The demise of Virginia basketball might be a little premature.
Virginia might not be the same without coach Tony Bennett, who retired Oct. 19, but the Cavaliers showed Tuesday, there is more than enough fight remaining.
Virginia shot lights out to start the second half and rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat NC State 70-67. The Cavaliers out-scored the Wolfpack 41-28 in the second half, due in part to shooting an impressive 7 of 13 from three-point land.
Conversely, NC State, who had a terrific first half, struggled in the second half. The Wolfpack shot 2 of 12 on three-pointers and 33.3 percent overall from the field. The sharp passing of the first half dissipated and NCSU had three assists and five turnovers.
Virginia went on a 17-3 run to tie the game 46-46. Another 16-4 surge gave the Cavaliers a 67-55 lead with 5:02 left. UVa came back down to earth in the final minutes, but NC State didn’t have much room for error. The Wolfpack cut it 68-55 after a 7-0 run with 1:07 left, but the Cavaliers closed it out.
San Diego State power forward transfer Elijah Saunders took advantage of the smaller Wolfpack, who played without 6-10 senior center Ben Middlebrooks, who missed the game due to illness.The Wolfpack missed his 9.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game.
Saunders posted up on various switches and either scored or got fouled. He had 14 of his game-high 22 points in the second half to lead the Cavaliers.
Saunders helped open up perimeter shots, and between juniors wings Andrew Rohde and Isaac McKneely, they took care of business on the perimeter. The duo combined for 25 points and 10 assists, and shot 6 of 12 on three-pointers.
Virginia elected to play without a point guard in the second half, with sophomore Dai Dai Ames not playing after halftime.
NC State’s offense was free-flowing and efficient in the first half. The Wolfpack had 11 assists on 13 made field goals, and shot 61.9 percent from the field.
The one constant throughout the game was NC State’s ability to dominate on the boards — 34-22 overall advantage and 13-3 on offensive rebounding. NCSU held a 18-6 advantage on second-chance points.
Senior shooting guard Jayden Taylor had 11 points and five assists in the first half, and he finished with 14 points. Senior point guard Breon Pass was a spark off the bench, and finished with eight points and two assists.
NC State featured three players in double figures, but Keatts has preached that this year’s team has to have all five starters contribute.
NC State fell to 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the ACC, with at Wake Forest on Saturday. Virginia is also 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the league.
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