Physical Clemson dominates Virginia in second half

By Jerry Ratcliffe

For the first 22 1⁄2 minutes of Saturday’s game, Virginia went jaw-to-jaw with visiting heavyweight Clemson and looked the part of a team about to score another knockout.

But they still play 40.

The Cavaliers actually led the 13th-ranked Tigers for 22 minutes, 14 seconds, and held a 10-point advantage early in the second half after leading 32-27 at the break. Virginia’s hopes went sailing off the rails three minutes into the second half when Clemson decided to flex its muscle and turn up the physicality.

As a result, the Tigers went on a 20-2 run, built a 47-39 lead and never looked back en route to a 71-58 win, its 24th victory of the season in 29 games. Virginia, dropping to 14-15, 7-11 in the ACC, managed to score only 26 points the entire second half, and 8 of those came when it really didn’t matter.

Clemson’s bigs were simply unstoppable and UVA had no answers. The Tigers scored 48 points in the paint, meaning Virginia’s two most recent opponents scored a total of 100 points in the paint. Wake had 52 earlier this week, but UVA still found a way to upset the Deacs on the road for a Quad 1 win.

Not Saturday. The Tigers established a beachhead in the lane and relentlessly attacked the Cavaliers down low all day long. Ian Schieffelin, a bruiser who more resembles a defensive tackle than a forward, posted 21 points (8 of 11, all in the paint) and 13 rebounds, teamed up with center Viktor Lakhin (14 points on 5-of-11 shooting, 8 rebounds) to dominate the lane.

Virginia’s bigs — Blake Buchanan, Anthony Robinson (4 fouls), Jacob Cofie (fouled out) and Elijah Saunders — didn’t answer the bell.

Had it not been for UVA’s 3-point shooting (the Wahoos were 8 for 19), it would have been even more of a blowout.

Interim coach Ron Sanchez blamed his team’s frontcourt woes on inexperience. Saunders is a transfer junior, Buchanan is a sophomore, Robinson a redshirt freshman and Cofie a true freshman.

“We don’t have older guys in there,” Sanchez said, pointing out that advantage went to an older Clemson team with players who have been around the block.

Clemson coach Brad Brownell verified Sanchez’ point by noting that, “Virginia has some youth (inside), and we have older guys, Wake has older guys. That’s a strength of ours.”

Still, after the Tigers’ 20-2 run, UVA wasn’t finished. Back-to-back 3’s by Andrew Rohde and Saunders got the Cavaliers within a bucket, 47-45, with 10:38 to play. But Clemson turned up its intensity on defense and slowly pulled away. Virginia went nearly seven minutes without scoring down the homestretch.

“Our defense was elite for 30 minutes,” Brownell said. “We amped it up a little.”

Isaac McKneely, who led UVA’s 3-point barrage by going 4 for 9 with 16 points, summed it up.

“We were shooting the ball with confidence, taking it to the rim with confidence,” McKneely said.

And then the roof caved in.

“Then they turned up the pressure. They were a super physical team. They’re getting up in us, pushing up, pushing us off our cuts and stuff, and just got really physical with us and took it to us,” McKneely added. “Schieffelin, he’s a load down there. We knew going into the game that he was going to try to dunk on us all game. That’s what Clemson basketball is all about. He just out-physicaled us … one through five, they all out-physicaled us. If we want to win, we can’t let that happen.”

Sanchez gave the Tigers credit for their overall play, particularly their defense and physicality. About the only thing Clemson didn’t do well was shoot 3’s, going a meager 1 for 10. The last time an opponent beat Virginia while making only a single 3-pointer was Miami in 2013.

“Clemson isn’t No. 13 in the country by mistake,” Sanchez said. “I’ll take the first 20 (minutes). We played fantastic.”

But they still play 40.

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Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• UVA fell to 14-15 overall, 7-11 ACC
• Virginia is 9-7 at home
• Virginia is 0-6 vs. ranked opponents
• Virginia led 32-27 at the half, falling to 12-2 when leading after the first 20 minutes
• Virginia led 37-27, but Clemson used a 20-2 run including 15 straight points to gain a 47-39 lead in the second half
• UVA answered with a 6-0 run to cut the margin to 47-45
• Clemson scored 48 points in the paint
• UVA has allowed 36 or more points in the paint in each of the last four games
• UVA’s eight blocks marked a season high in ACC action
• Clemson was 1 of 10 from 3-point range
• The last time the Cavaliers held a team to one or fewer 3-pointers and lost was in a 54-50 loss to Miami on Feb. 19, 2013
• UVA (8 3-pointers) has made six or more 3-pointers in 27 games
• UVA celebrated Senior Day, honoring managers Christian Shiels and Isaiah Stanfield, Bryce Walker  (2 points) and Taine Murray pregame

Series Notes

• UVA’s four-game win streak vs. Clemson ended with the loss
• Virginia is 83-54 all-time vs. Clemson, including a 47-18 record in Charlottesville, in a series that dates to 1935-36
• UVA has won 15 of the last 17 meetings in the series

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Isaac McKneely (16), Andrew Rohde (12), Dai Dai Ames (12)
• McKneely reached double figures for the 23rd time (6th consecutive, 49 career)
• McKneely (4 3-pointers) moved into fifth on UVA’s career 3-pointer list with 224
• McKneely has made multiple 3-pointers in 22 games
• McKneely matched a career high with two blocks
• Rohde reached double figures for the 13th time (44 career)
• Ames reached double figures for the eighth consecutive game and 12th time this season (20 career)
• Anthony Robinson returned to the lineup after missing the Wake Forest game with a foot injury
• UVA started Taine Murray, Blake Buchanan, Elijah Saunders, Rohde and McKneely