By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE – Georgia Tech is ready for point guard Kihei Clark to move on, and Virginia’s other counterparts in the ACC no doubt feel the same way.
As a freshman in 2018-19, Clark delivered the most memorable assist in program history, setting up Mamadi Diakite to force overtime against Purdue in the Elite Eight. The Cavaliers went on to capture the NCAA title, and the 5-foot-10 Clark, who’s often the smallest player on the court, has contributed countless crucial passes and clutch shots since that night for one of the ACC’s premier programs.
“A lot of experience for that young man,” Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said Saturday evening at John Paul Jones Arena, “and I’m glad he’s here.”
Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner will be glad when Clark is gone. In Atlanta last season, Clark scored eight points in the final eight minutes to help the Wahoos pull away for a 57-49 victory over the Yellow Jackets.
The teams met again Saturday at JPJ, where Clark scored seven of his 15 points in the final 2:32 to help UVA secure a 63-53 victory. The game’s biggest shot might have been the 3-pointer he hit to extend Virginia’s lead to 57-49.
“That was really a back-breaker for us,” Pastner said. “You’ve got to give him credit. He makes tough shots. It was the same thing at our place last year. We probably should have won the game, but he hit a big shot very late, a 3-pointer. He’s a winner.”
Pastner asked reporters at his press conference about Clark’s eligibility and was told that, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, No. 0 could return for another reason.
“I hope he leaves,” Pastner said, smiling. “Goodness gracious.”
The victory was the fourth straight for the Hoos (16-9 overall, 10-5 ACC), who are assured of finishing with at least 10 conference wins for the 10th consecutive season.
On a night when they made only 4 of 18 shots from 3-point range, the Cavaliers were nearly perfect (21 for 23) from the free-throw line, and power forward Jayden Gardner dominated inside the arc. A transfer from East Carolina who’s in his first season at UVA, the 6-foot-6 Gardner finished with 26 points, his high in an ACC game, and also had seven rebounds, three blocked shots, two assists and one steal, with no turnovers.
The Yellow Jackets (10-14, 3-10) play a matchup zone that stymied Virginia for much of the game, but Gardner was able to find gaps in it from which he could score on midrange shots or drives.
“Jayden in that sweet spot was pretty good,” said Bennett, who improved his record against Georgia Tech to 16-2.
During one stretch in the first half, Gardner made two late-clock jumpers, came up with a steal, and took a charge.
“Making continuous good efforts back to back energizes the whole team and just the crowd gets into the game,” Gardner said, “and I’m just trying to do the little things on and off the court to just help this team win.”
Bennett’s assessment of that stretch? “I loved it,” he said.
The Cavaliers’ head coach wasn’t as happy with his team’s defense in the second half, when Georgia Tech scored 34 points and shot 48.1 percent from the floor, “but I think we had just enough stops,” Bennett said.
Sophomore guard Reece Beekman, whose last-second trey lifted Virginia to a 69-68 victory over No. 7 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium last Monday, scored only four points against the Yellow Jackets, in part because foul trouble limited him to about 23 minutes. But Beekman hounded Georgia Tech’s best player, guard Michael Devoe, into a contested miss with UVA’s lead down to six in the final 80 seconds.
Moreover, Beekman collected the assist on Clark’s final 3-pointer, with 2:32 left.
“Reece did a good job driving,” Clark said, “and they converged on him and he kicked it out. So it was a good play.”
Virginia went up 32-15 on two free throws by center Kadin Shedrick with 53.8 seconds left in the first half, and a blowout seemed possible. But the Jackets scored the final four points of the first half and the first seven of the second half, and the Hoos struggled to regain momentum.
Other than Gardner (10 for 19) and Clark (4 for 8), the Cavaliers were a combined 5 for 22 from the floor. Georgia Tech cut UVA’s lead to two on a Devoe 3-pointer with 5:45 to play, but Gardner answered with back-to-back baskets, both assisted by Beekman, and Clark took over late.
“The shot felt good,” Clark said of his third and final 3-pointer. “I was just trying to take what the defense gives us, and obviously I knew we could use a big basket.”
He doesn’t shy away from those moments.
“Every good player wants to take those shots and make those shots for their team, just to uplift them for the W,” Clark said, “so I’m just trying to take those shots when the opportunity comes, and of course I’m kind of hunting those, because they feel good when you get ‘em.”