The Cavaliers also held Virginia Tech scoreless over the final 3:14, during which time Virginia forced three turnovers.
“He’s coming in and getting extra time, and he’s purposeful,” Virginia Coach Tony Bennett said of Caffaro, whose previous high was 10 points three years ago. “He’s one of the most fun-loving young men — I was going to say kid — but young men on our team. He really is. He plays hard, and again it’s new to him. He has not played a lot, and now he’s getting to play more.”
Virginia went ahead to stay at 53-52 on two free throws from guard Armaan Franklin with 1:31 left. The Hokies had a chance to take the lead late, but leading scorer Keve Aluma slipped trying to dribble past Caffaro and was called for traveling with 14.2 seconds to play.
Virginia Tech’s Nahiem Alleyne fouled Kihei Clark with 13.5 seconds left; the Cavaliers’ senior point guard made the first free throw and missed the second. The Hokies gathered the rebound, but Hunter Cattoor missed a three-pointer, and Storm Murphy’s heave at the buzzer bounced off the rim.
Franklin scored 15 points and added five rebounds and three assists, and guard Reece Beekman chipped in 11 points, five rebounds and five assists for Virginia, which rebounded from a 74-58 loss Saturday at North Carolina.
Aluma finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-for-20 shooting with six rebounds. Cattoor and Murphy were the only other Hokies to score in double figures, each posting 10 points as Virginia Tech (8-7) dropped to 0-4 in the ACC for the first time since 2014-15.
“Two good teams going nose-to-nose,” Hokies Coach Mike Young said. “Both teams really fought on both ends of the floor. Certainly didn’t see Caffaro — Caffaro’s a good player now. He’s a big, physical young man. Take nothing away. He played a good ballgame.”
In winning for the third time in four games, Virginia benefited from a 14-3 margin in points off turnovers, a 9-2 buffer in second-chance points and an 18-2 edge in bench scoring, allowing the Cavaliers to withstand 3-for-13 shooting on three-pointers.
With the score tied at 42 entering the penultimate media timeout of the second half, Virginia and Virginia Tech traded three-pointers before the Hokies reeled off five in a row thanks to Alleyne’s three-pointer and a difficult turnaround floater by Aluma for a 50-46 lead with 4:57 to play.
Neither team led by more than one possession over the first 10 minutes of the second half, with Virginia’s 33-30 margin the largest in that span courtesy of three straight baskets, all coming in the painted area and beginning with Beekman’s steal and breakaway layup.
The first half concluded with the Cavaliers in front 25-23. They had used a 10-0 burst capped by a contested jumper in the lane and a transition three-pointer from Franklin to open an eight-point advantage, the largest for either team over the first 20 minutes.
The Hokies answered with an 11-2 run to retake the lead at 20-19 with 6:06 left in the half. Aluma made several difficult shots during that time, including a turnaround jumper over two defenders and an acrobatic twisting layup moments later.
Here’s what else to know about Wednesday’s game:
Starting lineup swap in second half
Caffaro, a 7-foot-1 redshirt junior hailing from Argentina, started the second half for the first time this season in place of Kadin Shedrick, who played sparingly in the first half because of foul trouble and contributed minimally while on the court.
When Shedrick was called for his third personal within the first five minutes of the second half, Caffaro rose quickly off the bench and reentered the lineup, continuing Bennett’s season-long balancing act between the Cavaliers’ regular rim protectors.
Each player has been a liability on offense in most games, placing additional burden on Jayden Gardner, an undersized forward listed at 6-6 who leads Virginia in scoring and rebounding after transferring from East Carolina.
“The mind-set is always the same,” Caffaro said. “Going in, you’ve got to play hard, so yeah, that was pretty much it. Today was more minutes, and I took advantage.”
Gardner held in check
Gardner, Virginia’s leading scorer, finished with four points on 2-for-10 shooting, ending a run of three straight games in double digits and marking his lowest scoring total since he managed four points during a 67-47 loss at Houston on Nov. 16.
Gardner has scored in double figures in 12 of 16 games this season and in four of Virginia’s six ACC games. He also was held to single digits in a 67-50 loss to visiting Clemson on Dec. 22.
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