Virginia Holds On At Louisville As Kihei Clark Gets Milestone Win

Virginia Cavaliers
Kihei Clark passed Duke’s Shane Battier as the ACC’s all-time winningest player with 71 ACC regular-season and tournament wins ~ Photo by Mike Ingalls/TheSabre.com

The Virginia basketball team now owns a 9-2 all-time record at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. Wednesday night’s game won’t be as memorable as many of trips to the building – some fans might have wanted to forget it before bedtime even – but the Hoos picked up the 61-58 road win to stay tied atop the ACC standings nonetheless.

So while the victory fell short of computer projections and betting lines for a game against 3-23 Louisville, the last-place team in the league, it still counts the same in the conference title race so the Cavaliers will take it.

“It’s on the road. I think Louisville is improving. Their record probably doesn’t show it, but they went into Miami and gave them everything they could handle. … They have some athleticism and can make some tough shots. It puts pressure on you,” UVA coach Tony Bennett said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. “We were a little lethargic at times and then I thought we kind of woke up and got to the lane, got some toughness with some drives, and then buckled down I think defensively. It appeared that way. Very good last possession defensively. This is life in the ACC and we did just enough.”

Enough included one final defensive stop to avoid overtime. Trailing by three, Louisville spent the final 25 seconds or so frantically searching for a 3-point shot. The Wahoos prevented any openings, however, and a final desperation attempt from Kamari Lands missed the mark.

That last stand was part of an up and down the night for UVA’s defense. The Cardinals managed just 42.0% shooting (21-50) overall, but they shot 46.2% after halftime (12-26) and 40.0% overall from 3-point range (8-20). In the early portion of the game, Louisville standout El Ellis got going as he ripped off 10 points in a little less than 5 minutes with two 3’s among the flurry. He eventually ended up with 21 points on 7-14 shooting to go with 3 assists. At other times, though, UVA bottled up drive attempts and forced some turnovers that led to 13 points.

The Cavaliers’ offense went through similar hot and cold spells too. The visitors opened the game missing 7 of 8 shots, for example, and another 2-8 shooting string later in the first half saw Louisville build a 23-14 lead. While the Hoos shot 35.5% in the first half thanks mostly to those two stretches, they finally got on track thanks to Armaan Franklin, who made a 3-pointer, a dunk, a layup, and three free throws in the final 6:29 of the first half.

That momentum carried into the second half where UVA shot 57.1% (12-21). Virginia got four layups for its first four field goals after intermission and a few times seemed to have Louisville teetering with leads at 39-32, 53-44, and 60-52. The Hoos could never put it away, though. Struggles at the free throw line for the second straight game had something to do with that. UVA shot 56.3% at the line (9-16) in the game, which included going 1-6 in the final six minutes.

Still, the Wahoos tried to appreciate the win.

“It was really important,” Franklin said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. “Any time you go on the road and play a team, it’s tough. They have their crowd and all of that. That’s a team that’s fighting to get right and you can’t take them lightly. They played really hard and they played us pretty well. We just did a good job at the end of getting good looks and then getting some stops.”

Franklin was one of four Virginia players in double figures. He made 5 of 8 shots to score 14 points and added 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals. Ben Vander Plas and Jayden Gardner posted 10 points each. Vander Plas grabbed 11 rebounds too to secure his first double-double at Virginia. Isaac McKneely just missed the double-digit plateau with 8 points as well.

The biggest night, though, may have belong to Kihei Clark. The senior guard recorded 14 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds to tie for the team lead in scoring. A lot of that production came at key moments in the second half with the Hoos trying to fend off the hosts’ upset bid. With the score tied at 39-39, he found Kadin Shedrick for a dunk and then McKneely for a triple. Moments later, he converted a step-back jumper just above the free throw line to break the game’s final tie. After a Vander Plas 3-pointer, Clark followed up with 6 straight points and 2 more assists.

Those all were crucial in the end, but proved fitting on this particular night. Those types of winning plays have been a big part of Clark’s journey at Virginia and with the latest victory, he passed Duke’s Shane Battier as the ACC’s all-time winningest player with 71 ACC regular-season and tournament wins.

“Just tried to find a way to get it done and I’m thankful,” Bennett said on the Virginia Sports Radio Network. “I know Kihei surpassed, though it’s in five years, but he’s the winningest player in the history of ACC basketball, passed Shane Battier and that’s awesome. When the record books come out, hopefully they’ll never say it’s in five years [laughs] but he’s won a lot and I thought he really did, Kihei got us going. … When we needed something, Kihei really got down the lane and made some plays for us to separate.”

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