It took five minutes longer than usual, but the Virginia men's basketball team defeated Florida State, 76-67, in overtime to give the Cavaliers their first ACC win of the season in thrilling fashion. Virginia improves to 11-4, 1-3 ACC while the Seminoles fall to 12-5, 1-3 on the year.
"We beat a very good team, and I think we did it with our defense," coach Pete Gillen said after the win. "We held them to 31 percent shooting. We finally played the defense we needed to play to win in the ACC."
Leading the way for the Cavaliers were senior Todd Billet and junior Devin Smith with 26 and 21 points, respectively. Together, Billet and Smith propelled Virginia to its first ACC win, using their long range abilities to the fullest, hitting a combined 10 three-pointers.
"I've been coaching a long time, and [Smith]'s one of the most courageous and gutty guys I've been around," Gillen said. "He stepped up and made shots. Todd Billet was [also] on fire, he played with a big heart and tried to carry us."
Gillen decided to change the starting line-up against the Seminoles, adding junior Jason Clark and freshman Donte Minter to the mix while relegating junior Elton Brown and sophomore Derrick Byars to the bench.
"I can't live with the way we played Thursday, we didn't play with heart, toughness or guts," Gillen said of his decision.
Clark and Minter proved to be solid additions to Virginia's starting five, as Clark pulled down nine rebounds and added two blocks and Minter responded with seven rebounds and four blocks.
The move also paid off in the defensive end as the Cavaliers held the Seminoles to 31 percent, with senior guard Tim Pickett only shooting 3-16 from the floor, finishing with nine points. For Florida State, freshman guard Von Wafer led the team with 17, followed by junior Anthony Richardson and senior Michael Joiner with 12 points each.
Down by five at halftime, Virginia came storming back, going on a 16-3 run early in the half, spanning four minutes.
The lead went back and forth over the course of the game, but with two minutes left Virginia, down by two, was catapulted ahead by a clutch three from Billet, putting Virginia up by one. The score would become tied on a Florida State free throw, but Virginia could not finish the Seminoles in regulation, as Smith missed a three as time ran out in the second half.
Right from the opening tip, the Cavaliers took control of overtime. Smith hit an immediate three-pointer and then a jumper to push the lead to five. Florida State did not capitalize on its offensive possessions in overtime, allowing Virginia to increase the lead to seven with two free throws from Billet. A final emphatic slam-dunk from Smith sealed the win for Virginia.
"What won us the game was our defense at the end," Billet said. "They may have scored two or four points in the last seven minutes of the game. It comes down to effort, and our guys really dug in and exemplified that tonight."
With the victory, the Cavaliers snapped a two-game skid, losing to No. 2 Duke at home and No. 14 Georgia Tech on the road.
Florida State, now even with Virginia in the ACC, continues its losing streak which has now reached four games. Virginia returns to University Hall tomorrow to host Clemson while Florida State hosts North Carolina Thursday.
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