Diane’s last hurrah

One win likely doesn’t make up for a season of misery in the minds of Virginia basketball fans.

But Saturday afternoon’s upset of Maryland had to feel pretty darn good.

On senior day, Virginia senior Mamadi Diane did his best to assuage the collective psyche of Wahoo Nation. How appropriate, considering Diane’s own struggles this season.

Diane hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 38 seconds left to lift the Cavaliers to a stunning 68-63 victory at John Paul Jones Arena.

“All night, every time I got an open look from 3, I was just trying to let it go,” Diane said. “As soon as Sylven [Landesberg] drove and got the ball back to me, I knew I was letting it go.

“It felt good coming out.”

Diane, who had been relegated to the bench for much of the season, finished with a game-high 23 points on 7 of 12 shooting, including 3 of 4 from downtown. The former DeMatha Catholic (Md.) standout nailed the triple with the game tied at 61 and the shot clock running down.

“The first thing that I said to myself was, ‘Poetic justice,’” said Virginia coach Dave Leitao, whose team snapped a four-game losing streak. “There’s no better way to finish off one’s career, one’s season.”

Maryland got a 3-point play by Vasquez and back-to-back 3-pointers by Dave Neal and Eric Hayes to tie the game at 61 before Diane’s heroics.

Maryland’s last gasp was a Vasquez jumper with 14 seconds left that could have cut the lead to one.

Landesberg added 14 points for Virginia, but Diane was the story.

“He was great,” said Maryland coach Gary Williams. “He did a great job of making big shots. That’s a nice way to end your senior year.”

With the win, Virginia (10-17, 4-12 ACC) salvaged a regular season in which it managed just two home wins. In the ACC tournament that begins on Thursday in Atlanta, the 11th-seeded Cavaliers will face the No. 6 seed, which could be Clemson, Florida State or Boston College. The opponent will be decided after today’s final day of play.

With the loss, Maryland’s NCAA tournament chances took a big hit. The Terrapins (18-12, 7-9), who were led by Vasquez’s 21 points, will likely need to go on a run in the ACC tournament in order to qualify for the Big Dance.

Virginia shot 53 percent from the field in the second half while holding Maryland to 38-percent shooting. The Cavaliers outrebounded the Terrapins, 36-27, and overcame 18 turnovers.

Virginia started the game poorly, following the same script that it has for most of the season — porous defense, too many turnovers and bad shooting.

Maryland stormed to a 21-8 lead behind Vasquez and Landon Milbourne.

Just when it seemed as if Virginia was about to be blown out for the second game in a row, the Cavaliers got their act together. Behind 11 first-half points from Diane, UVa finished the stanza on an 18-4 run to trail by just one point at the break.

“We were all pretty confident,” Landesberg said. “We knew we hadn’t played our best basketball and had a lot of good basketball ahead of us in the second half.”

Early in the second half, Virginia took its first lead since 3-2 when Diane hit two free throws. A Jamil Tucker 3-pointer and Landesberg drive put UVa up 37-31.

Later, a Landesberg 3-pointer from the wing and Diane drive to the hoop gave the Wahoos their largest advantage of the game, 44-35.

Virginia later matched that margin after a Mike Scott free throw gave it a 54-45 lead with just over six minutes left.

“Virginia made a nice run in the last part of the first half,” Williams said, “then took it to us at the start of the second half.”

As the final buzzer sounded, Diane was mobbed by his teammates, who carried him off the court.

“Mamadi was like a big brother to us,” Landesberg said. “The feeling that he had tonight — I think we all had the same feeling. There were just a lot of emotions running through us, knowing this was his last game at JPJ.

“The way he went out was just remarkable. You just couldn’t go out a better way.”