Written by Adrian Beecher
LOUISVILLE, KY – Virginia is headed to the Final Four for the first time since 1984, after an 80-75 overtime win over third-seeded Purdue that saw the Cavs hit a buzzer beater in regulation to keep their dream alive. All of this came despite an incredible 42 point performance by Purdue’s Carsen Edwards.
Here’s how it all went down in the South Regional Final of the 2019 NCAA Men’s Tournament at the KFC Yum Center.
The Boilermakers won the tip off and got right to work with a triple from Ryan Cline, who hit 7 threes in his previous game in the Sweet 16. The Cavs answered back as Mamadi Diakite put in a basket in the paint.
After back-to-back Carsen Edwards triples, the Boilermakers too a 11-6 lead over the Cavs with 16:59 left in the first half. Purdue kept the pressure on and remained hot from deep early, with Aaron Wheeler getting in on the action, draining a triple with 9:46 left in the 1st half to make it a 10 point Boilermaker lead.
Then Virginia got to work, going on a 12-3 run to trim the deficit to just 1 with 4:47 left in the half. Edwards put an end to what was an 8-0 run from the Cavaliers with a jumper. After a pull-up jumper at the other end from De’Andre Hunter for UVA, Edwards struck again with a triple to put Purdue up 30-26 with 3:44 left on the clock.
That would be the last score of the half for the Boilers, with Virginia trimming the deficit to just one as we reached the halftime break, with the score 30-29 Purdue.
The Boilermakers hit eight triples in the first half, with four of those coming from leading scorer Carsen Edwards, Purdue’s only player in double figures. Virginia was led by Diakite with 10 points.
UVA came out to start the second half with intention as Kyle Guy drained a triple to give them a 32-30 lead. Then after two failed Purdue trips down the court, Guy drained another triple to make it 35-30 Cavaliers.
Nojel Eastern got the Boilers going with a layp to make it 35-32 with 17:10 left in the game. However at the other end, Ty Jerome scored a basket and got an and one to push the Cavaliers lead to 6.
Virginia kept the pressure on, pushing their lead to 7 with 15:18 left to play as Guy drained another triple. The Cavaliers would eventually push their lead to 8 a minute and a half late. Then the Boilers spent the next 6 minutes and 50 seconds clawing their way back into this one with Trevion Williams draining a hook shot to make it a one-point game.
However, Jerome answered right back draining a triple to push the UVA lead back to four.
A 7-0 run, kicked off by yet another Edwards triple, put the Boilermakers in the lead 64-63 with 3:59 left to play. Guy, then put in a laup to put UVA on top, starting what would be four consecutive lead changes. That final lead change was from Edward hitting a downtown triple making it 69-67 Boilers with only 1:10 left on the clock.
The foul game then came into play as the Cavaliers turned the ball over, Edwards missed a triple and Grady Eifert corralled the rebound with only 19 seconds left on the clock. Cline was fouled and went to the line for a one-and-on, making the first and missing the second.
Jerome hauled in the rebound and was eventually fouled by Eastern with 5 seconds left to play. At the line, Jerome made the first and missed the second, however, the Diakite hauled in the rebound, and kicked it back out to the top of the key. The wall went past half court though as time ticked down. Kihei Clark snagged the ball and quickly passed it up to Diakite, who put up a 12-ft jumper as time expired and it sank through, tying the game at 70, sending us into over time.
In OT,
At the other end,
Hunter would put it in for UVA to give them the lead back once again on the ensuing possession at 76-75 with only 26 seconds left in OT. Then a missed triple from Edwards, forced the boilers to foul, sending Guy to the line, and he drained them both to make it 78-75 with 5 seconds left to play.
Edwards then would turn the ball over on a bad pass, giving it to Virginia with only 2 seconds left to play, a foul by Purdue sent Clark to the line, where he sank them both to punch the Cavaliers ticket to the Final Four.
Edwards ended the game with 42 points, 30 of those coming off 10 triples. For UVA, it was Guy (25) and Jerome (24) leading the charge, combining for 49 points to seal their fate.
(Image Credit: Chris Tello / The SkyBoat)
