Shedrick, Beekman help Virginia bounce back at Louisville with 71-61 win

By Scott Ratcliffe

Kadin Shedrick’s career-high 20 points led the way as Virginia finished the regular season on a high note, sweeping Louisville, 71-61, Saturday at the KFC Yum! Center.

With the victory, the Cavaliers (18-12, 12-8 ACC) wrapped up the No. 6 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament and made it 13 wins in 15 meetings over U of L since the Cardinals (12-18, 6-14) became a conference member.

Sophomore guard Reece Beekman registered a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds to go along with 5 assists, a game-high 5 steals and a block.

The Wahoos erased an early 8-0 deficit and exploded midway through the first half, leading by as many as 20 points en route to a 19-point halftime advantage.

Armaan Franklin drilled a long 3-pointer early in the second half to give Virginia a 39-21 lead before Louisville tried to mount a rally, using an 8-0 run to pull within 10 on a Sydney Curry follow with 16:28 to go. After a monster first half, Shedrick established his new career mark with his 18th point on a second-chance bucket with 13:50 remaining to make it 43-29.

Senior Kody Stattmann matched his career high of 11 points with a 3-pointer to give the Hoos a comfortable 17-point lead with just over nine minutes to play, and then Beekman followed with consecutive triples from the same spot, and Virginia led 58-44 at the media timeout with 6:34 left.

Curry converted a three-point play to cap a 9-0 run and get the Cardinals back within single digits, 58-50, as the game went under six minutes. Louisville senior Malik Williams’ 3-pointer cut the UVA lead to seven with 3:30 to go, but Beekman answered with his third triple of the half on the ensuing possession, and the Hoos led 69-59 with 2:52 left. The Cardinals had a chance to make it a two-possession affair, but Williams missed a layup with 1:32 on the clock, and Beekman sealed the contest with a pair of steals in the final minute.

”We didn’t buckle this time,” said Tony Bennett, after pointing out how his team let a late lead slip away against Florida State last week. “We stayed tough and that’s what it’s about. That’s the difference. Making some plays.”

On the afternoon, the Cavaliers shot 25 for 49 (51 percent) from the field, 7 for 12 (58 percent) from downtown and 14 for 18 (78 percent) from the free-throw line. Along with Shedrick — who finished the game 8 of 9 from the floor — and Beekman, two other Hoos scored in double figures, as Franklin had 13 and Stattmann added 11. Kihei Clark and Jayden Gardner each scored 6 points.

Louisville shot 40 percent (22 for 55), making 8 of 23 from 3-point land (35 percent). Curry led the Cardinals with game highs of 24 points and 14 rebounds in the losing effort.

FIRST HALF

Neither team could light up the scoreboard until three minutes in, as Jarrod West sank a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 Louisville run to put the Hoos in an early hole.

Beekman finally got Virginia on the board with 15:37 on the clock, as the Cavaliers got right back in the game with a 9-2 spurt to get within a point.

“The way we started the game, I was a little bit concerned,” admitted Bennett, “because [the Cardinals] got off to a good start and we weren’t quite sharp… but I really did like how [the Hoos] responded with their defense.”

Shedrick knotted the score at 12-all on a three-point play with 11:18 to go, then after forcing a shot-clock violation, the Hoos took their first lead on a Beekman jumper with 7:33 left until halftime.

It was pretty much all Wahoos from that point on. Stattmann scored on a layup in transition with 5:45 remaining, and then a Shedrick putback jam gave UVA a 24-16 lead, prompting a Louisville timeout with 4:56 left. A Clark triple pushed the lead to double digits, and then the 5-foot-9 guard scored again in the paint the next trip down, and Virginia led 29-16 as the clock went under three minutes.

Back-to-back Shedrick dunks increased the Hoos’ advantage to 17, and then the 6-11 sophomore forward converted another three-point play with 43 seconds to go, as Louisville missed 15 of its last 18 shots over the final 15 minutes of the half.

UVA ended the half with a 24-3 Cavalanche over the final 9:48 and led 36-17 at the break, as the Cardinals went the last 6:42 of the half without a made field goal. Shedrick led all scorers at halftime with 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting as the Hoos shot 58 percent (15 of 26) and limited Louisville to 28 percent (7 of 25).

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• The Cavaliers improved to 18-12, 12-8 ACC
• UVA has won 18 or more games for the 11th straight year
• Virginia secured the No. 6 seed in the ACC Tournament
• The Cavaliers will play the winner of the No. 11 and No. 14 seed in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday, March 9 at Barclays Center at 9:30 p.m.
• UVA has won 12 or more ACC games for the fourth straight year
• UVA has finished with  .500 or better road record (6-6) for the sixth straight year
• UVA completed its two-game season sweep over the Cardinals
• UVA has an 8-2 record at KFC Yum! Center
• Louisville used an 9-0 run to close the margin to 58-50 before a pair of Armaan Franklin free throws
• UVA led 36-17 at the half
• UVA went on a 24-2 run to gain a 36-16 lead
• UVA had an 18-0 run during the 24-2 run
• UVA went scoreless for first 4:23 of the game before a Reece Beekman made jump shot
• UVA forced one shot clock violation (32 in 2021-22)

Series Notes

• Virginia is 19-5 all-time vs. Louisville in a series that began in 1923-24
• UVA has a four-game winning streak vs. Louisville and has won 13 of the last 14 meetings
• UVA is 13-2 vs. the Cardinals in ACC action
• Tony Bennett is 14-2 vs. Louisville as head coach at Virginia

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Kadin Shedrick (20), Reece Beekman (15), Armaan Franklin (13), Kody Stattmann (11)
• Shedrick had a career-high 20 points
• Beekman added a career-high 12 rebounds for his first career double-double
• Beekman (5 steals) moved into past Othell Wilson (1981-82) for second on UVA’s single-season steal list with 62
• Stattmann matched a career high with 11 points
• Shedrick reached double figures for the 10th time (12th career)
• Shedrick made 10 straight field goals (Feb. 19-March 5) until his second half miss in the lane
• Beekman reached double figures for the 10th time (13th career)
• Stattmann reached double figures for the first time (3rd career)
• Franklin reached double figures for the 19th time (33rd career)
• Jayden Gardner’s has 12-game double figure scoring streak ended

UP NEXT

The Cavaliers begin play in the ACC Tournament on Wednesday night in Brooklyn, going up against the winner of Tuesday’s Louisville-Georgia Tech matchup at 9:30 p.m. (ESPN2).