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by Carlos Valle
Although the Cavaliers fell to Virginia Tech on a heart-breaking buzzer-beater at the end of overtime, Sean Singletary put on an impressive show. Singletary went 12 for 21 from the field and finished with 34 points. The 34-point effort accounted for just shy of half of Virginia’s total 69 points.
Singletary started off hot and ended the first half with 23 points; just one shy of his season high for a game. His five three-pointers on the night combined with three from Adrian Joseph and one from Calvin Baker gave Virginia a total of nine in the game.
Singletary’s efforts did not go unnoticed by his teammates. Ryan Pettinella noted how an amazing performance like Singletary’s can be overlooked after a disappointing loss.
“Individual performances always are thrown out the window when you lose a game like this,” Pettinella said. “And Sean played a great game. He always plays with a lot of heart and a lot of passion. To have this outcome when you put in a lot of effort like that is really disappointing.”
Singletary also performed well on the defensive side of the ball, leading the team with nine defensive rebounds and 10 overall. It marked the third double-double of Singletary’s career, the second one this season.
Despite the disappointing loss for the Cavaliers, there were some bright spots in tonight’s performance. Pettinella was perfect from the line and added a few nice baskets in transition. Adrian Joseph and Mamadi Diane did a nice job cleaning the glass with eight and nine rebounds, respectively. As usual, Singletary came to play and lived up to his All-American status. His experience also allows him to remain optimistic after a tough loss.
“Last year, we had a losing streak or whatever, but we’ve got a lot of talent here, so we don’t have to hang our heads,” Singletary said. “We just have to come out and play hard.”
The Cavaliers are back in action this Saturday night when Boston College, 3-0 in the ACC, visits the John Paul Jones Arena.