San Francisco finds Virginia weaknesses in 61-60 upset

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Fourth-ranked Virginia learned a valuable lesson on Friday when the Cavaliers were stunned 61-60 by heavy underdog San Francisco in the “Bubbleville” event at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut.

‘Frisco, playing its third game in as many days, had the perfect game plan and the near-perfect execution to beat UVA, which struggled from 3-point range after burying Towson with 15 3-pointers two days ago.

Not surprisingly, Tony Bennett had the appropriate message for his team to sum up the moment:

“Look at it in the mirror, grow from it,” Bennett told his 1-1 Cavaliers. “Forget about it. If you at all think, ‘Oh we won the first game handily and look at our ranking,’ I mean we’ve all been down that road. That means nothing to start.

“We have to keep being as good as we can be, and that’s just not coaches speak. We got to kind of harden up, we’ve got to get gritty, we’ve got to be tougher to score against and be the best version of ourselves. Nothing is assumed just because of what’s on the front of your jersey.”

The name on the jersey and the Cavaliers’ national ranking didn’t mean anything to San Francisco, now 2-1, as the game progressed.

Up until noon Pacific Time last Friday, the Dons were headed to Lincoln, Neb., to play in another event until it was cancelled due to Covid-19 issues. Because Florida, also affected by the virus, dropped out as Virginia’s second opponent in Bubbleville, also last Friday, the organizers called San Francisco and asked if it could fill in.

“We just jumped on it,” said Dons coach Todd Golden said. “When one of the tournament directors asked, ‘Hey, would you be willing to slide into a game against Virginia on Friday on ESPN, that’s a no-brainer for us.”

It was an attention-grabbing victory for Golden’s team, a less-funded program that plays in the shadows of Gonzaga and St. Mary’s in the West Coast Conference.

While many theorized that the Dons would be worn down having played three games over three days in Bubbleville, that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, it was Virginia that looked somewhat lethargic and out of sync.

“We didn’t look like we were moving real hard and we looked a little lethargic at times,” Bennett said. “I’ll watch the film but some of the looks were good. Then you’ve got to get down and get gritty and work like crazy to get stops. Credit to [SF], they space you, they spread you and they have some good ball screen actions with quick guards and shooters around them.”

Just the kind of team that has given Virginia problems in the past, spreading out the Cavaliers, knocking down 3’s, and letting quick guards penetrate. On this day, UVA’s defense didn’t have the answers and neither did the offense.

After knocking down 15 3-pointers in a rout of Towson on Wednesday, the Cavaliers couldn’t throw a beach ball into the ocean while standing on the shore. They were collectively 3 for 12.

Jay Huff, Sam Hauser and Trey Murphy III, who were 11 of 14 from Bonusphere two days ago (that’s a blazing 78.6 percent), were shut out from behind the arc by the West Coasters. Huff, Hauser, Murphy hit zero, nothing, nada, zip from 3-point land, collectively going Oh-for-5.

San Francisco more resembled UVA’s team from 48 hours back, making 13 3-pointers and shooting 60 percent from behind the line in the second half.

The Dons scored 40 points in the second half, a total some opponents struggle to score against defensive-minded Virginia in an entire game.

USF’s Golden had a terrific game plan against the Cavaliers and his team executed it well.

“We have some very versatile bigs and the way they can move defensively allowed us to play a little different coverage wise,” Golden said. “Wheter it was Josh (Kunen) or Taavi (Jurkatamm), they can both move their feet. We did a wonderful job in defending the 3’s. To give up only three to [UVA], our players really executed.”

Golden also had another weapon up his sleeve in point guard Jamaree Bouyea, who gave Virginia’s Kihei Clark fits most of the day. Usually it’s Clark who plays the role of Annoyer in Chief. On this day, it was Bouyea.

“One adjustment we made going into today, Bouyea is one of the best on ball performers in the country,” Golden said. “That middle ball screen with Kihei, when teams get caught showing hard and bringing their bigs up too far, Kihei is a very talented playmaker and facilitator for others.

“We let Jamaree slide under the ball screen and keep his size (6-foot-2 compared to Clark’s 5-9) on Kihei, and if you can keep Kihei from finding assists, it’s a little easier to take away their 3’s. Allowing Jamaree to play one-on-one in the middle of the floor, he played the best game of his career. I thought he was the best player on the floor tonight.”

