Fueled by Caffaro’s big night, 'Hoos hang on against Hokies

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Virginia 54, Virginia Tech 52

On Wednesday night at John Paul Jones Arena, Kihei Clark and Jayden Gardner combined for 10 points, and Virginia Tech shot 36.8% on 3-pointers compared to 23.1% for Virginia.

And yet, the Wahoos edged the Hokies, surviving two last-second 3-point heaves by solid Tech shooters Hunter Cattoor and Storm Murphy.
Sometimes, it’s hard to explain wins, and you just accept them.

After a back-and-forth game, with neither team’s lead reaching double digits, Tech (8-7, 0-4 ACC) led 52-48 with 3:13 left after a Keve Aluma layup. But the Cavaliers (10-6, 4-2) held the Hokies scoreless the rest of the way.


Francisco Caffaro celebrates, while Tech's Keve Aluma shows his disappointment. Caffaro was an unexpected star, recording 16 points and nine rebounds in the Cavaliers' victory.

The unexpected star of the night, Francisco Caffaro, began Virginia’s closing mini-run by going 1 for 2 at the line to make it 52-49. After a Tech turnover, Caffaro made a layup off a nice pass from Gardner to draw UVa within 1 at 52-51 with 2:21 left.

Aluma was the game’s high scorer with 22 points, and he had some great moments, but he also had to work really hard for what he got and ended up going 9 for 20 from the field. Caffaro did a good job on him, and the ‘Hoos were excellent on defense against him down the stretch.

On the Hokies’ next possession, Aluma got the ball near the baseline with Caffaro guarding him. Gardner saw an opportunity to trap Aluma from his blind side and came over to help Caffaro out. Aluma lost the ball out of bounds.

With the lead in reach, Armaan Franklin drove the lane and got fouled shooting a floater. He calmly sank both free throws to put Virginia up 1 with 1:33 remaining.

After a timeout, Tech went right back to its best player and ran a play for Aluma. The former Wofford transfer got the ball down low, but Caffaro did an excellent job of staying straight up and strong, and Aluma’s shot over Caffaro’s outstretched arms bounced off the back of the rim.

Virginia failed to add to its lead and had to take another stand on D. Aluma received a pass beyond the arc, near the top of the paint on the right side. This was an area in which he took advantage of Caffaro earlier in the game. But this time, perhaps a bit worn out, the Hokies star tried to drive to the paint and lost his footing as Caffaro did a good job of sliding his feet and not really giving the referees a chance to call a foul. Instead, traveling was the call. Virginia ball.

Clark split a 1-and-1 with 13 seconds left, and then the Hokies clanged the final two 3-pointers with time winding down as the ‘Hoos hung on.
Kadin Shedrick got into foul trouble early, leading to Caffaro getting major minutes. He had a career game with 16 points and nine rebounds in 30 minutes.

“The mindset is always the same,” Caffaro said, no matter when he enters the game. “Going in, you got to play hard; you got to do your job. So that was pretty much it. … I always am ready. But today it was more minutes, and I took advantage of it.”

“Papi really played well,” Tony Bennett said. “His physicality was significant, and he was on the glass and then got to the free throw line when we needed it.”

Caffaro grabbed at least one loose ball rebound during the game, got fouled, and then let out a primal scream. After the game, he said a physical-type game “riles him up and gets him going.”

His defense played a part in Tech turning the ball over three times in the final three minutes.

“I tried to slide with [Aluma] every time I could and just [didn’t] get lifted,” said Caffaro, who called Aluma a “crafty, talented” player with pretty good footwork. “He’s a little shorter. So I knew I could bother him just staying down and putting my hands up.”

The big Argentinian went 5 for 7 from the floor and 6 for 10 from the line. After looking a bit timid at North Carolina, Caffaro built on what he did during the Clemson win, showing off some nice post moves and better hands.

Caffaro’s improvement has not gone unnoticed by Bennett.

