If Kihei Clark’s ill-advised pass that led to a costly Virginia turnover in the Cavaliers’ shocking loss to Furman in the first round of the men’s NCAA tournament looked familiar, that’s because a similar rendition of the late-game heave happened in the 2019 Big Dance.
However, the outcome in ‘19 was far more favorable for Virginia than what happened on Thursday.
With Virginia trailing by two points to Purdue in the 2019 Elite Eight, Ty Jerome missed a critical late-game free throw but was bailed out when Mamadi Diakite tipped the ball past half court that ended up in the hands of Clark. With time winding down, Clark heaved the ball back to Diakite, who was standing near the right elbow to convert a game-tying floater that forced overtime against the Boilermakers.
Virginia went on to defeat Purdue, 80–75, to earn a spot in the Final Four and eventually win its first national championship.
In a somewhat similar close-game scenario on Thursday, with a 67–65 lead and time winding down, Clark threw a misguided pass that led to a turnover for the Cavaliers. The mistake set up Furman’s JP Pegues to knock down a three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining that gave the Paladins a 68–67 lead.
Virginia’s Reece Beekman missed on his final shot from the floor, securing Furman’s win and the first major upset in this year’s tournament. As for Clark, his Cavaliers’ career will likely be remembered for both the program’s proudest moment as well as one of the team’s most disappointing losses.
