Life is all about second chances, and so was last night’s brawl between the Virginia and Georgia Tech men’s basketball teams.
Virginia came out with all guns blazing to build a 10 point lead at halftime, mostly due to long-range accuracy and capitalizing on second-chance opportunities from offensive rebounding. However, the Cavaliers decided to help the Yellow Jackets out by letting them back in the game during the second period. As a result, sixth man Matt Causey made the most of his opportunity. After watching his potential game-winning shot go in and out at the end of regulation, he exploded for 12 points in overtime to lead Georgia Tech to a 92-82 win, revitalizing the Jackets and demoralizing a Cavalier squad that now stands at 11-7, 1-4 ACC.
“We’ve come out in the second half of games and not played with the same type of energy defensively,” Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. “Both teams were shooting 45 percent; somebody was going to clean that up. They did with what we needed to do.”
Sean Singletary, the Cavaliers go-to guy for four years, had to use a redo himself. With the score deadlocked at 74 with just 18 seconds to go, Singletary and Calvin Baker fumbled an exchange that Causey picked off, which led to a breakaway dunk by Zack Peacock. However, the Yellow Jackets ended up scoring too quickly. Singletary was not to be denied as he drove to the basket and flipped up an improbable shot to send the contest to overtime. Still, that moment was the sole highlight of the game for this hobbled superstar. Singletary is still bothered by a hip pointer, an injury which has limited his practice time. For the second straight game he has struggled from the floor, shooting just 9-31 from the floor, including a dismal 1-11 from behind the arc.
“Right now, Sean is not Sean,” Leitao said. “He played a lot of minutes. There is a lot of pressure on him to do a lot of things for us. The times he may have taken a deep breath were the times they made him pay for it.”
However, in the first half, it looked like none of that would matter, because of Virginia’s ultimate example of taking advantage of second chances: Calvin Baker. Baker was not a highly touted basketball recruit. He had aspirations of playing in an elite power conference, even when he was lighting up Williamsburg en route to becoming the CAA Freshman of the Year as part of the William and Mary Tribe. That is why when Baker transferred, it was he who made the first move to contact Virginia and express interest.
Still, second chances come at a cost. For a year Baker could only watch from the sidelines. He could not even travel with the team to road games. In practices, he had to work tirelessly to defend Singletary and J.R. Reynolds with little reward or recognition outside of his teammates. Even now, the fourth highest scorer on the team does not have a scholarship with the team. He must pay his way through, hoping and truly believing that his hard work will eventually pay off. No wonder he approaches every game with a passion and an energy few Cavaliers seem to possess at the moment. That is what has earned him a starting spot in the rotation, and he appears to be making the most of it. Against Duke, it was Baker who looked like the grizzled ACC veteran, and tonight against Georgia Tech he burned the Yellow Jackets in the first half. Whether it was hitting an open three, driving the lane to set up his teammates or aggressive defense, Baker was everywhere. His 13 points in 13 minutes came mostly from behind the arc where the Cavaliers caught fire, going 9-18 in the first half. However, the rim was not so kind the second time around.
“When we feel good shots fall,” Baker said. “I think once we get to the second half, we get caught up in trying to win the game instead of just playing basketball. We start to think a lot and our minds get clouded. We think about the wrong things.”
Virginia shot only 31% in the second half, and a meager 2-14 from behind the arc. The rhythm clearly got away from them, even with offensive contributions from Mamadi Diane and Adrian Joseph. The question of consistency which always seems to follow these two men cannot be attributed to Virginia’s recent lull. Joseph, ever since the game at Duke where the senior captain attempted only four shots, has scored double figures in four straight games. Against the Yellow Jackets he was one rebound away from his sixth double-double of the season. Diane has not only scored in double figures for three straight games but has also been the leading scorer in these contests. The offense is improving, but the team defense is worth a second glance. Virginia was punished in the paint in the second half, and although they out-rebounded the Yellow Jackets 48-40, it was Georgia Tech that made the key plays when they needed to.
“We’re just not being resistant, hard enough down the stretch,” Singletary said. “I don’t know if it’s fatigue or whatever but you can’t make excuses. You have to just come out there and execute particularly down the stretch. We haven’t been doing that.”
The overtime loss continues to add more heartbreak to the Cavalier players and fans who have endured a great deal this month in all Virginia sports. In the past four ACC games, Virginia has led all of them in the second half only to see it squandered three times. They currently reside at the cellar of the ACC standings and have dug themselves a hole. However, it is one they still believe they can climb out of.
“I’m always concerned but I know we’ve got the talent and we’re always in the game,” Singletary said. “We just have to get over that hump. All the ACC games across the country have been close.”
The ACC season, as young as it is, certainly has been memorable. Every game does seem to be made into an instant classic. However, Virginia fans are not looking for repeats of what they have seen lately. In fact, with 40 seconds left in overtime most fans were just looking for the exits. The mass exodus shows a fan base that appears to be losing patience.
The question is: will Virginia get a second chance at glory?
“Teams that end up at the year being good manage themselves through the end of the game,” Leitao said. “You continue to play defense without fouling and mentally as much as physically can execute and get shots that you want. In each of those occasions, we’ve been victimized by not doing either one of those.”
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