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March 15, 2000
By HANK KURZ Jr.
AP Sports Writer
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – What’s that other tournament again?
Virginia and Georgetown, whose dreams of an NCAA tournament berth came upempty Sunday, turned in a triple-overtime thriller in the first round of theNational Invitation Tournament on Wednesday night that will be difficult totop.
The Hoyas won it 115-111 on the first 3-pointer of swingman Gharun Hester’scareer and a gutsy performance by point guard Kevin Braswell that left thesophomore hooked up to an IV and unable to speak with reporters.
Braswell played 49 of the 55 minutes, scored a career-high 40 points andsometimes seemed like the only Georgetown player willing to take big shots.
“He was phenomenal,” Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. “We couldn’t stophim. We put everyone on him, tried box and one, ran at him. He was just tooquick, too clever, too cagey.”
Braswell scored 32 of his points after halftime, including five in thesecond overtime as the Hoyas (19-14) rallied from a four-point deficit to takethe lead.
Virginia (19-12) rallied to go back ahead 109-107, but Braswell tied itagain with a driving layup and then Hester, a wide receiver on the Georgetownfootball team, knocked in the biggest shot of his life.
“That was one of the craziest games I’ve ever been associated with,” Hoyascoach Craig Esherick said. “I’m sure it was for most of you, too.”
Anthony Perry followed Hester’s 3-pointer with a free throw 17 secondslater, giving Georgetown a 113-109 lead with 17 seconds left, and an errantpass by Virginia prevented the Cavaliers from getting closer than two again.
For Esherick, it was the most remarkable of victories. Forced to playwithout No. 2 scorer and rebounding leader Ruben Boumtje Boumtje because of aninjury, they lost three players to fouls and essentially finished with sixplayers.
One of them, Lee Scruggs, played the last half of his 44 minutes severelyhobbled and with a noticeable limp and also needed IV fluids after it was over.
“We were lucky we had five guys left that were able to play,” Eshericksaid. “Our guys just gutted it out. We’ve been doing it that way all season.”
The Hoyas rallied to tie it in regulation and had last-chance shots in thefirst two extra periods before Hester’s winner. They advance to the secondround against either California or Long Beach State. The Cavaliers arefinished.
Suggs added 19 points and Demetrius Hunter 12 for the Hoyas.
Virginia, making its first postseason appearance since a first-round loss toIowa in the 1997 NCAA tournament, was led by Chris Williams with 23 points.Donald Hand had 22 before fouling out, Adam Hall 21 and Travis Watson 20 and 12rebounds.
Williams scored the first four points of the third overtime to give Virginiathe lead, but Hester hit a 16-footer, Nat Burton scored on a drive and Braswellmade two free throws with 2:20 left to give the Hoyas the lead at 107-105.
Virginia went ahead on two free throws and then a putback by Watson with1:32 left, but Braswell tied it with a driving hoop and Hester untied it withhis 3.
The second overtime began with Virginia up 90-88 courtesy of two free throwsby Hand after a technical was called on Esherick for arguing that refereesshould have looked at replays of the end of the first OT.
Afterward, all was forgiven.
“Those three guys are the best referees I’ve seen in my life,” Eshericksaid.
Virginia took a 96-93 lead on Hall’s pullup 12-footer with 2:51 left andfree throw 16 seconds later, but Burton hit a 3-pointer to tie it, Handanswered with one 17 seconds later and Braswell’s 3 capped the flurry with 1:42left.
Rhese Gibson’s two foul shots with 44.8 seconds left gave the Hoyas a 101-99lead. The shots came after Hand fouled out, but Williams’ driving bank with25.8 left tied it again for Virginia and Braswell’s 24-footer at the buzzer wasoff.
In the first overtime, Burton’s tip and two free throws by Braswell gave theHoyas an 86-83 lead, but Hand scored on a drive with 31.2 seconds left.Braswell hit two more free throws with 23.5 to play, but Roger Mason was fouledmaking a twisting baseline jumper with 14.1 to play and made the tying foulshot.
The Cavaliers led 58-43 2 1/2 minutes into the second half after scoring 10 ofthe first 14 points, but Georgetown responded with a 17-2 run to make it 60-60.
Neither team led by more than six the rest of the way, and when theCavaliers missed 6 of 7 free throws in the final 3:49, two free throws byBurton with 1:48 left and and Anthony Perry’s driving layup with 1:14 left drewthem even.
Virginia had a chance at the last shot, but Hand’s attempt in traffic wasswatted away and Burton’s half-court heave hit hard against the backboard.