Reece Beekman and No. 16 Virginia capped the most emotional week of UVA Athletics history, going on a 13-point Cavalanche to defeat No. 19 Illinois, 70-61, Sunday to win the Continental Tire Main Event in Las Vegas.
Trailing 58-56 with 3:26 left, the Cavaliers pulled away from the Illini (4-1) closed the game on a 14-3 run. Beekman scored 17 points and was named the tournament’s MVP. Kihei Clark and Jayden Garner each had 12 for UVA.
The game was played exactly a week after the loss of three Virginia Football players. Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry were fatally shot after returning to Charlottesville from a day field trip to Washington last Sunday.
Friday night, in the team’s first game since the tragedy, the Cavaliers defeated No. 5 Baylor, 86-79, to advance to Sunday’s title game with Illinois, who on Friday beat No. 8 UCLA.
Today’s game was close throughout, with neither team able to gain separation until Virginia’s late run. Trailing 58-56, Jayden Gardner started the Cavaliers 13-0 run with a made free throw, then tourney MVP Beekman took over, scoring the next five Virginia points, with two layups and a free throw. Virginia made five of its final seven shots, while the Illini were just one of their last seven.
Worth the wait, Beekman has arrived
The Beekman we have begged to see has arrived. Virginia fans have been patiently waiting to see Beekman take his game to the next level, and this weekend he did.
Against Baylor, Beekman had his first double-double, with 10 points and 10 assists. Today against Illinois, Beekman did it on both ends of the floor. His defense against Illini star Terrance Shannon Jr., considered a mid-first-round pick, was superb, holding Shannon to nine points, on just 4-of-10 shooting, including 1-of-5 from behind the arc.
Depth and balance might define this team
OK, the Virginia newcomers didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard this weekend. After sizzling in their opening two games in Charlottesville, Isaac McKneely and Ryan Dunn were mostly spectators against top-shelf competition, but they did get rotation minutes, and as they see this level of play more often will get more minutes.
Virginia’s starting rotation, plus sixth man Ben Vander Plas, all appear comfortable in scoring roles and as complementary players as well. Armaan Franklin, after scoring 26 against Baylor, scored nine today, but had five rebounds. Vander Plas, scoring 14 Friday, had eight today, but no field goals, all eight points coming from the charity stripe, but Vander Plas had a game-high 10 rebounds.
All six players for UVA are experienced and capable of going toe-to-toe with any level of competition.
Small-ball, fast-paced, Virginia can do it
In Las Vegas, Virginia posted 70 points-plus in consecutive games, a rarity for Cavalier basketball. Against Baylor, Virginia connected on 9-of-14 from three-point land, Sunday, the Wahoos were just 5-of-17 from behind the arc.
Despite the drop off from three-point land, Virginia found way to score at a high rate per possession. Against any level of competition, the long-range shooting may not be there every game. Virginia’s guards were able to penetrate and score at times. The Virginia big men and the front court contributed some key offensive rebounds that kept possessions after missed shots.
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