Virginia hangs on in a tight one over Louisville, 51-50, to advance to ACC quarterfinals

By Scott Ratcliffe

Virginia overcame a sloppy start and hung on late for a hard-fought, 51-50 win over a scrappy Louisville squad Wednesday to advance to the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn.

Clinging to a late two-point lead, UVA guard Reece Beekman drove to the hole and scored off the glass with 40 seconds on the clock, as the sixth-seeded Cavaliers (19-12) went ahead, 49-45.

With 4.7 ticks left, Louisville’s Malik Williams scored on a putback to cut it to two, 49-47, but Jayden Gardner was immediately fouled and confidently sank a pair from the free-throw line to seal the deal, despite a last-second 3-pointer from half court by the Cardinals’ El Ellis.

UVA will now face third-seeded North Carolina in Thursday’s quarterfinal round in the Big Apple (see complete results and remaining schedule, along with game notes, below).

Down by four to start the second half, Kadin Shedrick scored on a hard-earned three-point play, the Wahoo defense forced a shot-clock violation, and then Gardner gave UVA its first lead of the night, 25-24, on a jump shot just over two minutes in.

Over the next few minutes, the two teams went blow for blow, matching one another with tough baskets and sat deadlocked at 33-apiece as the clock went under 12 minutes. Every time the Hoos grabbed a two-point edge, the 11th-seeded Cardinals (13-19) would knot the score.

Tied at 39-all, Kihei Clark scored on a reverse layup, but Williams answered with a contested corner triple, giving the Cardinals a slight edge with under five minutes to go. Shedrick sank a pair from the line on the next trip down the floor, and UVA took a 43-42 advantage into the final media timeout with 3:51 remaining.

Gardner stretched it to 45-42 with 2:57 to play, but Noah Locke responded with a 3-pointer to tie it up again, setting up the nail-biting conclusion.

After Beekman’s late bucket, he wasn’t through and turned his attention to defending Locke, who went up for a shot attempt but didn’t release before landing, resulting in an up-and-down turnover with 28.5 seconds left.

Gardner led all scorers with 17 points (7 for 12 FG) to go with his 4 rebounds, while Clark added 15 points (7 for 14), 4 boards and a pair of steals. Beekman finished with 8 points, a game-high 9 assists, 5 rebounds, a block and a steal, as UVA shot 52 percent after halftime (12 for 23) and 42 percent (21 for 50) for the game, missing all six attempts from 3-point range.

Williams was the only Louisville player in double figures with 11 to go with his game-high 13 rebounds, 3 blocks and 3 steals. The Cardinals shot 36 percent (20 for 56) and 23 percent (5 for 22) from beyond the arc, edging Virginia on the boards, 36-34.

FIRST HALF

More than three minutes passed before Virginia got on the scoreboard, and the Cavaliers trailed 4-2 at the first media timeout with 14:27 on the clock, opening the game with misses on seven of their first eight attempts from the field, and 16 of their first 18.

Clark got a jumper to fall out of the initial TV break to briefly tie it up before Louisville’s Jarrod West — who scored a game-high 20 points in the opening-round win over Georgia Tech — drilled a long 3-ball to put the Cardinals back in front. That turned out to be West’s only made bucket of the game.

Samuell Williamson dunked one down in transition to give Louisville an 11-4 lead just past the midway point of the half, and Curry followed with a basket to extend it to nine, as Virginia looked rattled by the Cardinals’ early intensity and effort, particularly on the defensive end.

Gardner finally got one to drop with 8:35 until halftime, ending a 9-0 Louisville spurt, then split a pair of free throws to cut the UVA deficit to 13-7, just before the Wahoo defense forced a shot-clock violation heading into the under-eight timeout for some extra momentum.

Gardner sank a turnaround jumper out of the break to cap his own personal 5-0 scoring run, Malachi Poindexter buried a long jumper to beat the shot clock on the ensuing possession, and despite the poor shooting, the Hoos were only down by three, 17-14, after a drive to the rack by Clark with 4:49 left.

Down by six late in the half, Clark spun and scored again in the paint, and then Beekman picked off a Louisville pass and laid it in on the other end, trimming the Cardinal lead to just two, 22-20, with 1:27 showing.

