Kihei Clark Leads Virginia to Huge Win in the Carrier Dome

The senior point guard did it all for the Cavaliers in their victory over the Orange on New Year’s Day

Matt Newton | Jan 2, 2022

Virginia’s victory over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome on Saturday was impressive in a number of ways. The Cavaliers responded to game pressure extremely well and made plays at critical moments in the game on both ends of the floor. The Hoos did not endure any of the scoring droughts that have plagued them all season and executed at a high level against the Syracuse zone defense.

There were remarkable performances across the board for the Cavaliers, with four players in double figures. Armaan Franklin scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half to help Virginia to an early lead. Jayden Gardner had 15 points and four assists operating out of the center of the Syracuse zone defense and he made a few shots at crucial points down the stretch of the game. Kadin Shedrick was a strong presence near the basket on both offense and defense and recorded his second-career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Even Reece Beekman, who scored just two points, played a pivotal role and recorded four rebounds, five assists, and two steals and also played the part of zone-buster in the middle when Jayden Gardner was off the floor.

Perhaps the most impressive performance of the night came from Kihei Clark, who was all over the floor for the Cavaliers on Saturday night, especially in the second half. Clark dropped 17 points on an efficient 6/9 shooting from the floor and 3/5 from three-point range. 14 of those 17 points came in the second half and Clark scored or assisted on eight of Virginia’s 17 made field goals in the second half. Clark recorded eight assists and four rebounds in the game.

Coming out of halftime, Syracuse scored a second-chance basket on a layup by Jimmy Boeheim to continue a 5-0 run from the end of the first half and give the Orange their first lead of the game. After a UVA turnover, Syracuse threatened to extend its lead and seize all momentum in the game. As Syracuse worked the ball around the three-point line, Kihei Clark jumped a passing lane and intercepted the ball, taking it all the way down the court for an uncontested layup. Virginia turned that basket into a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead. At many points this season, the UVA offense was prone to tightening up and going on scoring droughts as soon as the opposing team tied the game or took the lead. Clark’s steal-and-score neutralized Syracuse’s momentum and provided a spark for the Virginia offense.

Clark also played tremendous on-ball defense on Joe Girard III, who entered the game averaging just under 14 points per game and is usually quite effective at finding open looks from the perimeter and making them. Clark’s quickness and pressure proved to be too much for Girard, who finished with just three points on 1/5 shooting from the floor. Girard attempted just four threes in the game and made only one of them. At one point, Girard thought he had a clean look from the corner as he pump-faked to send Clark flying past him. Clark recovered quickly, however, and got a piece of the ball from behind as Girard released his shot, which fell well-short of the rim resulting in a shot-clock violation. That was the fifth block of Clark’s career and the second this season.

Lastly, Clark concluded his superb performance by coming up with a couple of key defensive rebounds in the final minute of the game and hit two free throws to essentially put the nail in the coffin for the Cavaliers’ New Year’s Day victory over the Orange.

Clark and the Cavaliers will look to build off of this win in their next game on Tuesday night at Clemson.

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