The Virginia Cavaliers lost their fourth consecutive game on Wednesday night, falling to the SMU Mustangs 54-52 in thrillingly deflating fashion. While the ‘Hoos battled with the Mustangs – who toppled Virginia by 12 back in December – for the full 40 minutes, they simply came up one play short in the final seconds.

Boopie Miller’s buzzer-beating three-pointer lifted the Mustangs over the Cavaliers. Miller hit another three just nine seconds earlier to cut a four-point deficit to one. Then a pair of missed free throws from Taine Murray opened the door for Miller to hit the dagger as the buzzer sounded.

Despite the loss, Blake Buchanan was the surprise hero for the Cavaliers down the stretch. He emerged in the second half as his efforts around the paint helped stem the tide of the Mustangs’ assault on the rim and, eventually, nearly won the game for the Cavaliers. He finished with 11 points, 15 rebounds, two blocks, and two assists in 27 minutes, signifying a re-emergence since he was replaced by Jacob Cofie in the starting lineup a month ago.

“I’m definitely proud of Blake today. His effort was fantastic, even when he was tired,” head coach Ron Sanchez said postgame. “If we can continue to get that effort from Blake, Blake will enjoy his second year. I’m hoping this is the turn for him.”

The ‘Hoos and the Mustangs traded runs back and forth to a 27-25 halftime score. Neither team shot the ball well from the perimeter across the entire 40 minutes with UVA making 4-of-26 and SMU hitting just five of their 21 long ball attempts. While Isaac McKneely (six points, 1-for-9 shooting from the field, 0-for-6 from three) was cold all night long, Buchanan, Ishan Sharma, and Elijah Saunders carried the labored UVA attack.

Dai Dai Ames – who rejoined the starting lineup following a three game absence – notched six of the Cavaliers’ first eight points before going scoreless for the remainder of the game. Early on, he created separation from defenders late in the shot clock, utilizing his burst to touch the paint and then finish through contact. Where Ames left off in the first half, Saunders picked up the slack by canning a pair of first half triples.

Critically, Virginia limited their turnover total to eight. Ames’ presence alongside McKneely and Andrew Rohde as another capable ball handler seemed to make the difference.

It was the painted area that burned Virginia in the first half. 24 of SMU’s 27 first half points came inside the paint as the Mustangs infiltrated the interior of the Wahoo defense both via drives from their guards and a few moments of pin point passing between their bigs.

Then Buchanan came to the party. His 10 second half rebounds were a sign of life for a Virginia frontcourt that has struggled to contend with physicality. Buchanan said after the game that Ron Sanchez challenged each big to nab eight rebounds each. The Idaho native nearly doubled that request with his 15 boards.

While Buchanan converted a few tough finishes through contact early in the second and made a couple nice feeds to his teammates from the perimeter, Virginia’s offense looked how it has for most of the season: Tired. The Cavaliers scored just 0.881 points per possession versus the Mustangs and had no one to turn to for most of the game while McKneely struggled.

That was until true freshman Ishan Sharma stepped up and hit the biggest shot of his young career to tie the ball game at 45 points apiece with 2:52 left. On a possession that otherwise looked doom to fail, Sharma pulled up at least a few feet beyond the arc and gave John Paul Jones Arena the most life its had in months.

That level would be topped just minutes later when Rohde intercepted a Mustang pass and found a streaking Buchanan for a thunderous alley oop to put the ‘Hoos up by three with 1:22 left on the clock. Four consecutive Sharma free throws then gave Virginia a 52-48 lead with eighteen seconds remaining.

“I think ‘Ish’ is one of those guys who has a tremendous amount of competitive juice in him,” Sanchez said after the fact. “I think he wants those moments.”

Despite that, Sanchez pulled Sharma from the game for Murray after his fourth made free throw. Postgame, Sanche said the decision was motivated by trying to get the team’s best combination of defense and free throw shooting on the floor for the final few possessions.

“The goal was to put our best defensive group on the floor, our most experienced kind of defensive group that was playing well,” Sanchez explained. “Taine is definitely part of that group. Combined with one of our better free throw shooting groups. Taine is definitely a part of that. Taine not making a free throw does not him not be that. That’s who he is. If the situation was presented in front of me again I would do the same exact thing, no question.”

Whether it was the correct decision or not, the wheels fell off for the Cavaliers in the ensuing seconds.

What looked to be a momentum-building, quintessentially fun win turned into a disaster as Miller’s last second heave floated out of his hands and through the hoop. Virginia was seconds away from the sort of win that the team, coaches, and fanbase have been craving. Instead, the harsh swish of the net heard seconds before the (premature) buzzer sounded provided another cruel reality check about the state of the UVA program.

“I’m hurting for the guys, I am because I think they deserved this one,” Sanchez said.

They probably did deserve it. Alas, UVA is now below .500 at 8-9 overall and while sitting 1-5 in the ACC. The ‘Hoos will hunt the redemption they nearly earned versus SMU on Saturday in Louisville.