Reece Beekman made the two biggest plays of his life – a steal and bucket with 1:48 to go to tie it, then a go-ahead three from the left corner with 1.1 seconds to go that lifted Virginia to an improbable 69-68 win at #7 Duke on Big Monday.
Virginia (15-9, 9-5 ACC) led most of the way, but Duke (19-4, 9-3 ACC) seemed to finally take control with a 7-0 run over a two-minute stretch.
A Wendell Moore Jr. three with 4:38 on the clock got the run started, cutting the UVA lead to one, at 63-62, and a Jeremy Roach jumper at the four-minute mark put the Blue Devils on top for the first time since midway through the first half.
A Trevor Keels driving layup then extended the Duke lead to three, at 66-63, with 2:49 to go.
Armaan Franklin made one of two free throws to cut the deficit to a bucket at the 2:35 mark.
Virginia forced a Keels miss, and Tony Bennett called a timeout to set up a play, which he ran for Beekman, who got to the rim, but had his shot blocked by Theo John.
The rebound went to Jeremy Roach, who promptly had his pocket picked from behind by Beekman, who made a layup as he was getting fouled by Roach.
Beekman missed the and-one free throw, but the score was tied at 66 with 1:47 to go.
Duke, which had the advantage of the whistles all night long, connecting on 18-of-22 at the line, while Virginia was just 5-of-9, got a pair of free throws from Keels that put the Blue Devils back on top, 68-66, with 1:28 left.
Kihei Clark missed a layup with 1:18 to go, but Virginia retained possession when Duke couldn’t keep the rebound in play, then Clark missed from three with 1:07 on the clock, and Moore snared the board.
Virginia got its last stop of the night on Duke’s next possession, forcing a Paolo Banchero turnover with 32 seconds left.
Franklin, with 10 seconds left, missed a layup, and John rebounded for Duke, but Clark was able to tie him up for a held ball, and Virginia, fortunately, had the alternate possession.
Bennett called another timeout to set up the final shot, which saw the ball go first to Clark, who then found Beekman in the corner behind the arc, off a nice screen set by center Kadin Shedrick.
Beekman hit the shot as he was hit on the right arm, with, predictably, no foul called.
It was Virginia’s second make from three on the night.
The Cavaliers finished 2-of-12 from three.
Duke, after a Mike Krzyzewski timeout, was able to get the ball downcourt for a Banchero three, but the shot hit the top of the backboard as the buzzer sounded.
That’s a shame.
Virginia rotation guys
Beekman fought foul trouble for most of the second half. After picking up a cheapie for foul #2 with 2:05 to go in the first half, he was whistled for #3 48 seconds into the second half, sat for the next seven minutes, then was assessed for #4 at the 7:28 mark, sending him back to the bench until the under-4 timeout.
Meaning he only got 10 minutes of floor time in the second half.
Beeks had two points and three assists on the night until the flurry in the final 1:48.
He finished with seven points on 3-of-7 shooting, 1-of-2 from three, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes, which was, yes, a season-low.
If not for Beekman’s late heroics, Kadin Shedrick might have been the game MVP. Shedrick finished with 16 points and six rebounds, on 8-of-8 shooting, in 24 minutes off the bench.
The starter at the five spot, Francisco Caffaro, had eight points (3-of-6 FG) and six rebounds in 16 minutes.
As has been the case a lot of late, Virginia’s bigs outplayed their opposite numbers, Mark Williams (16 points, 5-of-7 FG, four rebounds) and John (five points, 2-of-2 FG, four rebounds).
The surprise matchup win of the night was Jayden Gardner outplaying Banchero, the highest-rated among Duke’s three project NBA Draft lottery picks.
Gardner finished with 17 points and eight rebounds, on 8-of-19 shooting. Banchero had just nine points, his first game of the season in which he didn’t reach double figures, on 3-of-9 shooting, and Banchero only had one shot attempt in the second half, the wild miss on the desperation three at the buzzer.
OK, so maybe the actual game MVP for Virginia had to be Clark, who had eight points (4-of-11 shooting) and nine assists.
Clark’s steady play steeled the offense through a lot of tense moments in the second half, and he more than held his own against Duke’s bigger, more physical guards.
Clark, Beekman and Armaan Franklin (11 points, 4-of-13 FG, 1-of-6 3FG, three assists, four steals) won the night against the Duke backcourt of Keels (12 points, 3-of-11 FG, 1-of-3 3FG, two assists), Moore (nine points, 3-of-8 FG, 1-of-5 3FG, one assist), Roach (seven points, 2-of-5 FG, 1-of-2 3FG, four assists) and AJ Griffin (two points, 1-of-7 FG, 0-of-2 3FG, four assists).
And then there’s this: because of the foul trouble for Beekman, Bennett had to go to sophomore walk-on Malachi Poindexter for 14 minutes and senior Kody Stattmann for 10 minutes.
Poindexter didn’t take a shot and only put up two rebounds as his counting stat, but his plus/minus was -4.
That’s something to be proud of for a guy who had to get into school on his own after scoring 13 points a game at St. Anne’s-Belfield as a senior in 2019-2020.
Kid more than held his own against guys who will play in the NBA.
Maybe he gets some MVP consideration as well.
Stattmann had a stickback bucket in the first half, and finished with those two points and two rebounds, and a -4 plus/minus.
Inside the Numbers
Aforementioned, Duke had an 18-of-22 to 5-of-9 edge at the free throw line, which is rubbish.
Virginia was attacking the rim all night – the ‘Hoos were 20-of-34 on shots at the rim; Duke, 13-of-24.
That’s 10 more attempts at the rim.
Virginia had 13 less tosses from the stripe.
Rubbish.
And I’m reading the Duke message board, and they’re the ones complaining about the zebras.
Totally lacking in self-awareness, those Dookies.
Virginia forced 15 Duke turnovers, and the ‘Hoos committed just five. Virginia had a massive 20-2 edge in points off turnovers.
And then points in the paint: how about Virginia 52, Duke 28?
This one’s not even close at the end without the discrepancy in calls.
Quick hits
Virginia shot 47.7 percent from the floor (31-of-65). Duke was 22-of-52 (42.3 percent).
Duke had a 39-32 advantage in rebounds.
Banchero’s second-half statline: 0 points, 0-of-1 from the field, two rebounds, two assists, three turnovers, in 20 minutes.
Story by Chris Graham
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