Mike Tobey stood alone. With 2:20 remaining in the game, the senior center waited patiently at the free throw line as cheers of his name rained down on him. The Monroe, N.Y. native made both free throws, and a couple of emotional minutes later, then-No. 4 Virginia huddled at midcourt — 68-46 victors over No. 11 Louisville.
“I called those guys after they did their TV interviews,” coach Tony Bennett said. “I said, ‘look around. First give thanks — be so thankful for what has transpired in this building over your four years … I just wanted them to appreciate that.”
Saturday night began with the fanfare associated with senior night — tribute videos, framed jerseys and the choking back of tears. What followed was a 40-minute celebration of the fourth- and fifth-year Cavaliers.
“It was a lot of fun,” senior forward Anthony Gill said. “It was high emotions. Everybody was just overtaken with a lot of emotions. It was up to us to go out there and really control them and still try to play a basketball game throughout all of the craziness that was going on.”
Virginia’s five seniors scored 56 of the team’s 68 points and capped off a remarkable five-year run.
The victory was the 107th for the grouping of Malcolm Brogdon, Anthony Gill, Mike Tobey, Evan Nolte and Caid Kirven — the third-highest mark for a graduating class. The class of 1983, Ralph Sampson’s class, leads the way with 112 wins.
From the onset it was obvious that the Cavaliers’ veterans would lead the way. Gill scored the game’s first bucket at the 17:53 mark. A minute later Nolte drilled a corner three. The Milton, Ga. native struck from the same corner on the ensuing possession, and Virginia (24-6, 13-5 ACC) led 8-0.
The Cavaliers never relented and held the Cardinals (23-8, 12-6 ACC) scoreless for the first 5:14. It would be another 4:06 before Louisville scored their first basket — a three from freshman forward Deng Adel.
Virginia carried a comfortable 29-17 advantage into the half on the merit of their staunch defense. Louisville shot only 7-for-28 (25 percent) from the field in the first, which conjured images of the Jan. 30 meeting between the two teams.
“I think it speaks to us finding our identity at the right time,” Brogdon said.
The Cavaliers kept their foot on the pedal and then some coming out of the intermission. Virginia shot 70.6 percent from the floor in the second and limited the Cardinals to 29 points on 30 percent shooting.
For the seniors, the defensive gem was an apt finish to their careers at John Paul Jones Arena — Louisville’s 46 points were the fewest yielded by Virginia all season.
“Gotta give a lot of credit to Virginia,” Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. “They’re a team that’s fun to prepare for — fun to watch. They have a legitimate chance because of their experience and the way they shoot the ball…of doing a lot of great things this year in the tournament.”
It was in the second half that Tobey made the game his own. The seven-footer scored 14 points on a perfect 5-5 and grabbed nine rebounds. In all, the enigmatic center had 15 points and a career-best 20 rebounds for just his third double-double in four years.
“I get so happy when those guys do a good job or have a great individual game,” Bennett said. “Especially Mike, who has had some ups and downs.”
Tobey credits his performance to a heart-to-heart conversation he and Bennett shared over lunch earlier in the day.
“He just said to play with a reckless abandon,” Tobey said. “I really just tried to do that tonight.”
The cherry on the top came with 5:26 left in the second. Tobey collected a tipped ball and made an awkward jumper as the shot clock expired, hitting nothing but net.
Brogdon flipped the switch at the half and overcame a cold first 20 minutes. In the second, the Atlanta, Ga. native scored 13 on 3-5 shooting. In all, the ACC Player of the Year candidate had 17 points.
The game concluded on the most fitting of terms. Shortly after checking into the game, Kirven, a walk on, swished a corner three ball and summoned the memory of Thomas Rogers’ similar feat to conclude the 2013-14 season.
“I thought we were going to get a technical foul because everybody pretty much ran on the court when he hit it,” Gill said. “It was an awesome moment.”
According to a joking Gill, it was Kirven’s first made three since he did so in practice before the Nov. 8, 2013 season opener against James Madison.
While a victory by No. 8 North Carolina earlier in the night consigned the Cavaliers to second place in the ACC, Virginia enters tournament play, in Pitino’s words, “a well-oiled machine,” and appear poised to make the deep run that eluded the team last spring.
Regardless, the results of late March can never take away from a special time for Virginia’s five seniors and a special era for the program.
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