3, 2, 1 … Splash! A Look Back at 10 UVA Basketball Buzzer-Beaters

Having hit a game-winning 3-pointer in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament against Syracuse University last season, Beekman was no newcomer to late-game heroics.

Here’s a look back, in no particular order, at 10 of the most memorable buzzer-beaters in UVA basketball history.

Darius Thompson at Wake Forest

After trailing by seven points with 20 seconds left, a loss on the road to the Demon Deacons in 2016 seemed all but certain – until Thompson, with a much taller defender draped all over him, banked home a 3-pointer from a seemingly impossible angle to give UVA the 72-71 win.

“I happen to do tricks like that all the time in practice – just throwing up crazy shots,” Thompson told reporters after the game. “I guess it worked for me tonight.”

Sean Singletary vs. Duke

In 2007, an eighth-ranked Duke team – holding a nine-game winning streak over the Hoos – came to JPJ for the first time. With the game tied, Singletary dribbled the clock down, then hit an incredible, acrobatic, falling-away floater from the baseline with 1 second left.

As JPJ went bonkers, Singletary stared stone-facedly into an ESPN camera.

“I used to come to JPJ four hours before the game and shoot and just work on my game,” Singletary told UVA Today in 2019. “As we started winning, we got more ESPN games and I would see one of the cameramen from time to time. He said, ‘Why don’t you do something for the camera if you ever hit a big three or something?’

“During that game, I felt like I hadn’t done enough offensively for us. So as soon as I made that shot, I thought of that guy in the back of my mind. Since I couldn’t put up one of those ‘3’ gestures, I just pointed at him.”

Malcolm Brogdon at Pittsburgh

Tied at 45 in the formerly hostile atmosphere known as “The Zoo,” UVA head coach Tony Bennett designed a play called “Triple Pop” in which Joe Harris ran around three screens as a decoy for Brogdon. Brogdon slipped open and drained a long 3-pointer to give the Hoos the 48-45 victory.

After the shot went in, Brogdon confessed that he had no idea how to celebrate – he had never hit a game-winning shot at any level of basketball. “I don’t know what to do! I’ve never done this before!” he yelled as his teammates mobbed him.

Tomas Woldetensae at University of North Carolina

Woldetensae had just committed a costly foul as a North Carolina player was taking a 3-pointer. It led to the Tar Heels taking a two-point lead with 10 seconds left.

But the native of Italy – who was known for his great cooking as well as his hoops during his time on Grounds – would get the final word, drilling this 3-pointer for a 64-62 UVA win that sent Dean Dome fans home unhappy.

Bon Appetit!

Kihei Clark at Virginia Tech

Kihei Clark was a key participant in what many fans consider the best buzzer-beater in school history (see below), but he’s also made one of his own.

In 2020, Clark hit a step-back 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds remaining as the Hoos defeated the Hokies, 56-53, at Cassell Coliseum.

Ralph Sampson vs. Maryland

On March 7, 1983, playing in the final home game of his illustrious career at University Hall, it looked like Ralph Sampson was going to be the goat – and not in the good, “Greatest Of All Time” sense.

With the game tied and seconds to play, Sampson missed two free throws. But luckily, teammate Craig Robinson tipped the rebound from the second miss back out to Sampson, who hit a jump shot from the free-throw line as time expired.

“It ended exactly as it should have,” UVA player Kenton Edelin told the Washington Post. “Ralph had to have it today. It did him justice.”

Barry Parkhill vs. South Carolina

In January of 1971, Parkhill – UVA’s current associate director of athletics for development – hit a 12-foot baseline jumper to give UVA a 50-49 win to shock the No. 2-ranked University of South Carolina.

The shot was referred to by some ACC sportswriters at the time as “The Shot Heard ’Round the World.”

“Nearly 9,400 people were packed in the aisles and along the concourse. When University Hall is full and loud, the atmosphere is great and there is nothing like it. Our crowds were and are the best,” Parkhill told VirginiaSports.com.

Mamadi Diakite vs. Purdue

Nearly a half-century after Parkhill’s shot, there was another shot that everyone was talking about. It is one that is widely considered the best buzzer-beater in program history. Heck, it’s arguably the best buzzer-beater in college basketball history.

UVA trailed by two points in its 2019 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game against Purdue when Kihei Clark raced into the backcourt to retrieve a missed Ty Jerome free throw and passed the ball ahead to Diakite, who drilled a short jumper that forced overtime. UVA went on to win, 80-75, to move into the Final Four.

De’Andre Hunter vs. Texas Tech University

After beating Auburn University in the 2019 national semifinals, thanks to three clutch free-throws by Kyle Guy, the Hoos were able to beat Texas Tech and win the national championship after a huge 3-pointer by De’Andre Hunter in the final seconds of regulation forced overtime.

“I was feeling it all night,” Hunter said. “Hit me right in my pocket. I just took my time and shot a three. It was on line, it felt good, and I just kept my follow through to make sure.”

Hunter, just like Beekman on Monday night, was no stranger to buzzer-beaters, having hit one in the 2018 season in this game at Louisville.