Cavaliers let late double-digit lead slip away, but survive with 59-56 win at Pitt

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Posted on Saturday, Feb. 22, 2020, 3:28 pm

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Virginia held a 13-point lead with less than four minutes to play Saturday at Pitt before the Panthers stormed back and gave the Cavaliers a serious late scare, but UVA held on for a 59-56 win to take another step toward a double-bye in next month’s ACC Tournament.

The Wahoos (19-7, 11-5 ACC) were in control, 54-41, at the final media timeout with 3:49 to go, but went on to miss 11 of their last 13 field-goal attempts, leaving the door wide open for Jeff Capel’s squad.

Pitt (15-13, 6-11) began to chip away, scoring six quick points on a Terrell Brown three-point play followed by a Xavier Johnson 3-pointer off a Cavalier turnover —one of 16 on the day (8 in each half) — and all of a sudden, we had ourselves a ballgame again at the Petersen Events Center.

UVA point guard Kihei Clark sank a pair of free throws to make it 58-49 with 2:42 remaining before Pitt’s Au’Diese Toney scored on another and-one to make it a two-possession affair as the clock went under two minutes.

Johnson’s ensuing basket trimmed the Wahoo lead to four before he poked the ball loose from Clark and scored again, and the once-comfortable advantage was whittled down to just two points, 58-56, with 52 ticks showing.

Clark proceeded to melt the clock down before he drove to the hole, misfiring as the shot clock expired, and Pitt took over with a chance to tie or go ahead with 21.2 seconds left in regulation.

With time winding down, Trey McGowens’ step-back 3-point attempt clanked off the rim and into the hands of Braxton Key, who nailed the front end of a one-and-one with 4.3 on the clock.

Key’s second attempt bounced off the iron and the Panthers secured the board, and quickly called for a timeout with four seconds left to set up one final play.

Ryan Murphy got the rock and let one fly from beyond the arc, but luckily for the Cavaliers, the ball was still in his hands as the clock hit triple zeroes.

Key mysteriously swatted at the ball as it approached the cylinder, which possibly could have sent the game to overtime, had Murphy gotten the shot off in time.

Virginia coach Tony Bennett has got to be relieved that all of that became a moot point and his team escaped with another important ACC victory, UVA’s fourth in a row and eighth over the last 10 games.

By the end of the day, the fourth-place ‘Hoos could have a commanding three-game edge over fifth, with four games left on the schedule.

Clark led all scorers with 17 points to go with his 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 6 turnovers. Mamadi Diakite double-doubled with 10 points and 10 boards, while Key registered 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists.

Tomas Woldetensae cooled off a bit, missing six of his 10 shot attempts, but still knocked down a pair of timely 3-pointers and finished in double figures (10 points) for the fourth time in his last five games.

Freshman Casey Morsell was a game-time decision and battled through his ankle injury, scoring 7 points in 25 gritty minutes off the bench. Jay Huff chipped in with 5 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks.

The Cavaliers shot 43.8 percent on the afternoon (21 for 48) and 33.3 percent from deep (6 of 18). After attempting just one free throw in the first half, Virginia connected on 10 of 12 from the line over the final 20 minutes. Virginia was beaten on the boards by six (17-11) in the first half, but out-rebounded the Panthers 22-15 after halftime.

Pitt posted seven offensive rebounds in the first half, but Virginia limited the Panthers to just three of them in the second half.

Johnson led the Panthers with 16 points, while Toney added 13. Pitt, which shot 3 for 15 from downtown and 22 for 57 (38.6 percent) overall, dropped its fourth straight contest and seventh of the last nine.

The Wahoos will be gunning for their fifth straight win and a regular-season sweep of Virginia Tech Wednesday night in Blacksburg (7 p.m., ESPN2).

Courtesy UVA Media Relations:

Team Notes

  • The Cavaliers improved to 19-7, 11-5 ACC
  • UVA has a four-game winning streak
  • UVA has won 11 or more ACC contests in a school-best eight straight seasons
  • Virginia is 5-4 in true road games in 2019-20
  • The Cavaliers are 7-4 away from home, including a pair of neutral site wins at the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament
  • UVA led 31-29 at halftime, matching an ACC high with 52 percent field-goal shooting (13 of 25)
  • UVA improved to 15-0 when leading at halftime
  • UVA, outrebounded 17-11 in the first half, finished +1 in rebound margin (33-32)

Series Notes

  • UVA is 16-4 all-time vs. Pitt in the series that dates back to 1957-58.
  • UVA has won five straight contests vs. the Panthers
  • Virginia has won 12 of the last 13 meetings and is 7-3 in Pittsburgh.
  • UVA is 9-1 against Pitt since 2013-14 when the Panthers joined the ACC.

Player Notes

  • Double Figure Scorers: Kihei Clark (17), Mamadi Diakite (10), Tomas Woldetensae (10), Braxton Key (10)
  • Diakite recorded his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds
  • Huff (3 blocks) has 13 multi-block games
  • Woldetensae extended his 3-point streak to eight games