At the end of Saturday's double overtime loss to Maryland, the stat sheet pretty much said it all.
There really weren't many numbers that stuck out -- Virginia had just 13 turnovers, rebounded well, and held the Terps to under 40 percent shooting in the game. In fact, there were few differences between the teams in any statistical category.
Except one.
The Cavaliers missed 15 of 27 shots from the free throw line, a pathetic 44 percent on the game. On the other side of the court, Maryland downed 25 of 34 freebies for a cool 73.5 percent.
Maryland's version of the "Hack-a-Shaq" method for containing Shaquille O'Neal worked wonders as applied to Sir Elton Brown on Saturday afternoon. By fouling in the paint to make every field goal difficult, the Terrapin defense challenged the center to earn his two points at the free throw line.
When a player makes these free throws, the strategy is essentially worthless as your fouls rise toward the one-and-one bonus level. Yet, when a player misses his free throws, the result is essentially a turnover.
Brown converted on just three of 13 attempts from the line for a free throw percentage of below 25 percent.
In the second overtime, Gary Forbes and Sean Singletary each exited with their fifth foul of the game after tallying a combined 40 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. With their hot hands relegated to the bench, Virginia looked for their seniors to lead the team to victory down the stretch.
It was then that Brown had his chance.
With 19 seconds remaining, the Cavaliers were down 91-89. Enduring a dismal day from the free throw line, Brown once again found himself face-on with the rim and a chance to tie the game.
In a scene straight out of Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat," mighty Elton toed the line.
Teammates interlocked arms on the bench. The crowd cheered to give their senior renewed confidence and coerce their star to forget about the previous 11 attempts and focus on the pair at hand.
The first one hit rim and the arena exhaled in despair.
The second was worse, hitting the outside of the bottom of the net. It was an official airball from a senior at the free throw line at the end of a double overtime conference matchup.
Virginia did have one last chance, down three points with 13 seconds remaining. Without a timeout, the team was forced to improvise, and somehow Elton Brown found himself with the ball outside the three-point arc as time dwindled.
I really hoped that he would make the shot. A retro three-pointer from Brown's freshman year would send the game into a third overtime.
The ball fell a full foot short of the basket.
And as the teams shook hands in front of the scorer's table, Elton bypassed this formality and headed to the locker room. He was not available for comment to the media after the game.
Personnel in the media room after the contest credited Brown with his eleventh double-double of the season on 13 points and 12 rebounds. Outside of his free throw percentage, the center had played a decent game. He was still a player with the ability to take over a game in the paint. He was still a strong force on the court.
But there was no joy in Charlottesville that day, for mighty Elton had struck out.
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