ORLANDO, Fla. — As yet another media wave descended upon Kihei Clark’s locker stall, asking him to explain the inexplicable, teammate Armaan Franklin assessed Virginia’s NCAA tournament demise Thursday succinctly and accurately.
“He’s won so many games for us,” Franklin said. “It’s not all his fault. We had several times we could have put this game away. We just let them creep back in it.”
Exactly.
For all the focus on Clark’s ill-fated Hail Mary and JP Pegues’ subsequent 3-pointer, UVa’s 68-67 first-round loss to Furman at the Orlando Magic’s arena was a collective failure.
This wasn’t 16th-seeded UMBC routing No. 1 Virginia in 2018. And this wasn’t the Cavaliers, limited to one pre-tournament practice by COVID protocols, falling to Ohio in 2021.
This was Virginia, co-champions of the ACC regular-season and runner-up in the conference tournament, squandering a 12-point lead in the final 11-plus minutes. This was the Cavaliers leading by six with 6:25 remaining and the Paladins leading scorer on the season, Mike Bothwell, disqualified with five fouls.
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This was a game UVa should have closed.
“I think we could have done a lot more,” center Kadin Shedrick said. “I think we should be playing [in the second round] Saturday.”
They are not because the 13th-seeded Southern Conference champions shredded fourth-seeded Virginia’s defense late. They are not because Furman’s 1-3-1 zone trap, a desperate ploy from a team that plays man-to-man defense 99% of the time, confused them for several possessions.
And they are not because Isaac McKneely and Clark each missed a crucial free throw, and yes, because Clark did the unfathomable.
Of all the Cavaliers to panic.
Thursday was Clark’s 161st and final college basketball game. His five seasons included the 2019 national championship and 122 victories, most in program history, and an ACC-record 76 conference wins.
No Cavalier has embodied poise like Clark, and he did so famously with the instinctive pass to Mamadi Diakite in the 2019 South Regional final against Purdue that led to Diakite’s tying bucket and, eventually, an overtime victory.
But with 12.2 seconds remaining Thursday, Clark triggered another sequence that will live in tournament lore and represents March at its maddest.
Virginia led 67-65 when Clark inbounded the ball underneath the Furman goal to Reece Beekman, who quickly passed the ball back to Clark. As Pegues and teammate Alex Williams swarmed, Clark crouched low, hoping to avoid the jump ball that would return possession to the Paladins.
“I was calling for a foul,” Furman coach Bob Richey said, “but the good Lord knew they couldn’t hear me.”
Clark could have called timeout but said he couldn’t see an official. UVa coach Tony Bennett could have called time but said he didn’t know if an official was nearby.
But Clark could see the 6-foot-11 Shedrick 50-plus feet downcourt, and he unleashed a high-arching pass. Shedrick knew immediately that Garrett Hien would intercept it and contemplated fouling him because “I just like if they got a 3 off, they were going to make it.”
How right he was. Hien stole the pass and found Pegues on the right wing.
“All I could do at that point was rise up and shoot it,” said Pegues, who had missed his three previous attempts beyond the arc.
His shot was true with 2.2 seconds left, and after a Virginia timeout, Beekman’s long 3 went begging.
“It’s March,” Shedrick said. “I’m sure America loved it, but for me, it hurt.”
After the obligatory handshakes, Clark walked off the court, head bowed. Shedrick, who had the game of his life with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots, wept as teammate Francisco Caffaro tried to console him.
“I was just shocked, and a little confused,” Shedrick said. “I didn’t think it was real.”
Some 15 minutes later, still in uniform, Clark sat in his locker stall replaying the fateful sequence on his phone and wondered: Why hadn’t he called timeout? Should he have attempted a pass to McKneely on the right wing? And why choose the worst conceivable option?
There were no answers, but Clark patiently and politely endured every question.
“Tough way to go out like this,” he said.
“We’ll talk to him later,” Shedrick said. “He just needs his space right now. I think that’s the most important thing. He’ll be alright, and we’ll be there for him.”
Meanwhile, at the interview podium, Bennett was not surprised by Clark’s grace.
“You celebrate his career,” Bennett said, “and this is part of the game. I’ve used this line before, but when you step between the lines, you take the good and you take the hard with it. You try to handle them with dignity and respect, and he’ll do that. ...
“Would we be in this spot without him? Nope. So here we are, and I’m grateful for him.”
