MBB: UVA closes regular season with 84-70 loss at Syracuse; still locks up 9-seed

By Scott Ratcliffe

Virginia stumbled in its regular-season finale at Syracuse on Saturday, surrendering countless easy buckets en route to an 84-70 loss at the JMA Wireless Dome.

Despite the setback, the Cavaliers (15-16, 8-12 ACC) still emerged as the No. 9 seed for next week’s conference tournament and will receive a first-round bye (see full details below).

The Orange (13-18, 7-13) got a huge night from senior big man Eddie Lampkin Jr., who recorded his 14th double-double of the season in his final collegiate regular-season game. The Wahoos seemingly had no answer for Lampkin, who made 11 of his 12 field-goal attempts and finished with game highs of 25 points and 10 rebounds to lead the way.

First-year forward Jacob Cofie did all he could to keep the Hoos in it, connecting on all six of his field-goal attempts for a team-high 13 points, but UVA fell behind early on and never really got back within striking distance.

The Orange took advantage of UVA’s early giveaways and poor shooting — the Hoos misfired on six of their first seven shots to start the contest — as they knocked down eight of their first 10 attempts and built a 20-10 advantage midway through the first half. Virginia trailed by as many as 19 points and went into halftime staring at a 43-26 deficit.

An 8-3 Cavalier run midway through the second half, fueled by points in transition off of Syracuse turnovers, made it a 13-point ballgame, 62-49, on a Cofie baseline jumper with 9:52 to play, but that’s about as close as it got the rest of the night.

In the end, the Hoos shot at a 52-percent clip from the field (27 for 52), 20 percent from beyond the arc (3 for 15) and 72 percent from the free-throw line (13 for 18).

Dai Dai Ames (10 points) was the only other Wahoo in double figures aside from Cofie, extending his streak to 10 games with at 10 points or more. Isaac McKneely and Elijah Saunders each finished with 9 points in the defeat, while Blake Buchanan and Anthony Robinson each added 8 points.

“I don’t think that Isaac McKneely got a really good look today,” UVA interim coach Ron Sanchez pointed out after the contest. “I think he got one, in front of our bench, for the game. He usually gets six, seven, eight of those a game. So that is credit to [the Syracuse defense].”

Syracuse, which won the rebounding battle by a 31-17 margin, shot 31 for 52 on the night (60 percent), including 6 of 14 from downtown (43 percent) and 16 of 19 at the charity stripe (84 percent).

In addition to Lampkin’s big night, Jyare Davis (2 for 3 from long range) and Lucas Taylor (3 for 5 from deep) registered 15 points apiece, combining to knock down 12 of 19 attempts from the field.

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia is 5-9 away from home and 4-7 in true road contests.
• The Orange scored 24 of its 42 points in the paint in the first half
• UVA has allowed 30 or more points in the paint in each of its last six games
• UVA has allowed 80 or points in five away games (St. John’s, Florida, Stanford, Louisville, North Carolina, Syracuse)
• UVA made a season-low three 3-pointers (15 attempts)
• Syracuse shot 59.6 percent (31 of 52) in the win, marking a season high vs. UVA

Series Notes

• UVA is 14-7 all-time against Syracuse, including a 12-3 mark in ACC action, in the series that dates to 1983-84
• Virginia’s six-game win streak and five-game road win streak against the Orange ended with the loss
• UVA fell to 6-3 against the Orange in Syracuse
• The 84 points scored by Syracuse marked a high in the series
• The Orange scored more than 69 points against Virginia for the first time in 17 meetings between the teams

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Jacob Cofie (13), Dai Dai Ames (10)
• Cofie reached double figures for the 10th time
• Ames reached double figures for the 10th consecutive game and 14th time this season (22 career)

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers will receive a first-round bye in the upcoming ACC Tournament before they face No. 8 seed Georgia Tech at noon ET in Wednesday’s first game of the second round at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte (ESPN). Check out the final standings and full bracket below.