Two guys talked to the media after Virginia lost at Florida State Sunday night about how their teammates needed to step up.
And then those two guys, Anthony Gill and London Perrantes, stunk up the gym Tuesday night.
Stunk up might be putting it nicely. Gill was beaten consistently by Clemson forward Jaron Blossomgame, unable to guard the stretch four on the perimeter, getting beaten off the dribble, late closing out on open threes, which Blossomgame drained to the tune of 4-of-6 shooting from long range.
Perrantes, for his part, would shoot a modest 2-of-6 from the floor and a woeful 2-of-7 from the foul line, which is significant because he had been shooting 86.5 percent – 32-of-37 – on the year coming in.
You talk the talk, you need to walk the walk, but hey, that’s basketball. Some nights go that way.
But their words from Sunday night proved prophetic. Somebody needed to step up from outside the Big Three – and credit to Malcolm Brogdon for his turnaround game, 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, after his 4-of-17 effort at FSU.
Brogdon wasn’t the only guy to step up. How about Devon Hall, who scored 11 on 3-of-5 shooting in 26 minutes, with a team-best plus-minus rating of +13.
There’s one guy who stepped up.
Another: Isaiah Wilkins. Coming off the bench, Wilkins scored 10 on 4-of-7 shooting in 23 minutes, with a +9 rating.
Mike Tobey didn’t put up big numbers – six points and six rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench – but he had a +7 rating, and the lineup with Tobey and Wilkins in the post was what fueled a 12-2 run that helped UVA open up a brief 13-point second-half lead.
It was when coach Tony Bennett went back to Gill that Clemson made its run to get back in the game, getting as close as two before the Cavs could close things out.
As it turns out, the two biggest baskets of the game came from Gill, on a tip-in of a Brogdon miss with 3:04 to go, and a breakaway dunk on a Clemson miss that Brogdon corralled and hit a streaking AG with a full-court pass with 2:48 left.
That turned a two-point game into a six-point game, and Clemson was chasing points the rest of the way.
Gill ended up with 12, on an inefficient 4-of-9 from the field, with five rebounds in just 23 minutes, saddled as he was with foul trouble, in addition to his trouble guarding Blossomgame.
Perrantes had six points to go with six rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes.
Virginia didn’t win because of its Big Three. This W was Brogdon, a little bit of Gill, and Hall, Wilkins and Tobey stepping up.
It was the kind of hard-work win that has been the hallmark of Virginia teams in recent years, nut had been in short supply of late.
– Story by Chris Graham
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