Virginia’s Comeback Effort Falls Short Against Iowa in Big Ten/ACC Challenge

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Iowa (7-0) banked in a shot off the glass with eight seconds remaining in the game to defeat Virginia (5-3) 75-74 at John Paul Jones Arena Monday night. Despite trailing by as many as 21 points, the Cavaliers fought their way back to take a one-point lead (71-70) 1:36 to play in Monday’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge contest.

Jayden Gardner (18), Kihei Clark (15), Taine Murray (14) and Reece Beekman (11) all scored in double figures for the Cavaliers. Gardner added a team-high eight rebounds and Clark dished out five assists. Murray’s 14 points, including 11 in the second half, were a season high for the true freshman.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After starting the first half 5-for-6 from the field, Iowa went on 15-0 run to eventually secure its largest lead (41-19) of the game with 3:39 to play in the first half. Three UVA made layups from Gardner, Clark and Beekman cut the Cavaliers’ deficit to 14 points (44-30) at the half. The Hawkeyes shot 57 percent (17-30) from field and were 5-for-11 from 3-point range in the first 20 minutes of play, while UVA shot 43 percent (13-30) and were just 2-of-9 from downtown.

Gardner scored eight straight points on a layup and back-to-back 3-pointers in the first four minutes of play to open the second half. A 9-0 UVA run that was highlighted by a Kadin Shedrick dunk shrank the Iowa lead to 58-53 with 9:35 to play. Virginia continued to chip away at the Hawkeyes’ lead and with 1:36 remaining, the Cavaliers took their first advantage (71-70) of the game since the 18:45 mark of the first half after Beekman made a layup and Murray drained back-to-back 3-pointers. Both teams traded 3-pointers one more time before Iowa’s Joe Toussaint came up with the game-winning shot.

UP NEXT
Virginia hosts Pitt (2-4) in its ACC opener on Friday, Dec. 3. Tipoff at John Paul Jones Arena is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.  BUY TICKETS