Beekman’s Clutch Three Guides Virginia to Upset No. 7 Duke

DURHAM, N.C. — Sophomore guard Reece Beekman nailed an open corner three-pointer with 1.1 seconds left, giving Virginia a 69-68 win over the Blue Devils in Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Although the game was close throughout, the Cavaliers dominated Duke in the trenches, scoring 52 points in the paint. Virginia was led by Sophomore Kadin Shedrick who scored a career-high 16 points off the bench on perfect shooting.

Coming into this matchup, 5 of the last 7 games between Duke and Virginia had been decided by less than three points. This matchup was no different.

Virginia (15-9, 9-5 ACC) started off the game on an 8-2 run after four minutes of action. This lead squandered as Blue Devils Freshman Paolo Banchero scored six quick points, giving the Blue Devils a 17-15 lead midway through the half.

Duke (19-4, 9-3 ACC) wouldn’t see another lead until the last three minutes of the game.

Cavaliers Senior Jayden Gardner began to heat up quickly, jumpstarting a 10-0 run which held Duke scoreless for nearly five minutes. Gardner would finish as Virginia’s leading scorer with 17 points while also grabbing eight boards.

The Cavalier run would extend to a 17-3 run with 3 minutes left to play in the first half. That is until Duke Senior Bates Jones and Banchero sank back-to-back threes to end the half with Duke down 34-29.

Duke went into the half with their largest halftime deficit this season.

The key to Duke’s flat first half was poor play from their two best players: Banchero and ACC Freshman of the Week AJ Griffin. Griffin followed up a 27 point outing versus rival North Carolina on Saturday by shooting 1-7 from the field, finishing with two points.

Banchero, who finished the game with nine points on 3-9 shooting, only attempted one shot in the second half. Banchero saw double teams all night, leading to a team-high four turnovers. The Cavaliers would capitalize on 13 points off 15 Duke turnovers while Virginia only turned the ball over five times.

To start the second half, the Blue Devils made an early push as Sophomore big man Mark Williams scored nine quick points over the first four minutes of the period.

Although Williams finished as Duke’s leading scorer, he couldn’t find a rhythm all night due to him getting in foul trouble early and constantly being subbed out. Williams would finish the night with 16 points in only 19 minutes of action.

Midway through the second half saw Duke and Virginia going back and forth on ensuing possessions as the contest remained a nail-biter.

A three from forward Wendell Moore and bucket from guard Jeremy Roach gave Duke their first lead since the first 10 minutes of the game with 4:02 left to go.

With two minutes remaining, Beekman scored off a steal on the inbound and tied the game at 66 with 1:47 left. On the ensuing possession, Blue Devils guard Trevor Keels was fouled and nailed two free throws with 1:26 left, giving Duke a 68-66 lead.

Following the free throws, Virginia guard Kihei Clark came down and missed a three-pointer as the Cavaliers still trailed by two. Banchero tried to Ice the game for the Blue Devils but turned the ball over with 37 seconds to go.

Gardner missed a layup down the lane with seven seconds left and Duke big man Theo John grabbed the rebound, but Cavaliers guard Clark tied up John for a jump ball. The possession arrow granted Virginia the ball.

With 7.2 seconds left, Beekman inbounded the ball to Clark as Mark Williams double-teamed Clark leaving Beekman wide open for three. Clark finished the night with a game-high nine assists.

Beekman’s game-winner was only Virginia’s second three-pointer of the game as the Cavaliers shot 2-12 from distance as a team.

The Blue Devils look to bounce back as they go on the road to face Clemson this Thursday on ACC Network.