Hoos beat Wake, lock up ACC Tournament's No. 2 seed
Despite leading wire to wire, Tuesday night’s win over Wake Forest didn’t come easily for No. 13 UVa. The Wahoos couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn early and simply had to play through it, eventually making seven of 15 from long range in the second half and shooting 50 percent from the floor on the way to a 75-70 victory.
Led by 16 points from Thijs De Ridder as well as 14 from Jacari White, 12 from Johann Grunloh, 11 from Malik Thomas, and 10 from Dallin Hall, the Cavaliers (26-4, 14-3 ACC) locked up the No. 2 seed in next week’s ACC Tournament with the win.
Even though they fell to 15-15 on the year with a 6-11 mark in league play, the Demon Deacons proved to be a tough out. Every time the Hoos would be poised to push the lead well into double figures, Wake made the plays to make it a two-possession game.
Down four late, the Deacs couldn’t capitalize on a missed front end of a 1-and-1 by Chance Mallory, as Mekhi Mason’s quick 3-pointer went well off line. Hall made four free throws in a row to help secure the victory.
UVa started the game on a 6-0 run, forcing Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes to call timeout with 17:37 left in the first half. Juke Harris, who finished with 21 points, answered with his only 3 of the night on nine attempts.
Though they locked up four offensive rebounds in the first five possessions before the 16:00 mark, the Cavaliers couldn’t do much with their second chances. After going 7-for-35 from deep at top-ranked Duke on Saturday, they missed their first eight shots from 3-point range until White knocked one down with 11:17 left in the first half.
An 8-0 run by Virginia, including a Grunloh 3-pointer, was the first of many times when it looked like the home team might blow the game open. With the Deacs having made just one of their last nine shots at that point, they found their way back and tied it at 19-19 before De Ridder’s 3-pointer with 5:09 left until the break.
Ultimately, UVa closed the first half on a 10-2 run and made its last three shots of the half. Wake, meanwhile, missed its last five shots in a row and made just one of the last eight, going scoreless for 2:22.
It was 43-34 with 14:44 left to play as the Deacs cut it to four before De Ridder hit another clutch 3. From there, Virginia kept the lead hovering at three possessions until White made a 3—he had missed five 3s in a row prior—to put UVa up 56-47 with 7:45 remaining.
Mason had 12 points prior to the under-8 media timeout and would finish with a season-high 26 points. He made back to back 3s with about six minutes left and then scored a pair of layups on back to back possessions a couple of minutes later.
The final media timeout of the night came with 3:47 left and UVa clinging to a 62-55 lead. Grunloh went to the line for two when play resumed, making both.
That’s when Harris hit on a 3 on the other end, answered the next time down the floor by Thomas’ 3-pointer. A Grunloh block, one of three on the night among nine by the team, forced a Wake Forest timeout with 1:08 left to play.
The Deacs could get close, but clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch ruined their upset bid, as Grunloh corralled 9 rebounds and De Ridded added seven.
It was another tough night for Sam Lewis, who scored just 2 points on 1-for-5 shooting, 0-for-4 from deep, in 14 minutes before fouling out.
