchero fouled Beekman on the winning shot and that didn’t get called. Fortunately we survived unlike Louisville that got hosed against UNC. Credit to Tony and this team for keeping faith.

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