CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. ? Keith Jenifer, of all people, helped Virginia put some hope back into a quickly disintegrating season.

In a game the Cavaliers had to have, they overcame a 12-point deficit with seven minutes left and beat No. 3 Duke 87-84 Thursday night.

The Blue Devils’ loss gave No. 2 Maryland the Atlantic Coast Conference title outright for the first time since 1980. It also ended Duke’s five-year hold on the crown, and may have put some hope back into what had been dying NCAA tournament hopes for Virginia (17-9, 7-8).

Jenifer, a freshman point guard, hit a floater over Carlos Boozer with 1:13 to play that gave Virginia the lead for good.

“We were thinking of calling a timeout, but we kept him in and he had the guts to take the shot,” coach Pete Gillen said of the play, even more stunning because Jenifer has been such a reluctant shooter all season.

“Not many freshmen on national television against the No. 3 team in the country are going to take a shot like that,” Gillen said.

Especially not with so much at stake for a team that started 14-2, climbed as high as No. 4 in the AP poll by Dec. 31, and had been free-falling since. The Cavaliers had lost seven of nine, many in embarrassing fashion.

But Jenifer said he was just doing what he was told.

“The last couple of games, people have been sagging off of me, so I have to keep them honest and I had to take a couple of shots tonight. (Gillen) told me before the game, ‘If they overplay, just go.’ I just thought about that, and I went,” he said after scoring 10 points.

Jenifer’s shot came during a 17-0 run, gave Virginia a 78-77 lead, its first of the game, and brought the crowd to the edge of hysteria. When the Cavaliers went 9-of-10 from the free-throw line over the next minute, they had the win.

“You need everything to beat a team like that, and tonight we had all cylinders running,” said Roger Mason Jr., who led Virginia with 22 points.

The Blue Devils (25-3, 12-3) had a chance to tie it when Jason Williams was fouled while making a basket with 12.1 seconds left, but Williams missed the free throw missed and Virginia rebounded.

The Cavaliers, playing for the first time since falling from the Top 25, trailed 77-65 with 6:53 left and appeared to be fading again.

But Virginia held the Blue Devils scoreless for more than 61/2 minutes to open an 82-77 lead, then held on despite Williams’ late heroics.

No. 13 Oregon 67, No. 19 Southern Cal 65

Los Angeles  Frederick Jones hit a runner with one second remaining as the Ducks clinched at least a share of their first conference title in 57 years.

Oregon (21-7) remained atop the Pac-10 with a 13-4 record, and put itself in position to claim the top seed in next week’s conference tournament.

USC’s Brandon Granville heaved a shot from about 60 feet that hit the front of the rim at the buzzer.

USC (19-8, 11-6) blew a chance to grab a share of its first conference title since 1985. Sam Clancy led the Trojans with 25 points and Errick Craven added 20.

No. 17 Stanford 76, No. 14 Arizona 71

Tucson, Ariz. Â Curtis Borchardt scored 28 points, one shy of his career-high, to pick up the slack from an injured Casey Jacobsen as Stanford held off Arizona. The 7-foot junior got a crucial offensive rebound after teammate Teyo Johnson missed two free throws with six seconds to go and Stanford (18-8, 11-6 Pac-10) leading 74-71. Jason Gardner scored 33 points for the Wildcats (18-7, 11-6), whose loss ended any shot at a share of the Pac-10 title.

No. 21 California 91, Arizona State 80

Tempe, Ariz. Â Shantay Legans and Amit Tamir each made a late three-pointer that allowed the Golden Bears to pull away. Legans, who had 20 points, five assists and four steals, made his fourth three-pointer in as many tries with 2:45 to play, opening a 77-70 lead. Tamir, who finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, made his 25 seconds later to make it 80-72. Joe Shipp also had 18 points for the Bears (21-6, 12-5 Pac-10).