Time stood still last night at the John Paul Jones Arena. It was only for a second, but while junior guard Sean Singletary's game-winning floater soared through the air, the Cavalier faithful stood in silent anticipation of beating arguably one of the best programs in college basketball history.
Even though the Blue Devils led by as many as 13 points and held the lead for most of the game, the Cavaliers managed to fight back and tied the game with 30 seconds to go to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, senior guard J.R. Reynolds and Singletary took over and buried the Blue Devils 68-66.
The overtime was an exciting back-and-forth affair that came down to the last shot. With 17 seconds to go, Virginia coach Dave Leitao called a timeout to draw up one final play. Singletary received the inbounds pass, drove into the lane and put up a shot over Duke sophomore Josh McRoberts as he was falling backward. The ball fell through the basket and Virginia took a two-point lead with just one second to go. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski drew up a long inbounds play and sophomore Greg Paulus had an open shot to win the game at the buzzer. The last gasp for Duke, however, clanked off the rim and the celebration at the John Paul Jones Arena ensued.
After the game, Krzyzewski described Singletary's acrobatic final shot.
"He's a player that can make shots and create shots," Krzyzewski said.
Reynolds continued his stellar play and led the Cavaliers with 25 points and hit 10 of 11 free throws. Not even constant cramps could hold Reynolds back as he hit six key free throws down the stretch to tie the game and send it into overtime.
Singletary contributed 17 points and four assists and knocked down the eventual game-winner with the last second bucket. Sophomore forward Mamadi Diane added 14 points.
Leitao was extremely proud of his players' efforts and expressed his emotions in the aftermath of the huge win.
"For our program and where we are trying to go, it goes without saying that this is an enormous win," Leitao said. "It was a chess match. But the grit that our guys showed is something that I'm most proud about because that's what I want from a team."
Duke was led by sophomore forward Josh McRoberts, who finished the game with 19 points. Virginia's front court had difficulty holding off McRoberts' scrappy play as senior center Jason Cain fouled out.
Virginia improved its record to 11-1 at home and extended its win streak to five games. The Cavaliers also snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Blue Devils.
Virginia got off to a slow start in the first half. Reynolds and Singletary struggled to find their shooting touch early on, allowing Duke to take a first half lead. The situation for the Cavaliers was not improved when Duke's shooters hit shot after shot. The Blue Devils shot 55 percent from the field and finished with 36 first-half points.
Virginia, however, was able to weather the storm and went on an 8-2 run in the last three minutes of the half to cut the deficit to seven points. Virginia was limited by Duke's notoriously stingy defense and were held to 37 percent shooting from the field and 29 points in the first half.
Virginia began the second period with an up-tempo pace. Sophomore forward Mamadi Diane started things off with two quick two point jumpers, cutting Duke's lead to three points early in the second half.
Reynolds finally found his groove and brought the crowd to its feet in the second half as he hit a number of huge baskets. The senior standout sent the John Paul Jones Arena into a burst of raucous applause after he hit a huge three pointer to bring Virginia within one point of Duke with 11:25 to go.
Duke sophomore Josh McRoberts, however, proved to be nearly unstoppable in the low-post. McRoberts virtually had his way with the Cavalier front court for most of the game. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, the rest of the Duke team was relatively quiet in the second half.
With 7:43 to go in the game, the Cavaliers found themselves facing a three-point deficit, but had all the momentum on their side. Sure enough, 30 seconds later, Reynolds tied the game at 49 with three free throws after a hard foul by Duke freshman John Scheyer. Reynolds continued his offensive surge and was able to tie the game and send it into overtime. Singletary was able to take it from there and finished off Duke for good.
The Cavaliers will be back in action Saturday at the John Paul Jones Arena vs. Miami. Game time is slated for 8 p.m.
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