Virginia survives, advances, defeating North Texas, 71-69, in NIT second round

Virginia gave up a 10-point second-half lead, going the final 5:42 of regulation without a point, then nearly gave up a seven-point lead in the OT.

Whatevs. Survive and advance, and that’s what the Cavaliers did, in a 71-69 win at North Texas in the second round of the NIT on Sunday.

Both of Virginia’s centers, Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro, fouled out – Shedrick on a game-tying four-point play with 2:30 to go.

UVA (21-13) missed its final seven shots of regulation to allow the Mean Green (25-7) back into the game.

Both teams went scoreless after the Tylor Perry three-plus-the-harm that tied the game at 55-55.

Armaan Franklin emerged as the hero in this one for the ‘Hoos. After going scoreless in first-half minutes, Franklin didn’t start the second half, but after subbing in at the 13:29 mark, he caught fire, scoring Virginia’s next 17 points – the final eight of regulation, the first nine of OT, connecting on 5-of-6 from three-point range.

His last bucket, with 2:50 to go in OT, put UVA up 64-58.

A Reece Beekman fast-break layup would extend the lead to 68-61 with 1:39 on the clock, and Virginia had two chances inside a minute to go to add on, but Jayden Gardner missed in the lane, and Kody Stattmann’s tip rolled off the rim.

Mardrez McBride answered with a three, his sixth of the game, to get North Texas back to 68-64.

Virginia missed the front end of consecutive one-and-ones – Beekman, Stattmann – and a Perry layup with 16 seconds left cut the margin to 68-66.

Gardner made both ends of a two-shot foul with 13 ticks remaining.

Thomas Bell converted an and-one on a stickback with six seconds left to get it to 70-69 Virginia.

Kihei Clark, a 78.4 percent shooter at the line coming in, missed the front end of a two-shot foul, and made the second, to get the lead back to two.

North Texas didn’t have a timeout, and had to scramble. The ball ended up in the hands of Perry, who missed a runner from 30 feet, the ball hitting the backboard and then hard off the rim as the buzzer sounded.

Phew.

The centers, who, as noted, both fouled out, had four points and three rebounds total to go with their 10 fouls in 31 minutes.

The Cavaliers went nearly six minutes without a bucket, 10-of-19 at the line, had ample opportunity to put it away in OT, had to endure another 30-foot prayer at the buzzer that, thankfully, wasn’t answered.

The heroes here: Franklin, with his 17 points (5-of-8 FG, 5-of-7 3FG, 2-of-2 FT), Beekman, who finished with 13 points (6-of-9 FG), nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals, and Stattmann, who had nine points (3-of-6 FG, 1-of-2 3FG, 2-of-4 FT) and 10 rebounds in 35 minutes off the bench.

Gardner also had 17 points, but needed 17 shots to get them (7-of-17 FG, 3-of-4 FT).

Clark finished with 11 points (4-of-11 FG, 2-of-7 3FG, 1-of-2 FT) and four assists.

Virginia advances to the third round of the NIT to face the winner of the Oklahoma-St. Bonaventure game on either Tuesday or Wednesday, somewhere, at some set time.

Story by Chris Graham