Reece Beekman Buzzer-Beater Sends UVA Basketball Flying Into ACC Tournament Semis

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Wednesday’s quarterfinal game against No. 8 Syracuse was Virginia’s first postseason game since the 2019 national championship game. The potential payoff wasn’t the same, of course, but man, it brought me right back to the epic 2019 run. High drama, great basketball, and a shining moment at the end in the Wahoos’ favor.

Freshman Reece Beekman hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer from the right-wing on Wednesday to deliver Virginia a 72-69 victory over the Orange. The top seed in the ACC Tournament will now move on to the semifinals to face No. 4 Georgia Tech.

The three was Beekman’s only made field goal of the game, and his shooting woes weren’t just a one-game thing. He’s struggled offensively all season, all while dealing with the loss of his brother, Bryce, who overdosed and died last year while a member of the Washington State football team. The shot/amazing moment is really something to behold and every member of the Virginia family was/is so happy for him — coaches, players, and fans alike. Plus, from a basketball perspective, this could get him going, give him exactly what he needs going forward — confidence. Kihei Clark showed confidence in him at the game’s biggest moment, finding him on the wing, and now he can run with it.

“He’s been through so much,” Tony Bennett said during the postgame on Virginia Sports Radio Network, “and I’m just overjoyed for him and, of course, the team.”

“It meant a lot,” Beekman confessed. “That was my first-ever walk-off game-winner.”

Beekman played 31 minutes and was 0-for-6 before his epic deep ball and full-court sprint celebration. He also had four assists and a pair of nifty steals. Prior to Wednesday, he had just eight made three-pointers on 31 tries. His last made three-pointer was back on February 10th in Virginia’s 57-49 win over Georgia Tech.

Virginia, who beat Syracuse earlier in the season, was down for much of the game but they weren’t necessarily playing badly. It was much like the Elite Eight game against Purdue where they were just dealing with a red-hot shooter. For Purdue, it famously was Carsen Edwards; Syracuse had Buddy Boeheim, who seemed to hit everything he threw up, finishing with a game-high 31 points. Boeheim was 5-for-8 from three-point range, giving him 11 made threes in the Orange two conference tournament games. Other ‘Cuse players shot just 21.4 percent from deep, however, going 3-for-14. Both Beekman and Clark annoyed Orange ballhandlers throughout, and Clark got a bit of revenge on Boeheim with a highlight-reel steal. He flat-out picked his pocket from behind and went the other way for an easy lay-up.

Clark was one of four Wahoos in double figures, finishing with 10 points and six assists. Sam Hauser, fresh off his first-team all-conference honor, led Virginia with 21 points. Trey Murphy poured in 15 of his own, including a pair of threes down the stretch that were probably the two most important shots besides Reece’s dagger. Jay Huff added 13, but his real value came by way of tearing up the Syracuse zone with his decision-making. The offense ran through him on many possessions from the top of the key or elbow and he excelled at getting the offense a good shot. A second-team all-conference selection himself, Huff added 12 rebounds, two dimes, and four blocks to his stat-line.

Tomas Woldetensae and Justin McKoy were also crucial off the bench, which is no surprise if you saw the UVA basketball regular-season finale against Louisville. Woldetensae finished with eight points while McKoy brought his typical toughness, finishing with six rebounds in just 12 minutes.

“Our veteran players, the guys who have the experience, I thought stepped up,” Bennett noted via Virginia Sports.

Virginia and Georgia Tech will play at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night with a spot in the title game on the line. Virginia has beaten the Yellow Jackets twice already this season — once by two and once by eight — but Tech is as hot as anyone in the country right now. They are riding a seven-game winning streak, which includes triumphs over Cuse, Duke, and Virginia Tech. The Yellow Jackets cut down ACC Tournament Cinderella Miami 70-66 on Thursday in the quarterfinals.

“We’ll watch the film tonight,” Hauser said via Virginia Sports. “We’ll learn from it and move on, because we’ve got a game tomorrow.”

Casey Pazzalia is the founder of Slackie Brown and its subdomain Virginia Gameday. He’s a credentialed media member at college basketball arenas all over the Virginia region and a former Virginia high school basketball reporter.