"I have not yet begun to fight." The words of the famous Admiral John Paul Jones rang true for the Virginia Cavaliers last night. After being down by as much as 19 points in the first half, the Cavaliers stormed back in the second half and defeated the No. 10 Arizona Wildcats 93-90.
Virginia was led by the sharp-shooting play of sophomore Mamadi Diane, who scored 25 points on 8-9 shooting from the floor. More importantly, Diane made five three-pointers, several of which came at key moments in the second half and enabled the Cavaliers to score 57 points in the final period.
The John Paul Jones Arena proved to be an electric atmosphere and provided Virginia with a great advantage. A crowd of 15,219 people witnessed a spectacular pregame introduction and aided the Cavaliers immensely in their second-half comeback.
"On a night like this, I couldn't be prouder to be the coach of this basketball program and the guys that are involved in it," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "I think we played one of the very best teams in America tonight, and we hung tough. I couldn't be prouder of everybody on this team right now."
Diane started the game off on a good note by hitting a three-pointer which helped Virginia jump out to an early 10-4 lead. However, Arizona answered Virginia's quick start and took over the lead for the rest of the first half. The Cavaliers committed eight turnovers in the first half, many of which led directly to easy baskets for the Wildcats. But Virginia was able to settle down, ending the first half with a 13-point deficit.
"With four minutes left, I told the team if we could cut [the deficit] to around 10, it would be manageable," Leitao said. "We thought if we could just stay within striking distance and allow our defense to make some stops that eventually we would be ok."
It was a tale of two halves as the Cavaliers turned things around in the second period. Led by Diane and junior guard Sean Singletary, the Cavaliers erased the Wildcats' advantage and took the lead for good 83-82 with 4:11 to play. Virginia shot 66 percent from three-point range in the second half, hitting four of six treys to Arizona's 4-12 shooting. Additionally, Arizona committed 27 fouls and allowed the Cavaliers to score 21 points off of free throws. As a team, Virginia made 75 percent of its free throws.
Virginia was able to protect the ball much more efficiently in the second half and only committed three turnovers in the final period. The Wildcats had seven second half turnovers.
"In the second half we just put Virginia in the bonus situation," an exasperated Arizona coach Lute Olsen said. "And the fouls -- we need to learn how to play defense without fouling."
The play of Singletary particularly stood out and was a major factor in Virginia's comeback. Singletary finished with 25 points and made 13-14 free throws. Singletary's clutch free throws allowed Virginia to hold off Arizona down the stretch.
"Playing 37 minutes and cramping up and only turning the ball over once -- it speaks to who he is," Leitao said. "And to only have 11 turnovers for the game as a team was a big key to the game."
Arizona came into the game boasting a No. 10 ranking in the preseason poll. However, Virginia was able to answer the challenge that Arizona presented and grab a huge victory. At the conclusion of the game, Singletary launched the ball into the air and jumped into the waiting arms of sophomore forward Laurynas Mikalauskas. "We just went out there with the desire to win, and we knew what we needed to do," Diane said. "We played hard, and it's a great win, but we still realize it is only the first game of the season."
Read More
Volleyball holds off Boston College in tight five-set win
By Lauren Halak | 15 hours agoSenior outside hitter Elayna Duprey led the team throughout the match with 22 points and 18 kills.
Virginia annihilated 41-14 in a must-win contest versus North Carolina
By Peter Kriebel | YesterdayJust about everything that could have gone wrong for Virginia football went wrong.
No. 24 women’s soccer not to be denied in late win over Clemson
By Sam Chun | 2 days agoThe Cavaliers topped Clemson 1-0 in front of a packed out Klöckner Stadium.
