No. 5 Virginia Ekes Out 63-62 Overtime Win Over Cal
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Box Score Dec. 22, 2015
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) London Perrantes is starting to make himself a third offensive threat for No. 5 Virginia’s opponents.
The junior guard made a 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in overtime Tuesday night as the Cavaliers survived a poor shooting night and beat California 63-62 for their ninth consecutive victory.
”It wasn’t too clean,” Perrantes said of the shot from in front of the Virginia bench. ”I just felt like if I had a little bit of daylight I was going to let it go. I didn’t shoot a 3 the whole second half, and I’ve been shooting the ball a little bit too well not to.”
Perrantes’ shot was the biggest, coming on a night when the Cavaliers fell well short of their 77.3 scoring average, but hit all the ones they had to have. That included three 3-pointers from Malcolm Brogdon, who missed the nine other shots he took.
”As a shooter, as a scorer, you just keep shooting with confidence and hope they fall when it matters,” said Brogdon, who along with Anthony Gill has become Virginia’s primary scorer. Perrantes, coming off a 19-point effort against Villanova, is third at 11.5 per game.
His second 3 came in a 9-0 run that moved Virginia from a 50-43 deficit to a 52-50 lead, its first all night, with 1:04 left in regulation, and his last one erased most of a five-point deficit with 53 seconds left in overtime, setting the stage for Perrantes’ game-winner.
Overall, Virginia made just 21 of 54 shots (38.9 percent).
Anthony Gill led the Cavaliers (10-1) with 17 points, freshman Jarred Reuter had 11 and Perrantes and Brogdon each had 10.
Jaylen Brown scored 18 and Jordan Mathews 16 for the Golden Bears (9-3), whose five-game winning streak was snapped. Brown had an opportunity at the end of regulation going one-on-one against Brogdon at the top of the key, but as he tried to make his move, Brogdon knocked the ball away.
”Brogdon made a tremendous play, as an elite defender would do,” Cal coach Cuonzo Martin said.
In overtime, three points each from Brown and Wallace and a putback by Ivan Rabb gave Cal a 60-54 lead with 2:25 remaining, but Isaiah Wilkins’ putback turned into a 3-point play for Virginia, and Brogdon followed two free throws by Brown with his third 3-pointer of the game to make it 62-60.
After a miss by the Golden Bears, Perrantes caught a pass in front of the Cavaliers’ bench and swished home his second 3-pointer to complete the comeback.
”Both teams did enough. We just came up a little short,” Martin said.
The Golden Bears led by as many as 11 twice in the second half, the last time at 46-35 with 13 minutes to go, but a basket by Gill, a dunk by Reuter and Perrantes’ drive pulled the Cavaliers within 46-41, bringing the crowd out of its malaise and into the game. The Bears pushed the lead back to seven three times, the last at 50-43, but they scored just two points in the last 7 1/2 minutes of regulation as Virginia rallied.
Perrantes scored on a drive, Brogdon followed a Cal miss with a 3-pointer for only his second field goal of the night, and Gill followed another miss by the Bears with a basket that pulled Virginia even for the first time, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.
Neither team scored for more than three minutes, and when Isaiah Wilkins finally stole the ball and fed Darius Thompson for a dunk, the Cavaliers had a 52-50 lead and John Paul Jones Arena seemed to be vibrating.
Brown, however, hit a pair of free throws with 41.5 seconds left, and neither team scored again in regulation.
HEY, COACH:
Virginia’s Thompson played for Martin when he was the coach at Tennessee two years ago. Thompson transferred when Martin left to take the Cal job. Thompson’s athletic dunks have made him a crowd favorite at Virginia, but he scored just 5 points in 29 minutes.
TIP-INS:
California: The Golden Bears’ two losses came in consecutive home games, against San Diego State and Richmond. They had won four in a row before the skid, and arrived at John Paul Jones Arena having won five straight since. … Cal’s last victory against a ranked team came when it beat top-ranked Arizona on Feb. 1, 2014.
Virginia: Freshman Jarred Reuter, who had 16 points in eight prior appearances, led the Cavaliers with seven in the first half, when Virginia shot 4 for 22. … The Cavaliers’ 77.3 scoring average is their highest since they averaged 79.6 in 2001-02.
UP NEXT:
California is at home against Davidson next Monday night.
Virginia is at home against Oakland next Wednesday night.