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Their thoughts instead frequently wandered back to the Grounds, where a memorial service was being planned for Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena for Lavel Davis Jr., Devin Chandler and D’Sean Perry.
All three were juniors, as is a fourth player, Mike Hollins Jr., who is recovering in a hospital following multiple surgeries.
“I’ll be honest: It was really hard to stay focused in practice Tuesday and Wednesday,” said Cavaliers center Kadin Shedrick, who had 17 points on 6-for-6 shooting. “I was kind of worried how I was going to come out here and perform because I wasn’t locked in. I’m not going to lie. I was thinking about them.”
Guard Armaan Franklin led the charge with a career-high 26 points, including 18 in the second half, in Virginia’s first victory over a top-five opponent since 2020. The transfer from Indiana shot 7 for 12, made 3 of 6 three-point attempts and went 9 for 10 at the foul line.
Guard Reece Beekman added 10 points and 10 assists, and forward Ben Vander Plas rounded out four Cavaliers in double-digit scoring with 14 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the field. Virginia (3-0) shot 55.6 percent overall and sank 9 of 14 attempts from beyond the arc.
“We know the pain and the grief so many are going through, the football program and those young men and the coaching staff, and then on another level the families,” Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said. “We’re kind of the ripple effect. A lot of our guys were close to those young men. The sadness we feel, we talked about it afterward. You played hard. Whether you won or you lost, it’s okay.”
Getting back onto the court did provide some mental relief, and the Cavaliers were able to gain significant separation with elevated attention to defense in the second half during a 30-5 run that gave them a 60-38 lead with 10:48 to play. Virginia went 8 for 9 on three-point tries in that torrid stretch.
Baylor (3-1) rallied to trim the margin to single digits several times in the final minutes, getting as close as 79-73 with 1:04 left, but the Cavaliers avoided substantial peril by making 18 of 21 free throws over the final 7:12 to reach Sunday’s championship game against the winner of No. 8 UCLA and No. 19 Illinois.
“We played for them today. We played for the whole Charlottesville community,” Franklin said. “Just trying to be strong for each other, but it’s hard not to think about it, three great people.”
Virginia had been scheduled to play Northern Iowa at John Paul Jones Arena the night after a lone gunman opened fire on a charter bus carrying approximately 25 students who had attended a play and dined together in the District as part of a school trip.
A shelter-in-place order was issued with law enforcement engaged in a massive manhunt for the suspect, who was apprehended Monday morning some 80 miles away in Henrico County. After the lockdown was lifted, the athletic department announced the cancellation of the game.
Two days later, Saturday’s football game against Coastal Carolina at Scott Stadium was canceled, allowing family, friends and teammates of the deceased to attend the memorial with other members of the stunned Charlottesville community.
The basketball team hasn’t finalized plans for Saturday, but Bennett indicated players will watch via live stream and conduct a practice in preparation for the title game.
“This has probably been one of the single hardest weeks of my life, just mentally and all that, as it is for a lot of my teammates and really the whole Charlottesville community,” Shedrick said. “It meant a lot to come out here and do it for them.”
Cavaliers players warmed up wearing blue long-sleeve shooting shirts with “UVASTRONG” across the chest and the last names of their fallen fellow athletes printed on the back. There was a moment of silence shortly before the singing of the national anthem.
“It’s just not right,” Bennett said. “I don’t know what else to say. You tell your guys, you hug them a little bit more. You tell your kids that you love them, but we’re not in a great place in this society.”
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