Cavaliers’ season comes full circle in loss

Virginia falls to Iowa — its second loss of the year with an NIT trip to Madison Square Garden on the line.

Associated Press

Emotion was high on the bench Wednesday during the second half of the Cavaliers’ 75-64 loss to Iowa in the NIT quarterfinals at John Paul Jones Arena. Emotion was high on the bench Wednesday during the second half of the Cavaliers’ 75-64 loss to Iowa in the NIT quarterfinals at John Paul Jones Arena.

Associated Press

Virginia forward Akil Mitchell (25) tries to shoot through a block by Iowa forward Melsahn Basabe (1) during the second half of an NIT college basketball game in Charlottesville, Va., Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Iowa won 75-64. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Associated Press

Virginia guard Teven Jones, center, tries to block the shot of Iowa forward Eric May (25) during an NIT college basketball game in Charlottesville, Va., Wednesday, March 27, 2013. Iowa won 75-64.

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Thursday, March 28, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE — The start of Virginia’s basketball season was marred by the inability to earn a trip to Madison Square Garden and so was the end.

With a trip to the NIT semifinals on the line Wednesday night, Iowa pulled away in the second half and ended the Cavaliers’ 19-game home winning streak, 75-64, before a crowd of 11,141 at John Paul Jones Arena.

UVa hadn’t lost at home since Nov. 13, when Delaware defeated the Cavaliers 59-53 in the second round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

“We understood that the first [loss] really hurt our NCAA chances,” said UVa junior Akil Mitchell, referring to the strength-of-schedule boost that a trip to the preseason NIT would have afforded.

“It was kind of a motivating factor. We really wanted to get back to the Garden — or, rather, just get to the Garden.”

The Cavaliers (23-12) played from behind for most of the night, trailing by as much as 21-11 in the first half before cutting the deficit to 31-28 on a Joe Harris 3-pointer with four seconds remaining.

Harris, a first-team All-ACC choice, had eight points at that stage, all coming in the final 8:15 before halftime, but managed only one field goal in the second half.

The Cavaliers had the lead on five occasions early in the second half, the last at 41-39 on a dunk by Mike Tobey with 13:33 remaining.

Roy Devyn Marble responded with a 3-pointer for the Hawkeyes, sparking a 19-5 run that gave them a commanding 58-46 lead with 5:21 left.

Marble, who goes by “Devyn” and is the son of all-time Iowa scoring leader Roy Marble, finished with 24 points and a game-high five assists.

Marble was 7-for-7 from the free-throw line and the Hawkeyes were 15 of 15, including 14 of 14 when the Cavaliers were reduced to fouling over the final 3:09.

Iowa, which came into the game shooting 30.4 percent on 3-pointers from the season, finished 8 of 17 (47.1 percent) from behind the arc.

The Hawkeyes (24-12) will play Maryland in the NIT semifinals Tuesday night.

“I was thrilled,” said Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, making his first trip to Charlottesville since 1978, when he was at Wake Forest and played across the street at University Hall.

“It was a phenomenal [UVa] crowd and a team that has protected their home court very well. Anything short of this kind of performance, we weren’t going to win.

“We defended Harris. We pushed [the pace]. We wanted to play the game in the 70s, if we could get it there. I thought Marble was spectacular.”

Virginia didn’t do anything particularly well, shooting 38 percent from the field, getting outrebounded 34-26 and committing 16 turnovers, four each by Harris and freshman Justin Anderson.

“Of course, some of the [turnovers] were unforced turnovers,” UVa coach Tony Bennett said. “On some, we just gave it away. I tell our guys, ‘Passing and catching should be a 100 percent kind of thing.’

“It shouldn’t be a 50 percent kind of thing.”

Aside from the turnovers, there were no complaints with Anderson, who played a team-high 35 minutes and finished with a season-high 24 points, six rebounds, five blocked shots, three steals and two assists.

“I think he’s going to be a tremendous player,” McCaffrey said. “He’s a handful. When he’s on the floor, you’ve got to figure out, ‘What are we going to do with this guy?’

“When he’s hitting threes, it changes everything.”

Another UVa freshman, Tobey, came off the bench to score 15 points and grab six rebounds in 22 minutes. He also matched a season high with three blocked shots.

Senior point guard Jontel Evans played 30 minutes in the 92nd start of his UVa career, handing out two assists but failing to score. Although he has not been a big scorer, averaging 4.4 points before Wednesday night, it was the first time in 24 games that he had not scratched.

“I am upset with myself,” Evans said. “I feel like I didn’t have a great performance at all. I feel like I really let my teammates down.

“It is bittersweet. It is sad that this is my last time playing here, ever, [but] it brings joy to my heart that the fans appreciate what I tried to bring to the program.”

IOWA (24-12)

Basabe 0-3 0-0 0, May 3-6 0-0 8, White 1-6 4-4 6, Woodbury 5-7 0-0 10, Marble 8-16 7-7 24, Olaseni 0-1 0-0 0, Oglesby 1-1 0-0 3, Clemmons 1-2 4-4 7, Gesell 3-5 0-0 7, McCabe 4-6 0-0 10. Totals 26-53 15-15 75.

VIRGINIA (23-12)

Mitchell 2-6 5-6 9, Evans 0-2 0-0 0, Jesperson 1-2 0-0 3, Harris 4-11 1-2 11, Anderson 6-14 7-8 24, Browman 0-0 0-0 0, Barnette 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 1-3 0-0 2, Tobey 5-10 5-6 15, Nolte 0-1 0-0 0, Atkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-50 18-22 64.

Halftime—Iowa 31-28. 3-Point Goals—Iowa 8-17 (May 2-2, McCabe 2-2, Oglesby 1-1, Gesell 1-2, Clemmons 1-2, Marble 1-5, White 0-3), Virginia 8-18 (Anderson 5-8, Harris 2-5, Jesperson 1-2, Nolte 0-1, Jones 0-1, Barnette 0-1). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Iowa 34 (Woodbury 8), Virginia 26 (Mitchell 7). Assists—Iowa 14 (Marble 5), Virginia 11 (Evans 4). Total Fouls—Iowa 17, Virginia 15. A—11,141.

Monday, August 12, 2013