Hoos advance to NIT second round, surviving to defeat Bulldogs, 60-57

By Scott Ratcliffe

Virginia got a stellar second half from senior forward Jayden Gardner and held on in a wild finish to knock off visiting Mississippi State, 60-57, in the opening round of the NIT Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena.

The Cavaliers (20-13) fought off a hard-fought effort and a late rally by the Bulldogs (18-16), as Gardner poured in 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half to lead the charge.

Virginia will now travel to face second-seeded North Texas in the second round Sunday night at 6 p.m. (ESPN+).

Up by a point with under two minutes on the clock, UVA senior Kihei Clark found Armaan Franklin in the corner for a huge 3-pointer that gave his team a four-point cushion, 57-53.

North Carolina grad-transfer forward Garrison Brooks missed an open 3-point attempt on the other end with 1:18 to go, and then after an Iverson Molinar miss with 39.9 ticks showing, Francisco Caffaro secured the defensive rebound and was shoved by the former Tar Heel, causing a long official review. Brooks was charged with a technical foul, and Clark split a pair of free throws to push the lead to five.

Virginia second-year guard Reece Beekman added two more from the line four seconds later, but the Bulldogs trimmed it to three with four seconds remaining, and had one final chance after Gardner missed two free throws on the ensuing possession.

With a foul to give, Clark wrapped up Brooks with 2.5 seconds left to prevent a 3-point attempt to tie, Molinar misfired from the corner, the Hoos controlled the rebound and the UVA fans began to celebrate as the Wahoos survived and advanced to play another day.

After leading by eight points at halftime, the Wahoos gave up the first seven of the second half, and MSU tied the game at 32-apiece on a Molinar basket with just over 16 minutes remaining, prompting a Tony Bennett 30-second timeout.

The Bulldogs grabbed their first lead of the night on the other side of the break, but Clark answered with his first made field goal to tie it back up.

With the score knotted at 36-all, Beekman came away with a steal on the opposing baseline which led to a Gardner basket on the other end to put the Hoos back in front.

Caffaro received a hand to the face from MSU big man Javian Davis soon after, and both players were issued a technical foul as the action began to heat up.

Gardner, who missed three of his four shot attempts in the first half, scored again on back-to-back jumpers to give UVA a 42-36 edge with 10:46 to play, capping a flurry of eight-straight Cavalier points.

After Brooks finally got one to go for the Bulldogs, Gardner buried a stepback J and freshman Taine Murray pushed the lead to eight, 46-38, with a drive to the hole on an assist from Beekman.

Beekman became Virginia’s single-season steals leader moments later, moving past Othell Wilson (1983-84) with his 70th takeaway of the campaign.

Andersson Garcia’s triple with 7:45 to go cut the Cavalier lead to four, but Clark lobbed up an alley-oop for Kadin Shedrick, as the JPJ crowd was rocking. Another Gardner basket made it 50-44 as the clock went under six minutes, but Brooks answered with a 3-pointer, and it was back to a one-possession game with 4:30 left.

Gardner stayed hot, making his sixth bucket of the half — in seven attempts — and Virginia led by five heading into the final media timeout. Brooks responded with two more 3-pointers (with a Beekman drive sandwiched in between), and UVA led by just one, 54-53, with the two-minute mark approaching, setting up the tight finish.

Each team shot an identical 50 percent (23 for 46), with the Bulldogs making 4 of 13 from long range (31 percent). UVA, which assisted on 17 of its 23 made baskets, was just 2 for 12 from deep (17 percent), knocking down 12 of 17 (71 percent) from the foul line and scoring 17 points on 14 MSU turnovers. The Bulldogs prevailed in the rebounding category, 27-24.

In addition to Gardner’s big night, Beekman also finished in double figures with 14 points (5 for 7 FG) to go with his 6 assists and 3 rebounds. Clark had 8 points and a game-high 9 assists in what could be his final game at JPJ, making 6 of 8 from the charity stripe.

Caffaro had 8 points and a team-high 5 rebounds, while Franklin (6 points) was the only Cavalier to connect from downtown on the evening (2 for 5).

Tolu Smith led the Bulldogs with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Brooks and Molinar each added 13 points.

FIRST HALF

Virginia used a 6-0 run to lead 10-4 in the opening minutes, and did it with defense. The Hoos forced six Bulldog turnovers in the first six minutes of the contest, getting contributions from Caffaro and senior Kody Stattmann early on.

Virginia stretched its lead to 23-14 by the five-minute mark after a pair of Beekman free throws, and he followed those up with a stepback jumper and a dish to Caffaro for an open dunk, and the Hoos took a 27-19 advantage into the locker room.

Virginia shot 43 percent from the field (10 for 23) and 88 percent from the stripe (7 of 8) in the first half, scoring 11 points off of nine MSU giveaways. The Hoos got a dozen first-half points from their bench, with Caffaro scoring 8 and Stattmann adding 4.

Box Score

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• The Cavaliers improved to 20-13
• UVA forced one shot clock violation (35 in 2021-22)
• UVA led 27-19 at the half, holding its opponent to fewer than 20 points in the first half for the fifth time
• MSU started the second half on a 15-5 run (7-7 FGs), including an 8-0 run, to gain a 34-32 lead
• UVA answered with a 12-2 run to gain a 46-38 lead
• UVA has won 20 or more games for the 10th time under Tony Bennett
• The Cavaliers have 11 home wins for the 12th time in 13 seasons under Bennett
• UVA is 8-5 in nonconference action

NIT Notes

• The Cavaliers are 18-11 all-time in 14 NIT appearances, including a pair of championships in 1980 and 1992
• UVA is 8-4 all-time in the NIT first round
• The Cavaliers are 11-3 at home in the NIT, including a 3-1 mark at John Paul Jones Arena
• The Cavaliers are 16-8 in NCAA/NIT postseason play under Bennett, including a 3-1 mark in the NIT
• Bennett is 3-2 all-time in the NIT, including a 68-57 loss at St. Mary’s as head coach at Washington State in 2009

Series Notes

• The Cavaliers are 2-2 all-time vs. Mississippi State in a series that dates back to Feb. 25, 1928

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Jayden Gardner (16), Reece Beekman (14)
• Gardner reached double figures for the 27th time (101st career)
• Beekman reached double figures for the 11th time (14th career)
• Beekman (4 steals) surpassed Othell Wilson for first on UVA’s single-season steals list with 70
• Beekman has at least one steal in 30 of 33 games
• Kihei Clark had a game-high nine assists