Following his team’s 69-57 Saturday victory against Virginia Tech, Virginia coach Tony Bennett quoted legendary former UCLA coach John Wooden — the “Wizard of Westwood” — who shepherded his Bruins to 10 NCAA championships between 1964 and 1975.
Bennett, Virginia’s guiding hand since he arrived in Charlottesville six seasons ago, said Wooden’s words struck him as perfect descriptors for his latest team.
“It’s the quote that says, ‘It’s amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit,’” Bennett said. “And if that doesn’t embody these guys in terms of their ability to play for each other, to be unselfish, to do the dirty work and then to see what they’ve accomplished…[I’m] very thankful, because these guys have just bought in and played their guts out.”
The Cavaliers had just won their 27th game in 28 tries, matching the best start in Virginia history and clinching at least a share of their second consecutive ACC regular season title. Saturday marked their eighth consecutive win, and sixth since losing junior guard Justin Anderson to a fractured finger.
The team has won collectively, with four players scoring in double figures Saturday, and they have done so with spirit, with senior forward Darion Atkins drawing a technical foul for hanging on the rim in the final moments of his last home game.
Atkins said he had no regrets about getting called for the technical because that moment, up there on the rim, was his own.
“It was intentional,” Atkins said. “I’m not going to lie. I hung on the rim, and I wasn’t going to let [the referee] steal my shine in that moment. I’m glad I finished in that way. It was fun.”
His teammates agreed — and in post-game interviews, they showered Atkins with praise.
“It’s such an honor to be able to play with Darion,” junior forward Anthony Gill said. “You know, he gives so much to our team. He’s such a servant, and we’re so thankful to have him.”
“He’s tenacious,” junior guard Malcolm Brogdon said. “He perseveres through so much…He’s grown the most as a player and as a man in college that I’ve seen out of anybody.”
Atkins started off slowly on Senior Day. Honored alongside classmates Rob Vozenilek and Maleek Frazier before tip-off, he missed both his shots and grabbed just one rebound in 17 first-half minutes.
Virginia, meanwhile, fell behind 11-4 in the early goings and nursed a four-point lead at halftime. Virginia Tech (10-19, 2-14 ACC), the ACC’s last-place team, remained very much in the game.
But after the break, Atkins prospered. He knocked down his first field goal 13 seconds into the second half and scored again with 14:45 remaining to give his team a seven-point lead.
As Atkins found his game, so did the Cavaliers, who pulled ahead by 13 points with 12:42 to go. Sophomore point guard London Perrantes sank two 3-pointers and threw a pretty left-handed pass to Atkins in the paint as Virginia surged ahead.
Perrantes did not play Wednesday after sustaining a broken nose and a mild concussion against Florida State last Sunday. But, wearing a protective mask, he led the team out of the tunnel against Virginia Tech.
He came out for the second half without the mask after re-breaking his nose in the first.
“I dove on the floor for a ball,” Perrantes said. “The mask slipped and I think my nose went with it. So, I feel like once that happened, I just [decided], it’s broken — if I get hit again hopefully it goes back into place.”
Like Perrantes after his re-break, the Hokies refused to go away. Freshman forward Satchel Pierce’s two free throws with 7:32 left capped a 13-4 run that cut Virginia’s lead to four.
Gill, who carried Virginia in the first half, subbed out on Pierce’s free throws, as did redshirt freshman guard Devon Hall and junior center Mike Tobey. Atkins, junior forward Evan Nolte and freshman forward Isaiah Wilkins came in, joining Brogdon and Perrantes.
That quintet changed the tenor of the game, making sweet music with a 12-0 run that put Virginia up 62-46 with less than four minutes to play. Brogdon started the surge with a 3-pointer from the left wing with seven minutes to go.
The run put the Cavaliers in a very favorable position against their in-state and conference rival. The last minute or so of the game turned into a celebration, with the crowd chanting “Atkins” as the announcer intoned, “one minute.”
Atkins threw down a one-handed jam for Virginia’s last field goal. About six seconds later, Bennett subbed him out, all alone, to loud applause. He had 16 points, six rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals to his name.
With 39.4 seconds on the clock, Bennett brought in Frazier and Vozenilek. Neither took a shot, but Frazier — a Charlottesville native — had the ball when the final horn sounded, leaving Virginia with just two regular season games and then the postseason.
“It hasn’t ended yet, so that’s the great part,” Atkins said. “We’ve got a lot of basketball left. And it was a great game.”
Brogdon led Virginia with 19 points, moving into 42nd on Virginia’s career scoring list.
Asked to clarify whether he was glad to end his JPJ experience with a technical foul or whether he was glad to end it against the Hokies, Atkins explained.
“With the tech and against Tech,” Atkins said. “I don’t like Tech, and I was glad I got a tech, essentially, to finish the season. It was a spicy ending.”
Virginia will play Syracuse Monday night at the Carrier Dome. The game starts at 7 p.m.
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