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Feb. 2, 2007

Recap | Box Score | Notes | Photo Gallery media-icon-photogallery.gif | AP Photo Gallery media-icon-photogallery.gif | GALLERY media-icon-photogallery.gif

Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao

On tonight’s game…
This team–and for our program–for where we’re trying to go and what we’re trying to do, it goes without saying that it was an enormous win. To win five games in this league in a row and to beat a team that I know that is very good, play defense as well as we’ve defended all year long. It was a chess match and I knew that they would try to take Sean (Singletary) and J.R. (Reynolds) out of the game a little bit. For most of the game we were ugly because we couldn’t get what we wanted and we were sluggish. Our motion wasn’t giving us what we needed; they were really playing it. It was much more them than us today. The grit the guys showed toward the end of the game was something I was most proud about, because that’s what I want from a program, that’s what I want from the team –before we do anything else, that we’re tough physically and tough mentally on the defensive end and that’s exactly what they were when it counted most.

How this win compares to the wins over Arizona and Gonzaga…
This has to be the best only because it is in conference. Last weekend’s Clemson game was exactly what it was, I don’t know if you can duplicate that–To come back like that. But you can duplicate things like this because we grinded it out. We played their game; they disrupted our rhythm. We didn’t get the free flowing games that we have in this building all year long, but we still persevered so it has to be, by virtue, our best game.

On Sean having the ball in last seconds of overtime…
It was either going to be one of the two (Sean or J.R.). Rob Lanier and I talked briefly about it and we were going to win or lose with one of those two and we chose Sean. He’s a big-time player especially in those situations.

Duke Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski

Opening Comments…
“It was a heck of a game. Their free throw shooting at the end of regulation, to get up and make clutch free throws like that was big. Their two guards are sensational. We had some shots, including the one at the end of regulation that were great shots. We just didn’t knock them down. Greg had one in overtime, and at the end of regulation. They just executed so well. That’s what close games come down to. I think that both teams played their hearts out. It’s a great win for them and a really tough loss for us. That’s the way it is in the ACC.”

On senior J.R. Reynolds
“He’s played great all year. He’s an all-conference player. The maturity of not getting rattled, he keeps working to get his shot every time and was able to be an experienced player tonight. I have a lot of respect for J.R. He’s a terrific kid and player.”

On defending senior guard J.R. Reynolds and sophomore guard Sean Singletary
“I thought that our defense was good. Sean’s just a player who makes shots, who will create a shot. He’s as good a point guard as there is in the country. I don’t think that we did bad jobs on those guys, except to foul. There was a critical play where we had a four point lead where Reynolds drew a baseline and we didn’t get there on time for the charge. I thought that was the biggest play of regulation. Then I think that he went up and hit two free throws, and we have to get there quicker. We played pretty good D, we had him going, we just didn’t get there in time. That might have been the ballgame right there, and in games like this, you’re going to be looking at a lot of one plays.”

Virginia Player Quotes

#44 Jr. Guard Sean Singletary

On the win…
“It felt great to beat Duke, a top-ranked team. It was a group effort, but J.R. [Reynolds] basically carried us through the whole game. When he cramped up, I knew I had to step up and make some big plays.”

On Saturday’s game against Miami…
“We definitely want to be mature about the situation. Duke’s a good team and we beat them, but we’re looking towards the future. It was great to get a win, but we expected a win. We’ll get some rest and come out with a lot of energy against Miami.”

#2 Sr. G J.R. Reynolds

On beating Duke…
It was like, finally. We finally beat them. They are a very good team, and I was so pumped, you know when Sean made that shot. It feels really good, to beat a great Duke team.

On the team’s performance at the end of the game…
It shows the maturity of all the guys on the team. We just came together at the end, and Sean came through for us. I was cramping real bad, in both my legs, but the team was able to step it up.

What did TV viewers learn about Virginia tonight?
That Virginia is for real. It’s no joke. This was a good win for us, but we have a big game against Miami, and we can’t come here and let us beat them. Like Sean said, we have to keep our focus or the win tonight won’t mean anything.

#24 So. Guard/Forward Mamadi Diane

On Duke’s final play…
“They put the ball up there and Paulus got a good look at it and shot it.”

What he thought with Duke up 8 and shooting a free throw…
“We were chipping away at them the whole game. Even when they got up, we were thinking `this is our game.’ We needed that run and had been waiting on that run to come back.”

Frustration in the second half…
“We kept putting it up in the air and couldn’t get it. But we kept going at it.”

On improving his jump shot…
“I’m trying to rededicate myself and come back with a lot more than I have ever.”

#33 Sr. Forward Jason Cain

On Josh McRoberts…
“It’s a difficult time playing McRoberts because he touches the ball every possession.”

On the game…
“This is probably the best week in basketball I’ve ever had in my career. I’m just excited that we finally got the victory, we’re playing well, everyone’s starting to mesh together and everything’s looking good for us right now.”

On what Leitao said…
“He said, `Everybody look me in the eye and if I can see it in your eyes that you want to win, and that’s what I see right now, go out there and win the game.'”

On the comeback…
“We played defense for a good amount towards the end of the game. That pretty much kept us in the game and put us on top.”

Duke Player Quotes

#21 Jr. G DeMarcus Nelson

On Sean Singletary’s game-winning shot…
“It was a crazy, tough shot. We couldn’t have made him take a tougher shot. He threw up a shot out of desperation over two defenders and it went in.”

On dealing with losing on a shot like that…
“It’s definitely hard to do. We felt like we played pretty well tonight and well enough to win. We kept them on the line and they were scoring without the clock even moving. The tale of the game was the free throw line. They lived on it.”

#2 F/C Josh McRoberts

On Singletary’s shot…
“We forced him into a tough shot and he made it.”

On the types of things his team can take away from a game like this…
“We have to put teams away and protect our leads. We were up [13] at some point and we let them back into it. When you put yourselves in that position, bad things are going to happen and that’s what happened to us.”

On his final inbounds pass to Greg Paulus…
“There were three guys down there so I was looking to throw it down to them. Greg was open.”

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