CHARLOTTESVILLE — It was the great escape — a road victory stolen at the foul line or maybe given away by a home team whose fans booed its futility.
No. 22 Maryland outlasted Virginia 92-89 in double overtime yesterday before 8,218 at University Hall. The Terrapins outscored the Cavaliers 25-12 at the foul line as Virginia missed 15 of 27 foul shots. Cavaliers center Elton Brown blew 10 of 13, including a pair with 18.9 seconds remaining in the final overtime that would have tied the game.
It seemed fitting that Maryland (16-8, 7-6 ACC) would nearly seal its 12th straight NCAA tournament bid in a game with as many ups and downs as the season itself. The Terps lost the lead late in regulation and the second overtime only to rally. Just when Maryland looked ready to fall to 1-7 on the road, the Terps rediscovered their inside offense and shocked Virginia by scoring repeatedly despite converting only 39.5 percent for the game.
“We could have won in regulation; we could have won in the first overtime easily,” Terps coach Gary Williams said. “But that’s what [Virginia coach Pete Gillen’s] teams do. Our guys don’t quit either. We ran our best offense the last five minutes of regulation and both overtimes. … We’re not a good outside shooting team. We weren’t going to win that game unless we could go inside, and we did that late in regulation and overtimes.”
Maryland can practically clinch its NCAA invitation by beating Clemson on Tuesday at Comcast Center. The Terps need to win one of their final three games to reach 8-8 in conference play. Since 1992, 56 of 59 ACC teams with that mark or better have made the NCAA tournament. Maryland desperately wanted to avoid needing to win two of its final three games to reach the tournament given that No. 4 North Carolina and a road game at Virginia Tech also loom.
“We don’t want to go through the same thing we did last year,” guard John Gilchrist said, alluding to a team that went 7-9 in the regular season before winning the ACC tournament to reach the NCAAs. “This time we want to play for seeding in the NCAA tournament, not just to get in there.”
But it remains uncertain whether the Terps have regained their momentum. Maryland hasn’t won three straight conference games this season and has suffered several upsets. The victory over Virginia was sloppy at times, though the Terps saved their best play for the overtimes.
“I thought we had some springboard wins this year,” Williams said. “Now you don’t get second chances. If you play a bad game, it can really hurt you.”
Said forward Travis Garrison: “We’ve got to keep on going. I know I’ve said that a thousand times, but we’re in a good position right now.”
Maryland’s box score reflected the balance needed to stave off Virginia. Four Terps scored in double figures, and five had at least seven rebounds. Gilchrist led Maryland with 22 points while Garrison scored 20 and forward Nik Caner-Medley added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Guard Sean Singletary led Virginia (13-11, 4-9) with 23 points. Forward Devin Smith scored 20, and Brown added 13 points and 12 rebounds.
It would have been a relatively stress-free victory for Maryland if the Cavaliers hadn’t used three 3-pointers in the final minutes to overcome an eight-point deficit. Guard Gary Forbes sent it into overtime with a 3-pointer with four seconds remaining.
“You could tell they were playing off pure adrenaline,” Gilchrist said. “They were hitting incredible shots. I’ve been in that zone before. You don’t realize any time or score.”
The Terps tried to steal the second overtime quickly with a four-point lead, but Virginia went on a 7-1 run for an 89-87 lead before Singletary fouled out with 2:21 remaining. Gilchrist put Maryland ahead 91-89 with 1:12 left with a 3-pointer after Caner-Medley grabbed a loose offensive rebound. Virginia opted not to wait for a last-second tie, and Brown was fouled on a layup attempt with 18.9 seconds remaining. He missed both foul shots. and Maryland’s Ekene Ibekwe added one more free throw with 13.4 seconds left.
Maryland nearly stole the game early in the first overtime, taking an 80-73 lead with 1:55 remaining. However, Virginia scored three 3-pointers ” the final one with 20.5 seconds remaining by Singletary — to force the second overtime. Gilchrist missed taking the final shot after he waited too long to start his drive and then let the ball get kicked away.
“I just made a dumb play,” Gilchrist said. “You should never try to cross the ball over. I knew that [Virginia guard J.R. Reynolds] knew I was going to drive right. It was like a chess match. I tried to fake him off. He read it and kicked it.”
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