Gardner was whistled for a mysterious loose-ball foul, his second, with 28 seconds left, leading to a pair of Dre Davis free throws in the closing seconds. Clark launched one from halfcourt just before the halftime horn that bounced off the front of the rim, as the Hoos went into the locker room trailing 24-20.

Virginia shot just 33 percent (9 for 27) across the opening 20 minutes (0 for 4 from downtown), but did make 7 of its last 9 shots heading into the break to remain in striking distance.

Louisville wasn’t much better, shooting 40 percent (10 of 25; 1 for 10 from deep), but outscored the Hoos 7-2 on the fast break.

Box Score

Team Notes

• The Cavaliers improved to 19-12
• The Cavaliers will play No. 3 seed North Carolina in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 10 at Barclays Center at 9:30 p.m.
• UVA forced two shot clock violations (34 in 2021-22)
• UVA advances to the ACC quarterfinals for the 10th straight year
• UVA has a program-best one win in each of the last eight ACC tournaments
• UVA is 2-0 mark in the ACC Tournament second round
• Head coach Tony Bennett a 13-8 in the ACC Tournament
• UVA is 3-0 mark on neutral courts in 2021-22
• UVA is 9-1 all-time at the Barclays Center (5-1 in ACC Tournament)
• UVA started 2 of 18 from the field and had four points in the first 11:23
• UVA’s 20 first half points were its lowest since 14 vs. JMU on Dec. 7
• UVA gained its first lead at 25-24, starting the second half on a 7-0 run
• UVA (0 of 6) was held without a 3-pointer for the second time this season
• Virginia’s 9:43 of lead time is its shortest in a UVA win this season
• UVA has now won six of its last seven ACC Tournament games

Series Notes

• Virginia is 20-5 all-time vs. Louisville in a series that began in 1923-24.
• UVA has a five-game winning streak vs. Louisville and has won 14 of the last 15 meetings.
• UVA is 15-2 vs. Louisville, including a 2-0 mark in the ACC Tournament, since the Cardinals joined the ACC.
• Tony Bennett is 15-2 vs. Louisville as head coach at Virginia

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Jayden Gardner (17), Kihei Clark (15)
• Gardner reached double figures for the 25th time (99th career)
• Clark reached double figures for the 16th time (50th career)
• Reece Beekman (9 assists) passed London Perrantes (153 assists in 2015-16) for 10th on UVA’s single season assist list with 155
• Beekman (1 steal) has at least one steal in 28 of 31 games
• Kadin Shedrick (3 blocks) passed Mamadi Diakite (63 blocks in 2018-19) for seventh on UVA’s single-season blocked shots list with 64

UP NEXT

It’ll be another late night for Cavalier fans, as the Hoos tip off against the Tar Heels Thursday at approximately 9:30 p.m. (ESPN) at the Barclays Center.

ACC Tournament

Barclays Center
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Tuesday
Opening Round
Game 1 — No. 13 Boston College 66, No. 12 Pittsburgh 46
Game 2 — No. 10 Clemson 70, No. 15 NC State 64
Game 3 — No. 11 Louisville 84, No. 14 Georgia Tech 74

Wednesday
Second Round
Game 4 — No. 9 Syracuse 96, No. 8 Florida State 57
Game 5 — No. 13 Boston College 82, No. 5 Wake Forest 77 (OT)
Game 6 — No. 7 Virginia Tech 76, No. 10 Clemson 75 (OT)
Game 7 — No. 6 Virginia 51, No. 11 Louisville 50

Thursday
Quarterfinals
Game 8 — No. 9 Syracuse vs. No. 1 Duke, Noon (ESPN)
Game 9 — No. 13 Boston College vs. No. 4 Miami, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 10 — No. 7 Virginia Tech vs. No. 2 Notre Dame, 7 p.m. (ESPN2)
Game 11 — No. 6 Virginia vs. No. 3 North Carolina, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Friday
Semifinals
Game 12 — Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 7 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)
Game 13 — Game 10 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 9:30 p.m. (ESPN/ESPN2)

Saturday
Championship
Game 14 — Semifinal winners, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)