"If I had a nickel for every time I told them that free throws win games I would be a very, very, very wealthy man," Virginia head coach Pete Gillen said after his team dropped a heartbreaking 82-80 decision to Georgia Tech on Saturday.
The Cavaliers might want to consider digging in their pockets and giving Gillen his five cents. Four consecutive Cavalier misses from the charity stripe in the final minute kept Georgia Tech in the game long enough for Marvin Lewis to nail a three pointer from the top of the key to give Georgia Tech (13-15, 5-9 ACC) a last-second victory over the No. 22 Cavaliers (16-9, 6-8).
"As a captain and a leader on this team I take responsibility for it," junior guard Roger Mason Jr. said after the game. "I should have knocked down the free throws."
With one minute left in the game, the Cavaliers found themselves in the drivers' seat. They were up by six points with Mason, the best free throw shooter in ACC history, going to the line for a one-and-one after being fouled by Georgia Tech guard Tony Akins. After Mason missed the front end of the one-and-one, Georgia Tech's B.J. Elder drilled a three-pointer from way out on the left wing to bring the Yellow Jackets within three.
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In the ensuing Cavalier possession, junior Travis Watson found himself at the free throw line after being fouled by Akins with 27.1 seconds left. As Watson's first attempt of the one-and-one fell short, Georgia Tech snatched the rebound and Akins brought the ball up for the Yellow Jackets.
With 19.5 seconds remaining and Virginia up by three Gillen gave the order for freshman Jermaine Harper to intentionally foul Akins and put him on the line.
"They were on fire from three-point range," Gillen said. "We thought they would tie it the way they were hitting. We wanted the chance to get the ball back again."
Although the Cavaliers got the ball like Gillen wanted, Akins sunk both shots to bring the game within one point with 18.8 seconds left.
"I've always giventhe foul in the last 25 seconds" Gillen said justifying his decision. "But that didn't beat us. What beat us was that we didn't defend or make our free throws."
Unable to get the ball in to Mason, Cavalier forward Chris Williams inbounded the ball to Watson, who immediately was fouled by Georgia Tech's Robert Brooks.
"Poor execution down the stretch killed us," Gillen said. "Travis ended up with the ball and he's not our best free throw shooter. Travis is a great player, but we don't want him handling the ball in the backcourt at the end of a game."
Watson stepped to the line and missed both free throws.
"I'll take the blame, but the players have to do what we tell them to do," Gillen said. "We wanted to get the ball to Roger or at least one of our guards."
Georgia Tech snatched Watson's second miss and Akins set up the offense for the Yellow Jackets, who now had the ball with a chance at the win. Akins dribbled down the clock and with a few seconds left made his move. A screen-and-roll left Lewis open at the top of the key. Lewis, who connected on five of six attempts from downtown, got the pass from Akins and drilled the shot to send Virginia to its seventh loss in the last nine games.
"It was one of those shots where you didn't think at all," Lewis said. "I just shot it with confidence."
The Cavalier loss put a damper on senior Adam Hall's return to the starting lineup. Hall played 34 minutes and totaled 15 points, six rebounds and four steals.
"Adam did a great job," Gillen said. "He's coming back strong and we missed him. Obviously him being out 10 games hurt us."
Mason led the Cavaliers with 19 points while Watson and Williams chipped in 17 and 16 points, respectively. However, their efforts weren't enough for Virginia to close out the game over Georgia Tech.
"This is a very, very tough loss," Gillen said. "Georgia Tech's a good team but this is a game we definitely should have won"
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