Guy, No. 2 Virginia pull away to beat Wake 59-49
Jan. 21, 2018
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) Kyle Guy scored 17 points, and No. 2 Virginia beat Wake Forest 59-49 on Sunday night for its 10th straight win.
De’Andre Hunter added 16 points to help the first-place Cavaliers (18-1, 7-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) extend their longest winning streak since 2015-16 and open league play with seven victories for the second time in four years. Virginia shot nearly 46 percent in the second half while holding Wake Forest to 30 percent shooting after halftime.
Bryant Crawford scored 11 points, and Mitchell Wilbekin and Brandon Childress added 10 apiece for the Demon Deacons (8-11, 1-6), who kept it close against a highly-ranked Virginia team for the second time in three years but still managed to lose their fifth straight.
Devon Hall added 12 points to help the Cavaliers win a tight one in which there were nine lead changes and five ties. Neither team led by more than seven until Hunter hit an important 3-pointer to extend Virginia’s lead to 53-45 with 3:44 remaining.
BIG PICTURE
Virginia: The no-nonsense Cavaliers aren’t into style points – a good thing, because they didn’t earn many in a tighter-than-expected matchup with the league’s second-worst team. They trailed at halftime for just the second time, but locked down defensively in the final 20 minutes and created better shots against a Wake Forest team playing one of its better defensive games of the season.
Wake Forest: Coach Danny Manning’s team looked much better than it did three nights earlier at North Carolina State, or last weekend in a 16-point loss to then-No. 7 Duke, leading by three points in the second half. But only one player – 7-footer Doral Moore – hit a field goal in the final 8 minutes, a big reason why the Demon Deacons failed to finish off what would have been their second home upset of a top-10 team in two seasons.
UP NEXT
Virginia: Hosts No. 20 Clemson on Tuesday night before a visit to fifth-ranked Duke next weekend.
Wake Forest: Hosts a second top-five opponent in three nights when No. 5 Duke visits Tuesday night.
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