A Kihei Clark three tied it, a Ty Jerome three put Virginia ahead, and then the ‘Hoos won it with, what else, defense, holding Oregon without a field goal in the final 5:43, to seal a 53-49 win in the Sweet Sixteen Thursday night.
With the win, UVA (32-3) will meet Purdue (26-9) on Saturday for a berth in the Final Four.
It wasn’t pretty getting there, to say the least.
Oregon (25-13), which had won 10 straight coming in, led by as many as six in the first half, but the Cavaliers closed on a 20-6 run in the final 6:05 to take a 30-22 lead into the break.
The Ducks took a 42-40 lead on the second of back-to-back threes by Louis King at the 8:32 mark.
A Jerome jumper tied things back up on Virginia’s next possession, but another King three, with 5:43 to go, put Oregon up three, and put the ‘Hoos on their heels.
Clark, the 5’9” freshman, connected from the right wing 22 seconds later to tie the score back at 45.
It would stay there until the Jerome three with 3:34 to go put Virginia up to stay.
The teams would go back and forth getting stops and grinding things out into the final minute.
Virginia finally broke the logjam when Kyle Guy found De’Andre Hunter alone under the rim for a layup with 27 seconds left that pushed the lead to five.
Payton Pritchard made a pair of free throws with 17 seconds to go to cut the lead back to three.
Hunter then made both ends of a one-and-one with 12 seconds left to get the margin to five.
King was fouled on an offensive rebound with 1.1 seconds left, and made both free throws to get Oregon back to within three.
Clark took the inbounds pass and converted the front end of the one-and-one with a half-second left to clinch the victory and the Elite Eight berth, Virginia’s second in the past four years.
It’s not a stretch to suggest that the win was sparked by Clark, who had 12 points and six assists in 37 minutes, shooting 4-of-9 from the floor.
Jerome led UVA with 13 points and also had six assists.
Guy struggled again with his shooting, connecting on just four of his 15 shot attempts, to finish with 10 points.
Hunter also had an off-night on the offensive end, scoring 11, but shooting just 4-of-13.
Mamadi Diakite had seven points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
King led all scorers with 16 points. Pritchard had 11 for Oregon.
Augusta Free Press coverage of the 2019 postseason is presented by Bear Creek. Serving Waynesboro, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg and surrounding communities, Bear Creek provides a hassle-free process to help homeowners create outdoor living spaces that bring people together. Schedule a consultation at BearCreek.co.
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