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Virginia Falls to Fordham on Last Second Shot, 62-60
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Dec. 7, 2005
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) – Nicholas Vita banked in a jumper with 3 seconds to play Wednesday night, breaking a 60-all tie and lifting Fordham past Virginia 62-60.
The basket was just one of two in the game for the 6-foot-3 walk-on, and when the Cavaliers J.R. Reynolds’ shot before the buzzer missed, the Rams (2-6) prevailed.
Virginia (3-3) played without point guard and co-captain Sean Singletary, who watched in street clothes while nursing a hip injury. Forward Donte Minter also sat it out for the Cavaliers while recovering from off-season knee surgery, leaving first-year coach Dave Leitao with only seven recruited scholarship players available.
The Cavaliers led 56-49 with about six minutes to go, but Fordham scored seven straight to get even and the game was back-and-forth the rest of the way.
Reynolds, an 82 percent free-throw shooter last season, twice missed the second of two free throws in the final 1:17, allowing the Rams to stay in it.
Bryant Dunston and Jermaine Anderson scored 21 points each for the Rams. Anderson had 19 of his points in the second half, and Dunston had 15 after intermission.
The Cavaliers got 16 points and 15 rebounds from Jason Cain, who established career highs in both for the second consecutive game. Tunji Soroye added 12 points and Adrian Joseph 11 for Virginia, which didn’t hit a field goal for the final 2:22.