No. 13 UVa outlasts VT 76-72 in regular-season finale
After starting ACC play with a triple-overtime barnburner in Blacksburg, Virginia and Virginia Tech once again put together a classic, this time in John Paul Jones Arena to end the regular season.
But unlike their first meeting, the 13th-ranked Wahoos prevailed this time, besting the Hokies 76-72.
On senior night, Malik Thomas and Ugonna Onyenso fittingly led the Cavaliers (27-4, 15-3 ACC) with 16 points apiece in their final game at JPJ. Onyenso also impressed on the other end with three blocks. Fellow senior Dallin Hall also made an impact with nine assists, one shy of his season high set against Georgia Tech.
Sam Lewis finished with 15 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Thij De Ridder led the Cavaliers in rebounds with eight along with 13 points.
Ben Hammond led all scorers with 21 points along with 5 assists and 5 steals for the Hokies (19-12, 8-10).
The Cavaliers came out of the gate swinging, starting the game with a 9-0 run and leading by as much as 22-5 with less than 13 minutes to go in the half. The Hokies responded with a 13-3 run to cut the lead to seven, but after some back-and-forth, the Hoos ended the half on a 12-2 run and went into the locker room up 41-25.
Turnovers were the Achilles’ heel for Virginia Tech in the first. The Hokies committed nine, which led to 12 UVa points. The Cavaliers committed just three, none of which led to points for Virginia Tech.
But the script completely flipped in the second half. The Hokies outscored the Wahoos 47-35 in the final 20 minutes and the Cavaliers committed nine turnovers to Tech’s one. The Hokies capitalized with 12 points off of them.
That momentum led to VT tying the game at 51-51 with just under 11 remaining off thanks to a 7-0 run. But the Wahoos responded with an 8-0 run of their own that turned into a 12-3 spurt to extend the lead to as many as nine.
The Hokies cut the deficit to as little as four at multiple points, but didn’t get it to within one possession until Jailen Bedford hit a quick 3 with just 7 seconds remaining. Devin Tillis was fouled on the ensuing inbound, and the senior hit his second of two free throws to clinch the win.
Virginia, which had a 16-6 advantage in second-chance points and a 27-10 advantage in bench scoring, now enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Cavaliers will begin their run in the quarterfinals on Thursday at noon.
