In the end, the Virginia men's basketball team turned out to be the little engine that could.
Last night at University Hall, an underdog No. 12 Virginia defeated ACC rival No. 3 Duke, 91-89, with a final second put-back from junior forward Adam Hall.
The game marks the first victory for the Cavaliers (17-6, 6-6 ACC) over the Blue Devils (22-3, 10-2) since 1996 and the first time since 1998 that Duke failed to break the 100-point barrier against Virginia. In the teams' previous 12 meetings, the Blue Devils beat Virginia by an average of 25.3 points.
With the win, the Cavaliers secured much-needed vindication after disappointing road trip losses to lesser evils N.C. State and Georgia Tech. The defeats came after Virginia defeated both Wake Forest and Maryland, two ranked teams, at home.
"Our two losses nullified the fact that we had played well in the games before," sophomore guard Roger Mason Jr., who finished last night's game with 20 points, seven rebounds, five assists and a single turnover, said. "We put ourselves in a bind."
In that mindset, Virginia responded and shot a dazzling 53.8 percent from the field. Though senior point guard Donald Hand only managed three points, the rest of the starting lineup scored in double digits. Junior forward Chris Williams led with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. In addition to Mason's 20, Hall added 17, and sophomore center Travis Watson posted 15.
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Off the bench, freshman center J.C. Mathis grabbed four offensive rebounds and scored six points in only 10 minutes. Senior guard Keith Friel provided two three-pointers and senior forward Stephane Dondon sunk a crucial three that continued a Cavalier second-half 9-0 run.
"Those kids, they were terrific," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski admitted. "We knew that was the type of effort they would give us and we weren't good enough to beat them. They were sensational."
In the first half, before a thunderous sellout crowd, the two teams played an intense and offensive game that left the Cavaliers leading 46-42 at the half.
Duke set the pace with seven three-pointers, four coming from forward Shane Battier. His performance included a game-high 24 points.
The Cavs answered with 20 second-chance points thanks to 13 offensive rebounds.
The second half was just as much of a whirlwind as the first, boasting an offensive frenzy and eight lead changes. The Cavaliers continued to dominate the boards and out-rebounded the Blue Devils, 41-25.
Duke's troubles followed them to the free-throw line, where the Devils shot a paltry 57.9 percent for the game. The Devils also suffered with the foul trouble of two starters, forward Mike Dunleavy and center Carlos Boozer.
The main bright spot for Duke was freshman guard Chris Duhon who finished with 20 points behind 5-for-5 shooting beyond the arc in the second half.
But Duhon, Battier and point guard Jason Williams could not halt the final and triumphant Virginia possession. Amid the chaos and confusion that left fans on the edge of their seats, Hall managed to get the ball after a Mason drive to give the Cavaliers their best Valentine's Day present yet.
Virginia coach Pete Gillen said,
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