Virginia beat N.C. State 61-60 at the RBC Center. It was the Pack’s second consecutive loss to a ranked team within a span of three days.
In what was the 138th meeting between the two teams, the Hoos (17-3, 4-2 ACC) despite having a 57-80 record in the series, came out on top in perhaps the closest game the Pack (15-7, 4-3 ACC) has played all season.
Virginia opened the scoring with a three pointer by guard Sammy Zeglinski, however the Pack responded almost immediately with sophomore forward C.J. Leslie scoring on a layup. Virginia kept a narrow lead right until with 11:45 to go, the Pack seized the initiative for the first time in the game after a jumper by junior center Deshawn Painter.
Leslie singlehandedly manned the offense scoring his 11th point with more than three-fourths of the game still to go. Despite Leslie’s heroics, the defense gave up crucial points with the Hoos going five-of-seven from downtown in the first 12 minutes.
The Cavs who were down by three points at 19-22, showed why they were the No. 19 team in the nation as they went on a eight point run and never looked back. They increased their lead thereafter and went into the locker room with a seven-point cushion at 38-31.
Despite being far from what they would have hoped for, the Pack came into the second half with a lot of enthusiasm with junior forward Richard Howell opening the scoring for the Pack after showing some aggressive moves in the paint. The Cavs were not ones to be left behind though as they immediately drained a three pointer and held a nine point advantage, their second highest of the game.
The Pack struggled with consistency as despite a eight-point run, they failed to seize the initiative after letting the Hoos go on a 11-2 run of their own to further slip into oblivion at 45-55 with a little more than six minutes left on the clock.
It was a close final few minutes of the game as with 50 seconds to go Leslie got himself fouled and despite missing both of his free throws, junior forward Scott Wood, who was rather quiet throughout the game having gone just 2-10 from the field until that point, got the rebound and drained a three-pointer with just 45 seconds left to make it a one point game at 60-61 in favor of the Cavs.
Despite being without Howell who racked up five fouls, for the final minutes of the game, State managed to not concede anymore points and went into the last 7.8 seconds just a point away from tying the game. However it proved too much for the Pack as sophomore guard Lorenzo Brown failed to shoot after being guarded by as many as three players at the same time, as the State closed the game with their third loss in conference play.
High of the game: N.C. State’s rebounding. The Pack, who had 42 rebounds for the night controlled the board at both ends of the court and ensured its shooters got as many opportunities as they could to shoot.
Low of the game: After making only 57.1% of their free throws in such a close game, one can only wonder what could have happened if the Pack would have at least maintained their FT% coming into the game. Scott Wood’s dismal 3-11 shooting was also one of the low points.
Moment of the game: Wood stepping up with 45 seconds to go and draining a three pointer despite C.J. Leslie miss both his free throws moments ago, and bringing the Pack to within one point of the Cavaliers and the crowd on its feet.
Technician Sports man of the match: Richard Howell had one of his best nights from the word go. Howell dominated the game more than his stats represent which is saying a lot considering he had a career high 18 rebounds to go along with his 11 points and team leading three steals. Howell showed a lot of energy when the Pack needed him the most and was the most dominant player on the court for the entire duration of the game.
