No. 7 Duke Falls in Final Seconds to Virginia, 69-68

DURHAM – Virginia guard Reece Beekman hit a three-pointer with 1.1 seconds remaining as the Cavaliers knocked off No. 7 Duke 69-68 on Monday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

After a held ball gave Virginia possession on the Duke baseline with seven seconds left, Kihei Clark was fed the inbounds pass and worked his way towards the left wing. Clark turned and found a wide open Beekman near the corner, and the sophomore nailed the go-ahead triple. The Blue Devils (19-4, 9-3 ACC) had a look at a potential game-winner, but freshman Paolo Banchero’s deep fadeaway attempt hit the side of the backboard as time expired.

Beekman’s dagger was just the second three-pointer on 12 attempts for Virginia (15-9, 9-5 ACC).

Banchero was held to a season-low nine points, while sophomore Mark Williams – who played a large portion of the second half with four fouls – recorded a team-high 16 on 5-of-7 shooting. Freshman Trevor Keels added 12 points, each scored in the second half.

Jayden Gardner scored 17 points, Kadin Shedrick posted a career-high 16 points – many coming on a variety of dunks – and Armaan Franklin had 11 points to help Virginia win its third in a row.

Before the last sequence, Beekman made a backcourt steal and basket to knot the score but failed to complete the three-point play. Then Keels put Duke back on top with two free throws with 1:26 left.

Duke notched its first lead of the game sophomore Jeremy Roach’s drive for a basket at the four-minute mark. Keels then put back his own miss to make it 66-63.

Virginia led 34-29 at halftime, aided by a 15-3 stretch that began around the midway mark of the half.

A pair of three-pointers from graduate student Bates Jones helped the Blue Devils stay in range after the Cavaliers built a 32-20 edge. Still, Duke was stuck with its largest halftime deficit of the season.

Duke hits the road for its next two games this week, starting with a Thursday night matchup at Clemson. The game tips at 8 p.m. on ACC Network.