National Basketball Association
Virginia 70, NC State 55
When: 12:00 PM ET, Saturday, February 25, 2017
Where: PNC Arena, Raleigh, North Carolina
Officials:
# Bill Covington, # Les Jones, # Lee Cassell
Attendance:
16718
By The Sports Xchange
RALEIGH, N.C. -- For a team that had struggled on offense, a bunch of 3-point baskets became an ideal tonic for No. 18 Virginia on Saturday afternoon.
The Cavaliers found the cure for a four-game losing streak with outside shooting that helped provide a 70-55 victory over North Carolina State at PNC Arena.
"It felt good to see some go in," said reserve freshman guard Kyle Guy, who made five 3-point baskets on the way to 19 points. "We just tried to stay positive. It was good to see shots go in today, but that's what we expect every game."
Guy was a big part of the Cavaliers' 11-for-16 shooting from long range. He was 5-for-7 on 3-pointers.
Devon Hall's career-best 18 points and London Perrantes' 16 points also boosted Virginia (19-9, 9-7 ACC), which had slipped from contending for first place to a tie for eighth place in the matter of a couple of weeks.
"Everybody was able to shoot the ball well," Perrantes said. "Hopefully, we can keep that going. We needed to get back on track."
N.C. State shot 32.1 percent from the field, including 7 of 27 on 3-pointers.
"It's important (to have) just a good, hard-fought win," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "We were able to find something deeper inside."
Dennis Smith Jr. scored 13 points, Abdul-Malik Abu supplied 12 points, Markell Johnson had 11 and Terry Henderson added 10 points for N.C. State (15-15, 4-13), which posted one victory in February.
It was the regular-season home finale for the Wolfpack, so likely the last Raleigh appearance for coach Mark Gottfried, who was fired nine days earlier, though he will finish the season.
It's largely expected to be Smith's only season as the freshman is pegged as a likely lottery pick for the NBA Draft.
The Wolfpack had a difficult time dealing with Virginia's perimeter shooting.
"It makes them a whole lot better," Gottfried said.
Guy reached his ACC-high point total with 14 points in the first half.
"It was nice to see Kyle get us off and hit those shots," Bennett said.
The Wolfpack was limited to spurts of offense despite taking what Gottfried described as quality shots.
"We had some pretty good looks," Gottfried said. "It just makes this kind of game really hard when you can't make those. It's a grind-it-out kind of game."
N.C. State cut a 19-point hole to 47-36 with 12 minutes remaining. It was 59-49 at the six-minute mark after seldom-used Shaun Kirk drained a corner 3 for the Wolfpack, who pulled within 59-51 before the Cavaliers tallied the next five points.
"That was one of those swings in the game that took the wind out of our sails," Gottfried said.
Virginia built a 35-21 halftime lead after failing to reach the 50-point total in its previous two games, including an overtime home loss to Miami on Monday night.
That was a season-low first-half total for the Wolfpack.
After N.C. State held a 15-11 lead, Virginia's 18-1 run turned the momentum. The Cavaliers used a stretch of making eight of nine shots to storm into the lead.
The Cavaliers shot 7-for-12 on 3-pointers in the first half.
N.C. State had allowed at least 80 points in nine consecutive games before defeating Georgia Tech 71-69 on Tuesday night.
NOTES: Virginia G London Perrantes made his 128th career start, ranking as the fourth-most in the program's history. ... N.C. State senior C BeeJay Anya, who didn't play in the past two games, was in the starting lineup on Senior Day. ... N.C. State dropped to 2-7 in ACC home games. ... Virginia was N.C. State's third consecutive home opponent that arrived with a national ranking. ... This marked the only scheduled meeting of the season between the teams. ... Virginia is back in action Monday night at home for its second meeting with first-place North Carolina in a 10-day period. ... N.C. State has one game left in the regular season with Wednesday's trip to Clemson.
Top Game Performances
| Virginia |
|
NC State |
|
Kyle Guy 19 |
Scoring |
Dennis Smith Jr. 13 |
|
London Perrantes 10 |
Assists |
Markell Johnson 4 |
|
Devon Hall 9 |
Rebounds |
Abdul-Malik Abu 9 |
|
Devon Hall 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Terry Henderson 4 |
|
Ty Jerome 4 |
Steals |
Markell Johnson 3 |
|
Isaiah Wilkins 2 |
Blocks |
Abdul-Malik Abu 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Virginia
|
70 |
48.9 |
11-16 |
13-22 |
14 |
30 |
4 |
8 |
11 |
| NC State
|
55 |
32.1 |
7-27 |
12-16 |
10 |
30 |
5 |
5 |
14 |
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