The students’ return to Grounds could not have come at a better time for Virginia. Losers of three of their past four, the Cavaliers hosted a red-hot Clemson team Tuesday night.
Since an 80-69 loss against North Carolina in Chapel Hill Dec. 30, the Tigers had won five straight against some of the ACC’s best — Florida State, Syracuse, Louisville, Duke and Miami.
But thankfully for Virginia, the game took place inside the comforting confines of John Paul Jones Arena, where coach Tony Bennett’s team was 28-1 in ACC home games over the past four seasons. And after Tuesday, make that 29-1.
Senior guard Malcolm Brogdon led Virginia with 20 points as the Cavaliers (14-3, 3-3 ACC) muscled their way past the feisty Tigers (12-7, 5-2 ACC), 69-62. Sophomore guard Devon Hall — making his second consecutive start — senior forward Anthony Gill and sophomore forward Isaiah Wilkins all scored in double figures in the Cavalier victory.
“We got back to playing the way we have to play,” Bennett said. “I was certainly pleased with the contributions from the other guys.”
Like Virginia’s last outing Sunday against Florida State, the Cavaliers flashed some positive signs in the first half. Virginia shot 52 percent from the field, led by Brogdon’s nine points. Gill added seven points despite shooting 2-for-6 from the field.
The Cavaliers extended their lead to 18-12, but a 9-0 Tiger run put Clemson up 21-18 after a layup by sophomore guard Gabe DeVoe. However, Virginia got jumpers from Wilkins, Brodgon and sophomore guard London Perrantes to climb its way back to take a 31-28 halftime lead.
Virginia played fairly stiff defense, although Clemson’s leading scorer, junior forward Jaron Blossomgame, put up a fight. Fresh off an ACC career-high 25 points against Miami, Blossomgame tallied 13 first-half points while shooting 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. He finished with 23 points and six rebounds — both team highs.
“He’s a really, really good player,” Wilkins said. “He’s killing it this year from what the coaches told us and what I saw on tape. When I’m in, I’m just trying to make sure he doesn’t get a catch. I feel like that’s the easiest way to play defense. If they can’t get the ball, they can’t score.”
As far as the second half went, though, Wilkins locked him down. Blossomgame tallied Clemson’s first points of the frame but then went cold, not scoring again until 8:39 remained in the second half. Virginia, meanwhile, took advantage.
With the game deadlocked at 35 apiece with 16:09 remaining, the Cavaliers went on a 17-4 run, eventually stretching the lead to as large as 13 with 8:57 to play.
Jumpers from Brogdon, Hall, Wilkins and senior center Mike Tobey sparked the scoring spree. Hall later added a triple before Tobey sent down an assertive dunk.
“As a whole, we didn’t force shots,” Bennett said. “We let the game come in terms of moving the ball, taking shots out of the offense. There’s always a couple times that you’re not going to get that perfect [look] — there might be a force or you get late in the shot clock. But I liked our whole team the way we tried to score out of the offense and attack when the times were right.”
Still, it was no coincidence Clemson was the first ACC team to tally three consecutive wins over ranked opponents since the 2002-03 season. Up against a raucous JPJ crowd, the Tigers clawed their way back.
Clemson came within a 55-53 margin, but Gill made sure it did not get any closer. After laying in a shot following his offensive rebound, he escaped in transition and threw down a monstrous one-hand slam.
“At first I was thinking, ‘What is he doing way down there?’” Brogdon said, joking to reporters. “I’m not supposed to be down here rebounding and he’s leaking out.”
Despite Perrantes’ woes at the charity stripe down the stretch — he shot an uncharacteristic 2-for-7 and only scored six points on the night — Hall and Brogdon iced the game with free throws before Wilkins sent down a dunk with seconds remaining to put the icing on the cake. That basket gave him a career-high 10 points on the night.
Virginia shot 54 percent from the field while holding Clemson to just 45 percent. The Cavaliers outrebounded the Tigers, 32-21.
Bennett started the same five players as he did against Florida State, although Tobey started the second half in place of redshirt freshman center Jack Salt, who struggled in his limited minutes. Sophomore guard Marial Shayok again was the only Cavalier scholarship player who didn’t see the floor.
With the emergence of Hall — who noted his improved jump shot as a difference maker this season — and contributions from three big men in Gill, Wilkins and Tobey, Virginia showed glimpses of vintage Bennett-coached teams Tuesday. Bennett hopes the team can build on those gains going deeper into ACC play.
“I don’t know what our potential is, but I just want us to get to that line,” Bennett said. “Whatever that is for us, we have to get to that line. I thought we took a step of getting to that.”
Virginia will next face Syracuse Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for noon.
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