![](https://library.sportingnews.com/styles/facebook_1200x630/s3/2023-03/Kihei-Clark-031623-Getty-FTR.jpg?itok=egP0hLdj)
Kihei Clark has had a standout career at Virginia. His last moment will undoubtedly be a memorable one for all the wrong reasons, however.
The fifth-year senior guard’s errant pass with No. 4 Virginia leading 67-65 was caught by Furman’s Garrett Hien, who quickly turned the turnover into offense. He dished the ball over to JP Pegues, who drained the go-ahead 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds left that wound up proving the dagger in No. 13 Furman’s 68-67 victory.
ARE YOU SERIOUS?! 😨
FURMAN WITH THE STEAL AND 3 TO TAKE THE LEAD WITH 2.2 SECONDS REMAINING #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/fSCNKUzboq
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 16, 2023
TSN’s MARCH MADNESS HQ
Live NCAA bracket | TV schedule | Predictor tool
After the game, Clark explained what happened with the costly turnover.
“Call a timeout, maybe could’ve threw it to Armaan [Franklin] on the right wing, maybe. He was open just couldn’t see. It was a good trap,” Clark said.
Virginia’s Kihei Clark, a fifth-year senior whose turnover in the waning seconds led to Furman’s winning shot, reacts to the team’s loss. pic.twitter.com/hueRJvZXZo
— AP Top 25 (@AP_Top25) March 16, 2023
The pass was an incredibly risky decision, as the result wound up proving. Clark was trapped in the corner and could have taken the foul or Virginia could have called a timeout. And with possession, the Cavaliers were seconds away from a victory.
MORE: Virginia’s unfortunate history of March Madness upsets
Virginia coach Tony Bennett explained that it was a game where the Cavaliers felt like “we’ve got it” until the end.
“I’ll have to see on tape how that all played out. That feeling of ‘it’s there, I think we’re going onto the second round’… and then it’s gone,” Bennett said. “That’s a gut punch. But, you get to choose how you respond and over time it’ll all be OK, I know that.”
Clark has been on the other side of making an incredible, cross-court pass. Against No. 3 Purdue in the Elite Eight of 2019, Clark found Mamadi Diakite at the right wing, and Diakite made the game-tying shot at the end of regulation to force overtime. The Cavaliers went on to win the game and the national championship.
WE’RE HEADING TO OT! 😱#MarchMADNESS | #Elite8 pic.twitter.com/pmX7SHt35Z
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 31, 2019
MORE: Furman’s Jalen Slawson stunned by Clark turnover that led to Virginia upset
“I’ve loved coaching him in his career,” Bennett said. “We would not be in this spot without him. You always look to that last moment and there’s so many what-ifs and who knows. But, in time, that will fade. And what he’s done, what he’s meant — it’s a hard way to end, but also there’s a whole lot of good when you look at the whole picture.”