Up by 15 points with less than eight minutes left, the stage was set for No. 3 Duke to end the Cavaliers' senior night on a sour note.
However, Cavalier senior Adam Hall made sure that the Blue Devils would not spoil the occasion. Hall scored 12 points in a 26-8 Cavalier run that closed out the game to give the Cavaliers (17-9, 7-8 ACC) the 87-84 win over Duke (25-3, 12-3).
"It's a perfect ending to a great four years at Virginia," a physically exhausted Hall said after the game. The Cavalier co-captain had to receive an IV following the game as he suffered from dehydration and cramps.
"Tonight, he was the reason we won," junior guard Roger Mason Jr. said.
"He was a big spark," freshman guard Keith Jenifer said. "I wish we could've had him the whole season."
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Hall totaled 21 points, three steals and four rebounds in his final game at University Hall. Included in his 21 points were a fade away three-pointer that cut the Duke lead to three and a slam that brought Virginia to within one.
Fellow senior Chris Williams didn't disappoint either, finishing with 14 points, four rebounds and one very valuable steal.
With Duke on the attack with less than 10 seconds left, Williams swiped the ball away from Duke's Jason Williams to help propel Virginia to the upset.
"I was able to get a hand in there and knock it out," Chris Williams said of his game-saving swipe.
"Chris definitely had the defensive play of the game," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "You could see Jason Williams going coast to coast, so Chris popping that ball out was big for us."
Center Carlos Boozer was the biggest Blue Devil threat in the game, scoring 33 points on 12-of-13 shooting.
"He was great," Gillen said of Boozer. "He's a pro. He's a monster, he mangled us in the first half."
Boozer scored 22 points in the first half to put Duke up by six at the break.
The Cavaliers took their first lead of the game with a running layup by Jenifer. The floater came with 1:18 left in the game and gave Virginia the 78-77 advantage.
"Coach said that if they overplay, I should go," Jenifer said. "They overplayed and I made my move."
"He made a big shot," Gillen said. "Not many freshmen on national television against the No. 3 team in the country are going to take that shot. To have the courage to take it and make it is special."
Jason Williams made it interesting at the end, scoring the last seven Blue Devil points. With 12 seconds remaining, Williams was fouled, but missed the game-tying free throw.
Mason, who shot 8-for-10 from the charity stripe, made two free throws with 9.1 seconds left to give the Cavaliers their final three-point lead.
"I'm very proud of my team," Gillen said. "Down big we kept swinging. I'm very proud of our courage to keep fighting. This is one of the biggest wins we've had since we've been at Virginia, if not the biggest."
This victory almost came without Gillen as he was given a technical foul for arguing with officials. The technical was the first ever for Gillen, and if not for junior Travis Watson who physically restrained him, Gillen might have quickly received his second.
"I was fighting for our players," Gillen said. "We thought things were going inappropriately so we tried to be appropriate."
Hopefully, Virginia will be able to sustain the momentum from its win over Duke.
"This is a big shot in the arm, beating a great team," Gillen said. "We certainly have a gigantic hurdle on Sunday."
The Cavaliers will have little time to celebrate as they turn right around and head to College Park to play the No. 2 Maryland Terrapins. The matchup this Sunday at 8 p.m. will be the last ever game at Maryland's Cole Field House.
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