A raucous home crowd at John Paul Jones Arena was treated to a physical, intense and exciting overtime game last night from the Virginia men's basketball team. After suffering a tough loss Sunday at Duke, Virginia was dealt a harsh blow from another conference rival as the Hokies edged the Cavaliers 70-69.
After the Cavaliers held off Virginia Tech (11-6, 2-1 ACC) time after time, Hokie senior forward Deron Washington got off an acrobatic shot that fell in just as time expired. Washington's basket gave the Hokies the win, deflated an excited JPJ crowd and sent Virginia fans home with the sour taste of defeat.
"This loss really hurts," sophomore guard Calvin Baker said. "We were playing really hard and we always try to protect our home."
Senior guard Sean Singletary scored 34 points, pulled down 10 rebounds and added three assists in the close match. The star guard hit two big free throws in the extra period and forced a turnover that led to an easy lay-up for senior forward Adrian Joseph. The senior co-captains attempted to will the exhausted Cavaliers to victory, but they came up just short. The loss drops Virginia's record to 10-5 (0-2 ACC).
Virginia got off to a sluggish start as it missed its first three shot attempts -- including two long-range 3-point attempts from Baker and Singletary. Virginia Tech, on the other hand, opened up the game on a 9-point run. With 17:16 remaining in the first half, Virginia coach Dave Leitao was forced to call a time-out in order to regroup his team and to stall Virginia Tech's momentum.
Leitao's attempt to rally his players, however, did not have the immediate effect he was looking for. On Virginia's ensuing possession Joseph air-balled a 3-point attempt, and the Cavaliers turned the ball over on their next possession.
Singletary, however, worked the Cavaliers out of their slump as he knocked down a deep 3-pointer to put Virginia on the board.
Just a few minutes later, Singletary brought all of JPJ to its feet twice as he drained a 3-pointer off a transition situation and beautifully dropped a lay-up over the outstretched hand of a Hokie defender. Singletary's heroics drew the Cavaliers even with the Hokies, 15-15, with 13 minutes to play in the opening half.
Over the next several minutes both teams traded points during a fast-paced and aggressive stretch.
Singletary continued his hot streak throughout the period as he hit several more big 3-pointers. The senior guard's heroics gave Virginia a 4-point lead at halftime, and he accounted for 23 of Virginia's 38 first-half points.
Singletary and the Cavaliers picked up in the second half right where they left off as they continued their up-tempo play in the opening minutes of the period. Virginia Tech, however, matched Virginia's intensity step for step and kept things close. The Hokies received two easy baskets in the first six minutes and played very strongly in the post and paint.
Fortunately for Virginia, Joseph stepped up and responded to Virginia Tech's tough play by draining two well-guarded 3-pointers. Joseph's hot hand gave the crowd renewed energy and Virginia a 53-50 lead with 12 minutes to play.
Five minutes later, Singletary continued the wave of emotion and energy cresting over JPJ when he forced a turnover, dribbled coast to coast and banked in an acrobatic lay-up around a sprawling Virginia Tech defender. Singletary's bucket gave Virginia a 61-53 lead with 6:53 remaining and forced Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg to call a time-out to subdue the energy of the JPJ faithful.
That lead, however, disappeared in less than two minutes. Washington capped an 8-0 Hokie run as he converted a 3-pointer from the corner to tie the game at 61 with 3:42 left. Virginia's best attempt to break the tie came with 30 seconds to play as Baker received a pass from Singletary and attempted a wide-open 3-pointer. Baker's attempt, however, did not fall, and the teams entered overtime tied at 63.
"It was a hard-fought basketball game," Greenberg said. "There's no magic theory why we won. It's one play and one stop"
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