No. 10 North Carolina Downs Virginia, 54-44
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (20-8, 11-6 ACC) shot 28 percent (16 for 58 FG) in a 54-44 loss to No. 10 North Carolina (21-6, 13-3 ACC) on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 24) at John Paul Jones Arena.
The Tar Heels shot 32 percent in the contest (16 for 50 FG) but made seven 3-pointers and out-rebounded the Cavaliers 43 to 39. North Carolina’s Cormac Ryan led all scorers with 18 points off six made triples, with 15 of those 18 points coming in the first half.
Jordan Minor led the Cavaliers with 12 points (5 for 9 FG) and 10 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Reece Beekman added 10 points, along with seven rebounds and five assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Beekman opened the contest’s scoring, the Tar Heels orchestrated a 9-2 run to take a 9-4 lead at the first media timeout. Four scoreless minutes sent the game into another timeout with the scoreboard still reading 9-4, but a quick Carolina 3-pointer extended the visitor’s lead to eight in their first possession after the break. Virginia followed suit, ending its eight scoreless minutes with a ferocious dunk from Blake Buchanan at the 10:10 mark. A 6-0 scoring burst gave the Tar Heels a 12-point advantage with just over six minutes remaining, but the Cavaliers responded by going 6 for 6 from the charity stripe over the following four minutes to cut the deficit back down to single digits. A Beekman dunk closed out the first half with Virginia trailing 26-16 after shooting 17 percent.
The Cavaliers then put up nine points in the first five minutes back from intermission, including Virginia’s first made triple of the competition by Andrew Rohde and four gritty points from Minor. The Tar Heels pulled off a 9-3 scoring run over the next five minutes, taking a 42-30 lead at 8:44. A back-and-forth sequence then ensued, culminating in a 10-point Carolina lead at a timeout with just over three minutes remaining. Straight out of that timeout, Isaac McKneely fired off a 3-pointer to bring the score to 47-40. The following Carolina possession resulted in a shot clock violation, turning the ball back over to the Cavaliers with 2:27 remaining. Two makes from the line for McKneely brought the game within five points, but five made Tar Heel free throws in the final minute sealed a North Carolina victory.
UP NEXT
Virginia travels to Boston College for an ACC contest on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Tipoff at Conte Forum is 9 p.m. on ESPNU.