Bouyea led the upset with 19 points, hit 8 of 15 shots (3 of 6 on 3’s), and six assists, no turnovers and two steals in a game-high 35 minutes. Khalil Shabazz added 14 (3 of 6 from the arc) and Dzmitry Ryuny scored 10 (3 of 10 on 3’s).

Clark finished with nine points (7 of 10 at the free throw line), but was held two two assists and three of UVA’s eight turnovers.

Two Cavaliers who didn’t figure strongly into the scoring column in Wednesday’s win over Towson led the team in points Friday. Sophomore Justin McKoy was 4 of 8 from the field and finished with 11 points and one of UVA’s three 3-pointers, while true freshman guard Reece Beekman also had 11 (5-6 fg, 1-1 on 3-pointers). Hauser managed to finish in double figures with 10 points.

Murphy, who exploded on the scene in his UVA debut two days ago with a team-high 21 points and was 6 of 8 on 3-pointers, was held to 4 points and missed all 6 shots he attempted. Huff finished with 4 points.

“I think some of the concerns or question marks we had showed and they didn’t get answered,” Bennett said. “We now go to work and say, ‘What can we do to be better” and use this in the best way possible. That’s all I know how to do.”

Bet you bottom dollar that Bennett will use this to his advantage to make Virginia a better basketball team. He now has his team’s full attention and can use the loss to teach. Bennett knows his team was out-hustled by the Dons and were physical and quick.

The longer the Cavaliers allowed San Francisco to hang around, the more the Dons confidence grew.

When it came down to showtime, San Francisco went on an 8-0 run to take a 61-54 lead with 2:10 to play. Beekman, Clark and McKoy all scored to cut it to 61-60 with 32 seconds to play.

The Dons missed a shot with 11 seconds to play and Huff grabbed the rebound. Down by only one point, all the Cavaliers could come up with at the end was a 3-point attempt by Hauser that missed at the buzzer.

“That was a great defensive possession on the last play,” Golden said. “We had a great fly by close out on a great shooter (Hauser) and the ball didn’t go in.”

During that final few minutes, San Francisco connected on six consecutive 3-pointers, each one of them a confirmation it could finish the upset.

“I kept asking our team in the huddle, ‘How bad do we want to win?’” said Bouyea. “This is the No. 4 team in the country and a national champion. How bad do we want to win.”

Virginia now returns to Charlottesville to gear up for a couple of upcoming nonconference home games (St. Francis of Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 4 p.m.; and Kent State next Friday, 6 p.m.). The Cavaliers have plenty of work to do.

“We take it for what it is,” said McKoy. “San Francisco played a great game. They definitely out-hustled us, had more energy. Everything is a learning experience, whether it’s a win or loss. We move on, kind of neutralize the mindset, and move on to the future.”

Beekman said that it was just one game and while the team was disappointed, they’re looking forward to the next challenge.

“I know I had a couple of [defensive] mistakes, so I’m just trying to figure out how to be more sound and moving the ball around on offense, trying to get everybody involved because sometimes the ball can get stuck in places,” Beekman said.

Back to the drawing board for UVA and its newest philosophy of 5-out offensive fits when 3’s aren’t falling. The Cavaliers had three days to come up with answers.

Team Notes

• The Cavaliers’ (1-1) loss snapped their nine-game winning streak dating back to last season
• UVA is 142-39 in non-conference action under head coach Tony Bennett, including a 67-12 mark in November
• UVA started the game on a 9-2 run, but the Dons gained their first lead on an 11-0 run
• UVA led 24-21 at the half
• USF used an 8-0 run to gain a 61-54 lead at 2:06 second half
• UVA answered with 6-0 run to cut the margin to 61-60
• Virginia outrebounded San Francisco 36-32
• USF was 13 of 28 from 3-point range

Series Notes

• UVA is 0-1 all-time against San Francisco

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Reece Beekman (11), Justin McKoy (11), Sam Hauser (10)
• McKoy buried his first career 3-pointer and scored UVA’s first five points
• McKoy had career highs in points (11) and rebounds (6)
• Beekman had a season-high 11 points