Cavalier Corner

April 2014

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"It's extremely rewarding to be able to come on the road and bounce back against an oppo- nent that's as or more respected than Tennessee," redshirt second-year guard Malcolm Brogdon said. "It's a great feeling, definitely a confidence booster." "We bounced back the way that we should have," Anderson added. "Joe went down early, and we had to pick it up that much more. We said we were going to come back and get this win for him, and we played our hearts out." A 23-point victory at Wake Forest (74-51) and a 31-point triumph at North Carolina State (76-45) followed. Soon, media and fans were referring to the loss in Knoxville as the "Tennessee Turn- around." The three straight wins in conference play set the stage for Virginia to try and win its first game at Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1995. After getting down by 13 points in the second half, UVa stormed back to take a one-point lead with 36 seconds left on a pair of Brogdon free throws. When Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon's ensuing three-point attempt from the corner bounced high off the rim, it looked like Virginia was finally go- ing to break a 15-game losing streak at Cameron. However, the shot, to everyone's surprise, wound up falling through to give Duke the vic- tory (69-65). "To show that kind of heart and climb back in and have a one-point lead — I told the guys, 'Don't hand your head about that,'" Bennett said. "I said, 'If you had won it, it wouldn't have made your season. Had you lost, it wouldn't have bro- ken your season.'" Virginia's players heeded Bennett's words. After the loss at Duke, UVa proceeded to reel of 13 straight wins. Highlights of the streak included convincing home wins over Florida State (78-66) and North Carolina (76-61), a last-second win on the road at Pittsburgh (48-45) and the Senior Night triumph over Syracuse (75-56). In the victory over Pitt, Brogdon was the hero. He hit a three-pointer from the top of the key as time expired to stun the Panthers' home crowd and set off a wild on-court celebration. The win catapulted the Cavaliers back into the top 25 — a place they had not been since the preseason polls. "It was a huge statement win for us," Perrantes said. "We haven't gotten one like that all season. I feel like if we play the way we did, we can play with anyone, anytime, anywhere. It was a big statement for us." The game also solidified Brogdon's emergence as the Hoos' go-to player. The 6-5, 217-pound guard had missed the previous season with a foot injury. After the Pitt game, it was obvious Brogdon had returned to his past form — and then some. He wound up being voted by the coaches to the All-ACC first team. Virginia beat five of its next eight opponents by 10 or more points, the decisive wins a theme of the 2013-14 season (UVa won 23 games by double digits, including 12 by 18 or more points). One of those wins was the 75-56, Senior Night conquest of Syracuse — a game UVa fans will likely be talking about for years to come. Tickets for the game at John Paul Jones Arena were going for more than 10 times their face value in what was the most hyped game of the season. The matchup, in essence, was a de facto ACC regular-season championship game. Plus, Harris and Mitchell were playing final home game. Virginia trailed the Orange by a point at the half. In the second 20 minutes, the lead changed five times before UVa went on a 20-5 run. A key sequence came when redshirt second-year forward Anthony Gill drew a charge on Syracuse star Tyler Ennis and Perrantes drilled a deep three-pointer. Later, Anderson hit a three-pointer, Brogdon hit a pair of jumpers, and then Harris — who hadn't scored a basket all day — nearly brought the roof down when he hit a three-pointer from the wing. i12-15.Men's BKB.indd 3 4/3/14 3:39 PM

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