CHARLOTTESVILLE — There were moments Monday night when senior Joe Harris couldn’t miss, the John Paul Jones Arena crowd roared and it appeared No. 17 Virginia would pull away from Maryland for a relatively routine triumph.
All that, though, was not in the cards this time around.
After it seemed Virginia had taken control of a back-and-forth affair, it had to hold off a late charge to secure a 61-53 victory over the Terrapins. The Cavaliers have won eight games in a row and extended their best start in ACC play since 1981-82. But it wouldn’t come without a few more gray hairs for Coach Tony Bennett.
After Virginia (20-5, 11-1) took an 11-point lead on a jump shot by point guard London Perrantes with 4 minutes 53 seconds remaining, Maryland (14-11, 6-6) came roaring back on a 9-2 run and cut its deficit to 54-50 with just more than two minutes remaining.
In their final trip to Charlottesville as a member of the ACC, the Terrapins could have drawn even closer. But forward Evan Smotrycz (3 of 14 from the field) missed two open three-pointers with a chance to pull within one field goal late. The Cavaliers then hit seven of their eight free throws in the final minute to ice the contest away.
Harris led Virginia with 19 points and forward Akil Mitchell added 13 points and six rebounds. Guard Malcolm Brogdon had 14 points. Maryland, still in search of a marquee victory this season, was paced by sophomore Seth Allen’s 15 points and guard Dez Wells chipped in with 12.
Harris woke up a listless crowd early in the second half, nailing back-to-back three-pointers, the second of which hung on the rim for a good second before falling through the net to give Virginia a 33-29 lead heading into a media timeout. The senior had been just 1 for 6 from the field prior to that burst.
Even with a methodical pace that would seem to favor the Cavaliers, Maryland refused to wilt in the face of mounting foul trouble and a left shoulder injury to forward Shaquille Cleare. Virginia helped by continuing its season-long woes from the free throw line early on.
But the Cavaliers proved relentless, and the game turned on an emphatic swat by sophomore Justin Anderson as Maryland’s Roddy Peters appeared to be coasting in for an easy lay-in. In an instant, Harris had the ball beyond the arc on the other end and nailed a three-pointer that sent the orange-and-blue crowd into a frenzy.
Before the Terrapins knew what hit them, the Cavaliers had turned a tie game into a 44-35 lead courtesy of a 9-0 surge with under 10 minutes left in regulation. It proved to be too much of a hole for Maryland to climb out from.
Monday’s game was originally slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off, but the start time was pushed back two hours due to traffic concerns with President Obama and French President Francois Hollande in town to visit Monticello.
But with so much at stake — Virginia was in search of its first-ever six-game win streak against its soon-to-be former rival and Maryland needed a defining win to boost its fading NCAA tournament hopes — neither team seemed to mind the late start during a back-and-forth first half.
The Terrapins began the game red hot from outside, hitting three three-pointers and getting eight points from Smotrycz during the opening seven minutes. Coach Mark Turgeon also used a three-quarters court press and 1-3-1 zone extensively, and initially, it seemed to bother the Cavaliers.
Virginia, though, found its bearings midway through the period, embarking on an 8-0 run to take a 21-17 lead on the backs of Brogdon and Mitchell. The Terrapins, meanwhile, began settling for contested jump shots with their offense stagnant.
But Perrantes struggled to keep Allen at bay, and the sophomore steadied Maryland by knifing into the lane at will before halftime. But with the Terrapins clinging to a three-point lead, Virginia struck the final blow of the half.
Following a timeout by Bennett with 1.8 seconds remaining, Brogdon found Mitchell under the basket on the ensuing inbounds pass and the senior cut Maryland’s halftime lead to 26-25 with an emphatic dunk right before the buzzer sounded.
