"Tougher, Sounder" Houston Hands Virginia First Loss of the Season 69-61

The fifth-ranked Cougars knocked off the second-ranked Cavaliers 69-61 on Saturday at John Paul Jones Arena

Playing their first game in 11 days, the Cavaliers showed no signs of rust early on, scoring nine-straight points out of the gate. In a game that was every bit of the physical, defensive grind that was expected between two of the best defenses in the country, that strong start should have at least guaranteed that UVA would be playing with a small lead for most of the contest. Instead, the fifth-ranked Cougars went on a huge 19-4 run in the middle of the first half and never trailed again. 

No. 5 Houston (11-1) came into Charlottesville and made big play after big play down the stretch to hold off No. 2 Virginia (8-1) 69-61, handing the Cavaliers their first loss of the season on Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena. 

The first four minutes of the game couldn't have gone any better for the Wahoos, who jumped out to a 9-0 lead behind five early points from Kihei Clark. After missing their first six shots, the Cougars went on a 7-0 run of their own. Virginia briefly pushed its lead back to 15-7 after back-to-back three-pointers from Isaac McKneely and Reece Beekman, but Houston again responded with a big run, taking advantage of a four-minute scoring drought for UVA. 

Marcus Sasser hit three three-pointers in the first half to help Houston put together a staggering 19-4 run. During that stretch, Clark had a potential three-point play wiped away by a questionable traveling violation. The Cougars took advantage, following up that call with a layup and a transition three for Sasser to take a 26-19 lead. Armaan Franklin knocked down a three-pointer and slashed to the basket for a layup a few possessions later to help the Cavaliers narrow the deficit to 30-26 at halftime. 

Houston went on another run early in the second half to push the lead to 40-30. The Cougars entered the night shooting less than 33% from beyond the arc, but defensive breakdowns from UVA gave Houston several wide open looks from three and the Cougars cashed in with eight triples in the game. On the other end of the floor, Houston's No. 1-ranked scoring defense lived up to its reputation as Virginia struggled to generate open looks. The Cavaliers made just six of their 22 three-point attempts. 

Some of UVA's struggles on the offensive end certainly had to do with Reece Beekman, who was playing at significantly less than 100% with a strained hamstring. Beekman played 33 minutes and recorded four points, five assists, three rebounds, a steal and a block, but he lacked his usual explosiveness on the offensive end. 

Houston led by as many as 11 points but Virginia kept hanging around. At several moments, UVA went on short runs to get within six or seven points, bringing the packed crowd at John Paul Jones Arena to its feet. But, Houston always had answer, quieting the crowd and preventing the Cavaliers from completely closing the gap. 

Facing perhaps the best offensive rebounding team in the country, Virginia did fairly well to limit the Cougars to just seven offensive boards. But in a defensive slugfest played at a slow tempo, every extra possession and bonus opportunity was critical. 

Virginia had its best chance to get back into the game with four minutes to play, as Kihei Clark stole the ball from Houston's Jamal Shead in the backcourt and took it the other way for a layup to make it a six-point game. UVA forced another Houston turnover, giving the ball back to the Cavaliers with a chance to make it a one-possession game. Out of the media timeout, Virginia ran its classic "close the doors" screen play for Isaac McKneely, who got a clean look from three at the top of the key, but his shot just barely rimmed out. 

UVA would not have any more chances to get back within one possession after that, as the Cavaliers then suffered some critical lapses on the defensive end. Marcus Sasser got loose off of a screen and drove seemingly uncontested to the basket for a layup. Reece Beekman got inside and dished to Kadin Shedrick for a dunk, but Houston had the answer again as Jarace Walker kicked out to Tramon Mark for a three-pointer. UVA turned it over and then Walker hit a heavily-contested fadeaway jumper that essentially sealed the game, as it put the Cougars back up by 11 points with just over a minute remaining. 

Jarace Walker was undoubtedly the MVP for the Cougars, as the true freshman finished with 18 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Marcus Sasser and Tramon Walker had 13 points each for the Cougars, who had five players score in double figures. 

Isaac McKneely drove to the basket and finished plus a foul, but Houston was solid from the free throw line down the stretch to keep the door firmly shut in the final minute. McKneely played well against the top-tier competition, as the freshman had nine points, played good defense, and didn't turn the ball over a single time in 25 minutes of action. Kadin Shedrick led the way for Virginia with 16 points on 7/8 shooting and Jayden Gardner had 13 points and six rebounds, but he missed a few open mid-range jumpers in the second half that could've helped UVA close the gap. 

Ultimately, Houston executed better than Virginia, especially on defense, something that Tony Bennett had no trouble admitting after the game. "Today, the tougher, sounder team on the defensive end won," Bennett said. 

In the big picture, it's hard to be disappointed with Virginia's showings in perhaps the most difficult non-conference schedule the Cavaliers have had in the Tony Bennett era. In tough matchups against Baylor, Illinois, Michigan, and Houston, UVA finished 3-1, a record that a lot of UVA fans would have been pleased with before the season. 

Now 8-1, Virginia faces a quick and challenging turnaround, as the Cavaliers play their first ACC road contest of the season at No. 25 Miami on Tuesday night. 

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