Virginia Falls To Colorado State in NCAA Tournament First Four

DAYTON, OHIO — The 10th-seeded Virginia Cavaliers (23-11) fell 67-42 to the No. 10 seed Colorado State Rams (25-10) in an NCAA Tournament First Four game on Tuesday evening (March 19) at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio.

Virginia posted a season-low 14 points at halftime after shooting 17.2 percent (5 for 29 FG) in the opening 20 minutes. The second half saw the Cavaliers go 9 for 27 from the field and ultimately finish the contest with a season-low 25 percent shooting from the field. The Rams shot 55.3 percent (26 for 47 FG), including 35.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Reece Beekman led Virginia with 15 points (4 for 16 FG, 7 for 7 FT) and added four assists and three rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams endured slow offensive starts to the contest with only three combined made field goals in the first five minutes of play. After leading 4-2 at the first media timeout, the Cavaliers surrendered an 8-0 run over the following four minutes to the Rams, who claimed a six-point lead with the triple that concluded that run. Virginia then failed to score for the remaining 9:20 of the first half and went into the break trailing 27-14.

Colorado State opened the second half with an 8-0 run that extended its lead to 21 (35-14). Virginia was able to cut that deficit to 15 midway through the stanza (44-29, 10:02), but the Cavaliers were ultimately never able to bring the game back within reach.