Men's Basketball

Virginia outlasts Boston College 66-60 in OT, will face NC State in ACC Tournament semifinal

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Reece Beekman had 11 points and 11 assists, and Virginia took a step toward an NCAA Tournament berth - and to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament - with a 66-60 overtime victory over Boston College on Thursday night.

The Cavaliers (23-9) were nearly done in by 8-of-18 free throw shooting, but their stellar defense was enough to carry them through the final minutes. Boston College went over five minutes without scoring before Mason Madsen of the Eagles made a jumper at the buzzer to force overtime.

Then Virginia allowed only one basket in the extra session.

Quinten Post had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the 11th-seeded Eagles (19-15), who were trying to win for the third time in three days. Post went 9 of 20 from the field, and Virginia's Jordan Minor did a terrific job defensively toward the end.

Virginia faces 10th-seeded N.C. State on Friday after the Wolfpack beat second-seeded Duke on Thursday.

The Cavaliers are on the NCAA Tournament bubble, and a loss to this Boston College team would have been a bad final impression to leave. The game became a battle of attrition late. After Post's layup gave Boston College a 55-53 lead, the Eagles missed their next eight shots.

Virginia wasn't much better, finally going ahead 57-55 when Jacob Groves made two free throws with 29 seconds to play. Then Madsen tied it.

Boston College didn't score again until the final minute of overtime. By then, Isaac McKneely and Beekman had made 3s to put the Cavaliers up by six.


Of Note

  • The Cavaliers improved to 28-37 all-time in quarterfinal games. Virginia has a 10-16 all-time record in ACC semifinal contests.
  • With the win, Virginia has advanced to the semifinals in eight of the past 10 ACC Tournaments.
  • With the win, Virginia moved to 47-65 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 4-2 in Washington, D.C.
  • The overtime contest versus Boston College and Virginia marked the 19th overtime game for the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
  • The overtime game was the first in the ACC Tournament since 2022, when No. 4-seeded Miami defeated No. 13-seeded Boston College, 71-69, in the quarterfinals.
  • With the overtime win, Virginia improved to 5-3 in games decided in overtime at the ACC Tournament, while the Eagles fell to 2-3 in overtime contests in the conference tournament with the loss.
  • Virginia moves to 21-9 all-time against Boston College and 2-1 versus the Eagles in the ACC Tournament.
  • Reece Beekman logged a seven-or-more assist in an ACC Tournament game for the third consecutive season.
  • Beekman and Jake Groves became the first Cavalier teammates to each log a double-double in a game since January 29, 2022. They became the first teammates to record double-doubles in the same game since Tyree Appleby and Bobi Klintman for Wake Forest and Jesse Edwards and Benny Williams of Syracuse in a matchup on March 8, 2023.
  • Groves’ 11 rebounds mark a new career-high in the category. It also gives the graduate forward his first career double-double.
  • With his 23 points and 13 rebounds on Thursday night, Boston College’s Quentin Post became just the third player in the last 10 years to record 60-plus points and 30-plus rebounds in the ACC Tournament, joining Jayson Tatum in 2017 and Zion Williamson in 2019. In his three games in the tournament, he totaled 64 points and 34 rebounds.
  • Virginia overcame a six-point halftime deficit before the overtime win. The Cavaliers improve to 3-9 on the season and 66-95 under Tony Bennett when trailing at the break.
  • The Cavaliers were dominant regarding bench points, outscoring Boston College 26-2.
  • Virginia led for just 6:25 throughout the entire contest, 4:36 of which came in the five-minute overtime period.