Jake Groves scored a team-high 17 points off the bench to help lead visiting Virginia to a 66-65 win over Clemson on Saturday.
Isaac McKneely and Reece Beekman added 14 points apiece for the Cavaliers (17-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), who won their sixth straight game in ACC play. Ryan Dunn collected a team-high ten rebounds for Virginia.
PJ Hall led Clemson (14-7, 4-6) with 19 points, followed by Joe Girard III’s 14 points and Ian Schieffelin’s 13. Chase Hunter added 12 points for the Tigers, who have dropped their last seven home games to Virginia.
After holding an eight-point halftime advantage, Virginia took its biggest lead after Groves and McKneely jump shots put the Cavaliers up 38-26 with 18:39 left.
Minutes later, a 7-0 Clemson run helped trim the Tigers deficit to two points at the 13:41 mark.
Beekman’s stepback jumper stretched the Virginia lead back to seven points with 8:51 left. Then, another 7-0 Clemson scoring run was capped with Girard’s deep 3-pointer, tying the game at 54.
After Jordan Minor’s layup, Hall connected on his only 3-pointer, giving Clemson its first lead since the 16:05 mark of the first half.
Up 60-59, McKneely converted a four-point play with 2:11 left, helping the Cavaliers take a five-point lead.
A pair of Hunter free throws cut the deficit to two points for the Tigers with 1:07 left, before Dunn’s putback layup doubled Virginia’s lead to four points with 37 seconds remaining.
With seven seconds left, Hall was fouled on a 3-point attempt, and made all three foul shots. Dante Harris missed a free throw for Virginia, giving Clemson a chance at the win.
Jack Clark then missed the potential game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer.
In the first half, Virginia jumped out to a 27-16 advantage, thanks to ten quick points from Beekman.
Clemson then answered with back-to-back triples from Josh Beadle and Girard. After a defensive stop, Beadle then converted a layup to cut the Tigers’ deficit to three points at the 2:49 mark of the first half.
Virginia finished the half on a 7-2 scoring run, including Groves’ buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
Groves shot 5-of-7 from the field in the first half, leading the Cavaliers with 13 points. Beekman followed with ten points. Clemson was led by Girard’s eight points in the first half.
–Field Level Media
