Briggs' career high five goal powered Virginia past the unranked Terps of Maryland, who were cut short in completing the underdog story. In a slow, methodical affair, Virginia essentially ran out the clock for the later part of the game to hold on for the school's fifth title.
It was 96 degrees outside at game time, and even hotter on the field of play. Briggs claimed the benching actually benefited him in a way, saying "I definitely felt fresh out there, especially in the fourth quarter. I still had legs while maybe some other guys didn't."
Virginia was without two of its best players for much of this year, senior twin brothers (and All-Americans) Rhamel and Shamel Bratton, who had both been suspended. Their defensive stud Matt Lovejoy had been sidelined with a season-ending injury.
The Cavaliers also had a stretch this year, from March 26 to April 22, in which they lost four of five games. The turning point came when Starsia reinvented his club's style of play, switching to a zone defense and a controlled offense.
Maryland's thirteen turnovers likely cost them the title. Though they outshot the Cavs 32-26, the unforced errors were crucial to their defeat. Looking back on their season, their coach, John Tillman, had this to say:
"I'm very disappointed for the 48 guys in our locker room. I couldn't be more proud of this group, both as players and as people because of the way they handled the last 12 months. It's been a long year with all the things we had to deal with. The coaching transition, all the injuries, Maria Young's death through it all we played like Terps and represented our school, our state and our alumni with class."
Their goal for next year will be to return to this point next year, and hopefully come out on top.
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