TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Sophomore guard Isaac McKneely scored a career-high 29 points to lead Virginia to an 80-76 victory over ACC rival Florida State late Saturday night at the Donald L. Tucker Center.
For UVA (19-5 overall, 10-3 ACC), the win was its eighth straight and capped a stretch of seven consecutive Saturday road games. On a night when the Seminoles (13-10, 7-5) shot 33 free throws and made 26 of them, Virginia still secured a hard-earned win, thanks in no small part to its offensive efficiency.
McKneely was 8 for 12 from the floor, including 5 for 7 from behind the arc, and senior point guard Reece Beekman added 21 points and a game-high five assists. Forward Jake Groves, a graduate student, came off the bench to contribute 10 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UVA went ahead on a stickback by McKneely with 15:55 left in the first half and never relinquished the lead. McKneely hit two 3-pointers and had a three-point play in the first half, and his second trey put the Cavaliers up 24-14 and forced a Florida State timeout with 8:12 remaining. The Seminoles rallied, though, and cut the Hoos’ lead to 34-30 by halftime.
In the second half, McKneely’s third 3-pointer pushed Virginia’s lead to 46-36 with 15:01 to play, and senior point guard Reece Beekman’s layup made it 48-36. The Noles fought back and cut their deficit to six, but graduate student Jake Groves’ trey made it 52-43 with 11:54 left.
A 9-0 run by FSU, in a span of about 90 seconds, trimmed Virginia’s lead to 54-52 and fired up the home fans. But Groves’ second 3-pointer made it 57-52.
McKneely’s final 3-pointer made it 75-68 with 56 seconds left, but the Noles refused to concede. After two free throws by sophomore swingman Andrew Rohde stretched Virginia’s lead to 77-70, FSU scored five straight points. But McKneely went 3 for 4 from the line in the final eight seconds to hold the Noles at bay.
UP NEXT
At 7 p.m. Tuesday, Virginia will meet Pittsburgh (15-8, 6-6) at John Paul Jones Arena. The game will air on ACC Network.