Beekman Tallies Career-High 20 Points in 67-50 Loss to Clemson
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Reece Beekman scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including a career-best three made 3-pointers, and added three steals in Virginia’s 67-50 loss to Clemson (9-4, 1-1 ACC) at John Paul Jones Arena Wednesday night. The Tigers knocked down 28 of their 59 field goal attempts, while UVA shot 15-for-41 from the field.
The loss marked the first for Virginia (7-5, 1-1 ACC) in the series in the last 11 meetings against the Tigers, dating back to Jan. 12, 2013.
In addition to Beekman, Armaan Franklin scored in double figures for the Cavaliers after collecting 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, but was 1-for-7 from deep. He also tied his career high in rebounding with eight boards.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Clemson made its first three attempts from the field, all of which came from behind the arc to secure an early 9-5 advantage. The Tigers capitalized on an 11-2 run to grasp a 31-21 lead, which tied for their largest lead of the half, with 4:37 to play. Following a UVA called timeout, Franklin made a pull-up jumper as time expired to cut the Tigers’ lead to 35-27 at the break. Beekman led the UVA effort with 14 points after knocking down all five of his field goals, including two 3-pointers, and was 2-for-2 at the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes of play.
After Clemson made the first shot of the second half, the Cavaliers scored eight straight points on a pair of made 3’s and a Beekman steal that led to a dunk in transition, which shrank the Tigers’ lead to just two, 37-35. The Clemson defense held UVA to without a made field goal for just over 11 minutes of play as the Tigers extended their lead to 56-40 with 7:14 remaining. Clemson then took its largest lead of the game – 65-47 – with 1:19 left in regulation before going on to win its first contest at John Paul Jones Arena since Feb. 7, 2008.
UP NEXT
Virginia travels to Syracuse (5-5, 1-0 ACC) on Saturday, Jan. 1. Tipoff at Carrier Dome is set for 8 p.m. on ACC Network.