As his team took the court in their opening game of the NIT tournament, Virginia coach Pete Gillen probably wondered what type of effort he would get from his team. He's seen his team mail in a haphazard effort in 2002 in a 74-67 home loss to South Carolina and he's seen them pull out an 89-73 home victory over Brown in 2003. When it comes time to tip it off and start a game in the NIT, you never really know what kind of performance you'll see out of a team.Will they just go through the motions, or will the team positively respond to the chance at winning meaningful post-season games? Thankfully for Gillen, against George Washington, it was the latter. Virginia stepped up to the plate in their opening round game of the NIT tournament, beating the Colonials, 79-66.
Virginia received a welcomed surprise as U-Hall proved to be a loud and electric environment as fans displayed the energy and enthusiasm usually reserved just for Duke and North Carolina.
"It was a great turnout, it gave us a boost," freshman J.R. Reynolds said.
The Cavaliers came out of the gates on fire, busting the game open by shooting nearly 70 percent from behind the arc in the first half. Virginia kept the intensity level up, forcing the tempo and executing in transition. This inspired play resulted in a 15-point halftime advantage for the Cavaliers.
Though the Colonials closed to within five, Reynolds and Todd Billet made sure that Virginia would not let the game and the season slip away.Reynolds found Billet three times for three connections from behind the arc in a pivotal stretch in the second half. Reynolds himself also had five points as the Cavaliers dropped 20 points in the four-minute second half stretch.
The 6,512 fans in U-Hall stayed on their feet as Jason Clark invited everyone to his own block party. With six minutes left in the game, Clark sent a Colonial lay-up sailing into the fourth row of the crowd. Trailing the play, Clark went all out to put himself in a position to make the spectacular block. Clark finished the game credited with just three of Virginia's 13 blocks.
"J. Clark was great," Gillen said. "He came out of nowhere on some of those blocks. He does a lot that doesn't show up in the box score."
The energy and passion exhibited by Clark and the Cavaliers is a welcome surprise to those who feared the team may be on an emotional low following their quarterfinal loss in the ACC tournament. On the contrary, the Cavaliers are proving to be a team that is coming together and saving their best basketball for when it matters most.
"We're just taking advantage of the opportunity to play in the post-season," Reynolds said. "I think it was the best offensive game we've had in a while."
Indeed, shooting 52 percent from the filed isn't too shabby for a team coming off of a loss that sent lofty post-season aspirations out of the window.
"It shows you the character of the coach," George Washington coach Kevin Hobbs said. "The team suffered a disappointment and was able to respond in the matter that they did. He got his team prepared to play."
While the Cavaliers positively responded, their performance was far from perfect. Going scoreless for the first six minutes of the second half certainly won't get the Cavaliers to the finals of the NIT at Madison Square Garden. Yet the Cavaliers did regain their composure and made big plays when they had to. The 20-5 run speaks volumes as the Cavaliers got back to attacking, forcing the tempo and playing with an unbridled intensity. Indeed, Virginia gave Gillen very little reason to worry as they played like a team that took the NIT seriously.
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