“It always takes, I think, bigger guys a while, it just takes them longer [to get] the balance and the feel,” Bennett said. “[Caffaro’s] had kind of an injury-prone time here. And this is really the first year that he’s gotten somewhat consistent minutes. There have been some really good moments, there have been some hard moments, but I just try to keep encouraging him to stay after it. You can get after him, and he’ll respond. Off the court, there’s not a better guy. He’s awesome that way. You’ve got to be able to sort of live with some of the mistakes and keep growing with these guys, because we don’t have a ton of options [in the frontcourt].”

Franklin again struggled beyond the arc (1 for 4), but he still had 15 points on 5-for-11 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 showing from the free throw line. He also added five rebounds and three assists.

“[Franklin’s] been attacking the elbows, getting to the lane, getting to the basket, [and he] made two big free throws,” Bennett said. “He’s moving hard, and you can’t be defined by your shot.”

Franklin said he was working on not being a “one-dimensional player” and mostly taking 3s, like he was earlier in the year.

Franklin added a humorous anecdote on Caffaro: “Papi’s very physical. Me and him go at it a lot sometimes, or, we used to. He’s very physical and I didn’t like it,” he said with a smile. … “He’s getting a lot better. He’s getting more touches and minutes actually. He’s worked on his finishing a lot. He works on it every day, so he’s continued to work hard. I’m proud of him.”

Reece Beekman recorded 11 points on 5-for-11 shooting (1 for 2 from deep) and also tallied five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. He had a couple big plays, one when he dunked on the baseline as Aluma challenged him, and later when he stole a pass and cruised in for an easy slam.

Beekman has now scored at least 8 points in four of the past five games. I am seeing his growth. He’s picking his spots on offense, being more aggressive, and taking wide-open 3-pointers to make sure he can at least be a 30 percent threat from there. On defense, he’s been excellent at timing up steals and attacking.

“I think the last handful of games, Reece has really taken a step in the right direction, and I like what I’m seeing in that regard,” Bennett said. “Again, he’s got to just come ready to go at practice and keep doing it, but he’s had some solid games.”

Clark was off offensively but hounded Murphy on defense. Clark tallied 6 points on 2-for-9 shooting and went 1 for 6 beyond the arc. He also contributed two boards, two steals, and an assist.

Gardner had 4 points and four turnovers as he struggled most of the night. He did hit a key jumper under the five-minute mark after the Hokies had gone ahead 50-46. Gardner went 2 for 10 from the floor and added five rebounds, two steals, and two assists.

Kody Stattmann got 13 minutes and hit one shot. Shedrick was saddled with foul trouble and played just 16 minutes. He didn’t score but had four rebounds and two blocks. Carson McCorkle played a couple of minutes in the first half and threw an errant pass to Clark that was stolen but did not lead to points.

Virginia (40%, 3 for 13 on 3-pointers) didn’t shoot as well as Tech (42%, 7 for 19 on 3-pointers) from the field but had the edges in free throw shooting (11 for 16 vs. 3 for 3), rebounding (31-29) and turnovers (8-12). Controlling the glass led to UVa giving up just 2 second-chance points. At UNC, Virginia gave up 14. Tech had six offensive boards compared to 11 for the Tar Heels.

“[That area] was so much better,” Bennett said, “because that one got away from us … against North Carolina.”

This game felt like one Virginia just had to have in the win column, for the psyche of the players and program going forward. It was a nice bounce-back victory at home after what happened in Chapel Hill. It’s been a bit of a rough start, but at least the ‘Hoos beat their rivals and kept them winless in the ACC. This coming after the Hokies were widely picked to finish in the top four of the conference.

Winning in such dramatic fashion was also a bit of a nice salve after the way the football game ended in November.

The players should see that even when things aren’t going well, if they stick their noses in there and play tough defense, they’ll still find a good deal of success.

“Though not maybe perfect or pretty, that’s who we are,” Bennett said. “And they took a step in the right direction to be as rugged as they could be on both ends of the floor. And both teams played their hearts out.”

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