Cavaliers suffer second straight setback

CLEMSON, S.C. — Virginia senior Mike Scott sat in a dark corner of the third-floor visitors locker room at Littlejohn Coliseum and spoke in quiet, hushed tones about his team’s loss.

It’s becoming a somewhat familiar sight.

Three days after taking an 18-point pounding on the road at North Carolina, No. 22 Virginia suffered another lopsided loss.

For the second straight game, the Cavaliers’ offense was a no-show and their vaunted defense failed them at key moments.

The end result was a 60-48 loss to Clemson that starts to put the program’s return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007 in doubt.

Virginia (19-6, 6-5) has now lost three of its last four games, including its first back-to-back losses of the season. UVa, which hosts Maryland on Saturday, still has games with North Carolina and Florida State, among others, remaining on the schedule.

“I can’t speak for the whole team,” said Virginia sophomore Akil Mitchell, “but I’m optimistic about the future. I always am. I hope the rest of my teammates are.

“We’re still a good team. We’re still in the heat of the race. It’s no time to drop our heads now. We’ve got games coming up.”

After losing its first four games by a combined 10 points, Virginia has now lost its last two by a combined 30.

UVa played Tuesday with a less-than-100-percent Joe Harris. The sophomore guard, who is the team’s second-leading scorer, played with a cumbersome protective device on his fractured left hand that limited him to just 21 mostly ineffective minutes.

Freshman Malcolm Brogdon started in his place and played well in the first half, but was sloppy with the ball in the second.

Virginia actually shot the ball well — 50 percent from the field — but was done in by 18 turnovers. Clemson (13-12, 5-6) converted those turnovers into 19 points. The Tigers also had a number of crucial offensive rebounds in the second half that netted them second-chance points.

“If you look at the stat sheet you know the telltale numbers,” said Virginia coach Tony Bennett. “Eighteen turnovers in a game with this few possessions — that’s 18 times that we don’t get a shot.”

Virginia trailed 44-41 after Jontel Evans — who had another solid game with 17 points — scored his second straight bucket on a drive to the basket.

After a Tanner Smith turnover, UVa had the chance to cut the lead to a point but Harris was stripped of the ball on a shot attempt — a no-call that had Bennett livid.

“I’ll watch the tape,” said Bennett, when asked about the play. “I thought our guy got bumped. I thought, ‘Boy, that was big.’”

Clemson, capitalizing on three Virginia turnovers, then went on an 11-2 run and that was essentially the game.

“I feel like the turnovers down the stretch is what really hurt us,” Evans said. “I felt like that’s when we let the game get away from us.”

Virginia had beaten Clemson on Jan. 31 in Charlottesville.

“They had more energy,” Evans said. “The crowd got into it and got them excited. They had a lot more fight than last time.”

Clemson’s bench outscored Virginia’s — which consisted of the injured Harris and freshmen Paul Jesperson and Darion Atkins — 17-2.

“We wanted to wear them down,” said Clemson coach Brad Brownell. “They don’t play as many guys as some people.”

Scott had 13 points and eight rebounds for Virginia but didn’t like the way he played defense on Clemson’s Devin Booker, who had 10 points and four rebounds, including three big ones on the offensive end.

“He ducked me in a couple times,” said a somber Scott. “I got caught behind him and he got an offensive rebound. That was key.”

Mitchell was more upbeat than his teammate.

“I just think we need to remain confident as a team,” he said. “Losing two [in a row] — it’s the first that we’ve ever done that [this season]. We just need to stick to the things we’re strong at.”

What that is is starting to blur.

Dunks

Virginia tied the school record for fewest free throws attempted (one) and made (one) in a game...UVa outrebounded Clemson 28-23...Clemson had 10 fast-break points to Virginia’s zero...Brogdon, making his first career start and playing in front of friends and family, finished with nine points...Mitchell had an ice pack on his left hand after the game. “It’s just jammed,” Mitchell said, “but I’m all right.”