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Virginia Falls 76-71 at Wake Forest
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-Wake Forest had six players score in double figures led by sophomore guard C.J. Harris with 15 points as the Demon Deacons rallied for a 76-71 victory over Virginia in an Atlantic Coast Conference game on Saturday (Jan. 29) at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
Freshman forward Travis McKie finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Wake Forest.
Junior center Assane Sene recorded the first double-double of his career with 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to lead five UVa players in double figures in scoring. The 15 points are a career high for Sene and his 13 rebounds marked the second consecutive game he’s reached double figures in rebounds.
The victory was the first conference win of the season for Wake Forest and broke a five-game losing streak. The win improved the Demon Deacons’ record to 8-13 overall and 1-5 in the ACC. The loss was the fifth in the last six games for Virginia. The Cavaliers are now 11-10 overall and 2-5 in the ACC.
Wake Forest has won the last six games in the series and the last nine games played between the two teams in Winston-Salem.
In addition to Harris and McKie, sophomore forward Ari Stewart (12), freshman guard J.T. Terrell (11), junior center Ty Walker (11) and senior guard Gary Clark (10) also scored in double figures for Wake Forest.
Freshman guard Joe Harris (14), senior guard Mustapha Farrakhan (13), junior guard Sammy Zeglinski (11) and sophomore guard Jontel Evans (10) also scored in double figures for Virginia. Farrakhan has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games.
The Cavaliers led 34-32 at halftime and used a 7-0 run to build a 10-point lead at 48-38 with 12:59 left in the game. UVa led by nine (51-42) at 11:55 when the Demon Deacons went on a 16-6 run to take a 58-57 lead with 5:48 remaining to play. Walker had six points and McKie five in that Wake Forest run.
Virginia briefly regained the lead and tied the game on two other occasions before Clark hit a three-pointer to give Wake Forest the lead for good (66-63) with 2:46 to play. A basket and two free throws by Harris and a basket by Clark helped Wake Forest expand its lead to seven points (72-65) with 47 seconds remaining in the game. The Demon Deacons made all four of their free throws in the final 36 seconds.
Wake Forest led by as many as eight points (18-10) with 11:22 left in the first half, but the Cavaliers rallied with a 12-1 run and took a 22-19 lead on a three-pointer by Zeglinski with 8:56 to play in the half. Evans and Sene each scored four points as the Cavaliers out-scored the Demon Deacons 8-2 in the last 3:38 of the half to take the 34-32 halftime lead.
Virginia shot 50 percent (28-56) from the field in the game, including 40 percent (8-20 from three-point range, and 50 percent (7-14) from the free throw line. The Cavaliers out-rebounded Wake Forest 31-27.
Wake Forest shot 48 percent (24-50) from the field, including 47.4 percent (9-19) from three-point range, and 90.5 percent (19-21) from the free throw line.
It’s just the second time under head coach Tony Bennett that Virginia has lost a game when scoring at least 70 points (now 17-2).
Virginia returns to action on Wednesday (Feb. 2) when the Cavaliers host Clemson at John Paul Jones Arena. That game is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.