No. 24 Virginia squeaks past West Virginia at Fort Myers Tip-Off

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — Ryan Dunn scored 13 points and grabbed a rebound of teammate Reece Beekman’s missed free throw with 2.3 seconds left to secure No. 24 Virginia’s 56-54 victory over West Virginia in the third-place game of the Fort Myers Tip-Off on Wednesday night.

Beekman hit the first of two free throws and when his second attempt missed, Dunn snagged the long rebound with 0.4 seconds left and added another from the line for the Cavaliers.

Beekman scored five of his 12 points in the final 2:41.

Virginia (5-1) once again relied on its defense. The Cavaliers entered the game ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense at 53.8 points per game.

Jesse Edwards and Quinn Slazinski each scored 17 points for West Virginia (2-3), which shot 37.3%.

Virginia struggled offensively early, with one field goal in the first 5:45 of the game, but found its range and led 26-23 at halftime.

Virginia tightened its defense in the second half. The Cavaliers forced two shot-clock violations in the first seven minutes and limited West Virginia to just three points. Virginia capitalized and built its lead to 10 points at 36-26.

West Virginia rallied, hitting three straight 3-pointers, including two by Seth Wilson, to take a 42-40 lead before Virginia rallied.

Isaac McKneely exchanged pushes with a pair of West Virginia players. He and Slazinski received double-technicals for their confrontation.

ALL EVEN

Virginia evened its series with West Virginia at 10-10. The series dates to the 1915-16 season for the schools located 233 miles apart. The teams last played in 2017.

2024 FORT MYERS TIP-OFF

Michigan, Xavier, Virginia Tech and South Carolina will be participating in the 2024 Fort Myers Tip-Off, scheduled for Nov. 25-27.

UP NEXT

West Virginia: Host Bellarmine on Sunday.

Virginia: Host Texas A&M on Wednesday.

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AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball