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DECEMBER 2021 13 were some good things and we're just still trying to keep improving." Virginia has certainly done that, win- ning four in a row before falling in a 75-74 heartbreaker in the final seconds to Iowa at home Nov. 29 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and, once again, rebounding for a last- second triumph over Pitt to open ACC play. It was Gardner that grabbed an offensive re- bound with six seconds left and hit a step- back jumper that went in with 0.9 seconds remaining to give UVA the 57-56 win. In the end, it was fourth-year guard Kihei Clark's leadership that inspired the team. "Kihei was getting us together, telling us to stay in it," Gardner said. "That's what we did, and we willed the win out." UVA's two transfers are making an impact right away. Gardner is averaging a team- high 13.9 points and 8.5 rebounds per game through the first 10 contests of the season. The ECU transfer has scored in double-figures in all but two outings and has three double-doubles on the young season. Franklin, a transfer from Indiana, has scored 20 or more points in two games and reached double-figures in five games while ranking second on the team in scor- ing average at 11.3 points per contest. That duo combines with Clark and second-year guard Reece Beekman, who brings consistency and experience to the court for the Cavaliers. Clark was averag- ing 10.7 points per game, and Beekman paced the team in both assists (45) and steals (21). Then UVA adds in Shedrick, who has matured into a strong presence in the post with 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Shedrick led the team with 29 blocks through the first 10 contests. With the lineup finding its groove, Bennett has challenged the players to keep grinding and take these opportunities in close games to grow and push themselves to get better. "I told some of the guys, Jayden, we need you to score; Armaan, look for your shot; Reece and Kihei, be aggressive; Kadin, do the little things and get all over it," Bennett said. "I just want to keep trying to empower these guys to play beyond mistakes and be assertive and aggressive, and I think there were good stretches of that. "All of a sudden, you get into stretches and games and then they tighten up the zone and then you can just feel it change and that's part of working our way through it." The tight games early in the campaign will certainly prepare Virginia for when it gets into the heart of conference play in late December and looks to continue its success in the postseason. "This is all about the quote that maybe I use a lot, but that one about failing bet- ter," Bennett said. "'Ever tried, ever failed, no matter — try again, fail again, fail better, keep improving.' "We're showing some mistakes as every team does, but can we just keep growing and learning from those and be better the next time? I thought we started better [ver- sus Pitt] than we did against Iowa. I thought we were a little more ready and that was the answer to that challenge, and we had good stretches of basketball." 2021-22 UVA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Opponent (TV) Result/Time (ET) Nov. 9 Navy L, 66-58 Nov. 12 Radford W, 73-52 Nov. 16 at Houston L, 67-47 Nov. 19 Coppin State W, 68-52 Nov. 22 vs. Georgia^ W, 65-55 Nov. 23 vs. Providence^ W, 58-40 Nov. 26 Lehigh W, 61-43 Nov. 29 Iowa% L, 75-74 Dec. 3 Pitt* W, 57-56 Dec. 7 at James Madison L, 52-49 Dec. 18 Fairleigh Dickinson (ACCN) 2 p.m. Dec. 22 Clemson* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Jan. 1 at Syracuse* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Jan. 4 at Clemson* (RSN) 9 p.m. Jan. 8 at North Carolina* (ESPN) 1 p.m. Jan. 12 Virginia Tech* (ESPN2) 9 p.m. Jan. 15 Wake Forest* (RSN) 4:30 p.m. Jan. 19 at Pitt* (ACCN) 9 p.m. Jan. 22 at NC State* (ACCN) 4 p.m. Jan. 24 Louisville* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Jan. 29 at Notre Dame* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 1 Boston College* (ACCN) 8 p.m. Feb. 5 Miami* (ACCN) 5 p.m. Feb. 7 at Duke* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 12 Georgia Tech* (ESPN/2) 4 p.m. Feb. 14 at Virginia Tech* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 19 at Miami* (ACCN) 5 p.m. Feb. 23 Duke* (ESPN) 7 p.m. Feb. 26 Florida State* (ESPN/2) TBA Mar. 5 at Louisville* (ESPN/2) TBA Mar. 8-12 ACC Tournament$ TBA ^ Roman Legends Classic at Newark, N.J.; % Big Ten/ACC Challenge; * ACC game; $ at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.; ACCN — ACC Network; ACCNX — ACC Network Extra Streaming; RSN — ACC Regional Sports Networks " This is all about the quote that maybe I use a lot, but that one about failing better. 'Ever tried, ever failed, no matter — try again, fail again, fail better, keep improving.' We're showing some mistakes as every team does, but can we just keep growing and learning from those and be better the next time? " DEAN AND MARKEL FAMILIES MEN'S HEAD BASKETBALL COACH TONY BENNETT ON HIS TEAM Redshirt second-year Kadin Shedrick started each of the first 10 games and averaged 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. (Photo courtesy UVA)