No. 17 UVa outlasts ND in double-OT to win 100-97
Powered by Thijs De Ridder’s 32 points and 8 rebounds coupled with Sam Lewis’ 21 points—including the 3-pointer that forced double overtime—and 9 boards, No. 17 Virginia overcame a 19-point first half deficit to beat Notre Dame 100-97.
In what many expected to be a bounce-back game for the Hoos after their loss to North Carolina on Friday, UVa (17-3, 6-2 ACC) came out flat against the Irish, trailing by nearly 20 with 6:06 remaining in the first half. Notre Dame, thanks to hot shooting, made it look easy in spots, with Braeden Shrewsberry and Cole Certa leading the charge for the Irish with 15 points each. Notre Dame (11-10, 2-6) was 15-for-26 from the field (57.7%) and 8-for-13 from deep (61.5).
In contrast, the Hoos went just 3-for-12 (25%) from long range in the half, but managed to get it down to single digits before the break. De Ridder finished the half with 14 points but was the only Wahoo with more than six. The Cavaliers also committed 10 personal fouls, the first eight coming before the midway point of the half, and five turnovers.
The Wahoos, who ended the first half on a 12-3 run to cut the deficit to nine, put together another run midway through the second to finally retake the lead. That 17-2 run was capped off with a 9-0 spurt.
But UVa couldn’t pull away, as the Irish reclaimed the lead with a 12-2 run of their own in the closing minutes and led by as many as six with just 2:13 remaining in regulation.
But a 3 from Lewis and a driving layup from De Ridder gave UVa the lead back. While Certa responded with a 3 of his own to put the Irish up two with 30 seconds remaining, two clutch free throws from Devin Tillis with 18 seconds left were enough to force the first extra session.
In overtime, the Hoos never led, with Certa and Shrewsberry both hitting 3s to keep the Irish on top. But Lewis hit a contested 3 with just 3 seconds left to tie the game once again, forcing the second extra frame.
The final period went back-and-forth before the Hoos took the lead for good with 1:11 remaining, with Lewis icing the win with two free throws that put UVa up five with 5 seconds remaining.
De Ridder is the first Cavalier to score over 30 points in a game since Kyle Guy in 2018, but it was Certa who finished as the game’s leading scorer with 34, including five 3s. Shewsberry had 18. Jalen Haralson also had 20 in the loss.
In addition to De Ridder’s and Lewis’ big games, UVa got 17 points from Chance Mallory and 12 from Tillis. The Wahoos led for just 9:39 of the 50-minute game, which saw 14 lead changes and the losing team leading for 36:20. Virginia also finished with 21 assists on 31 made field goals and had a 33 to 3 advantage in bench scoring.
