The mark of a good basketball team is its ability to win games from day to day despite not always putting forth its best effort.
The Virginia men's basketball team has made a good case to join this category. The Cavaliers overcame a sloppy, back-and-forth game Saturday afternoon to defeat Georgia Tech 75-69.
Virginia (19-8, 10-4 ACC) was led by its stellar backcourt combo of senior guard J.R. Reynolds and junior guard Sean Singletary. With just under four minutes left in the game, Virginia trailed by seven points and looked lackluster and depleted. Singletary and Reynolds, however, inspired their teammates and willed the team to an improbable comeback.
Virginia went on a 13-0 run in the final 3:41 to scrape out a six-point victory. The decisive basket came with 33 seconds left as junior center Tunji Soroye grabbed a rebound off a missed shot attempt from Singletary. Soroye then coolly dropped in a lay-up to give Virginia the lead for good. The Cavaliers went on to make several free throws in the final seconds to cement the victory.
"They looked dead in the water with three minutes to go, and they summoned a lot of courage and came back," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said.
Reynolds finished with 25 points on 9-17 shooting from the field. Singletary had 24 points and seven assists. The star guards also combined to make 11-11 free throws, which proved critical down the stretch. As a team, Virginia made 94 percent of its free throws.
Virginia got off to a very quick start in the first half. The Cavaliers came out of the gate shooting the ball extremely well. Singletary, Reynolds and sophomore forward Mamadi Diane all made three-pointers in the first five minutes. The Cavaliers used their great shooting ability to jump out to an early 22-6 lead with 12:28 remaining in the half. But after that, points for the Cavaliers proved to be difficult to come by. The Yellow Jackets (18-10, 6-8 ACC) used a combination of a suffocating press defense and stellar rebounding to control the tempo of the first half. Georgia Tech's pressure forced seven Virginia turnovers. Additionally, Georgia Tech dominated Virginia on the boards by pulling down almost twice as many rebounds.
Virginia went through a five-minute scoreless stretch toward the end of the first period, allowing Georgia Tech to claw its way back into the game. The first half ended with Georgia Tech leading Virginia 38-34. The Yellow Jackets shot 53 percent from the field during the period, largely a tribute to its strong inside game.
Georgia Tech came out with the same pressure and intensity in the second half and maintained its lead for much of the half. But Virginia kept the game within reach thanks to the leadership of Reynolds and Singletary. Reynolds, Soroye, Singletary and senior forward Jason Cain all came up with huge three-point plays that allowed Virginia to stay in the game down the stretch.
With 5:10 left in regulation, Soroye grabbed an offensive rebound and put it in for a lay-up and also drew a foul. The play drew an enormous reaction from both the home crowd, and especially from Cain. The senior forward excitedly pumped his fist and screamed with joy after Soroye's big play. Cain's reaction mirrored the team's comeback mentality, attitude and aggressiveness in the final minutes of the game.
"I think what happened -- simply put -- we have two very special players who at any point in time can make plays," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "If you surround them with a team that plays defense then you have a chance to win each and every night."
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