CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia Cavaliers (10-12, 3-8 ACC) fell 75-74 to the Virginia Tech Hokies (10-12, 5-6 ACC) in a Smithfield Commonwealth Clash on Saturday afternoon (Feb. 1) at John Paul Jones Arena. Virginia Tech earned a half point with the win, but the Cavaliers lead this year’s Clash 5.5-2.5
The Cavaliers battled back from a 13-point deficit late in the second half and had a chance to win with a last-second play, but Andrew Rohde’s contested runner rimmed out at the buzzer.
Virginia shot 48.1 percent (26 of 54) in the contest and was led by Isaac McKneely’s 19 points and career-high seven assists. Rohde chipped in 12 points and seven assists, Dai Dai Ames added 11 points and Taine Murray logged 10 points and a career-high six rebounds.
Virginia Tech finished with a 52.1 percent shooting mark and drained 11 of 21 3-pointers (52.4 percent).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia trailed 38-21 at halftime after shooting 41.4 percent (12 of 29) from the field and 38.5 percent (5 of 13) from deep. The Hokies posted a 50 percent (12 of 24) shooting mark, including a 9-of-10 showing at the free throw line, and used an early 7-0 scoring run to grab a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the half. Isaac McKneely led the Cavaliers in the opening stanza with nine points and three assists.
After trailing by nine [55-49], Virginia used a 10-5 run to bring the game back within four at the 10:09 mark. The next nine unanswered points grew the Hokie lead to a game-high 13, but Virginia responded with a 7-0 run to bring the score to 69-63 with four minutes remaining. An 8-2 Cavalier scoring run in the final two minutes cut the deficit to just one with six seconds left on the clock, but Virginia was not able to connect on a last-second layup attempt as the Hokies secured the 75-74 victory.
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers are back at it Monday night. At 7 o’clock, in an ACC game to air on ESPN, UVA meets Pitt at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh.