A pair of Virginia guards dominated the game Wednesday night at the RBC Center as the Cavaliers harnessed Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds to defeat N.C. State 71-58.
Singletary was good for 27 points and four assists, while Reynolds poured in 29 points — 24 came in second half.
“That was an unbelievable performance by two very good guards,” coach Sidney Lowe said. “They made some unbelievable shots tonight — especially Reynolds. He shot a couple right in a row, right in our face.”
Virginia opened up a 42-30 lead early in the second half before the Pack rattled off 11 straight points to pull within one at 42-41. Senior Bryan Nieman missed two free throws that could have tied or given the lead to the Pack. The Cavaliers responded with a 12-3 run of their own to take a 54-44 lead.
“It takes the breath out of you,” sophomore Ben McCauley said. “When we don’t hit our free throws, it’s tough for us. We were at the bonus early in the second half, but we didn’t hit free throws, and that hurt us.”
Singletary and Reynolds’ combined total of 56 points nearly matched State’s entire offensive production.
Junior Gavin Grant said it seemed like Reynolds and Singletary were the only ones scoring for Virginia.
“It’s real frustrating,” he said. “I felt like I was out there on [Reynolds] a couple times, and he still made the shots. They just made big shots. Whenever they needed a big basket, they stepped in and got it done tonight.”
The offensive outburst overshadowed the return of Pack senior guard Engin Atsur, who made just his second start since Nov. 27, scoring nine points and tallying three assists in 32 minutes.
“The way he played tonight, it seemed like he was at 100 percent,” McCauley said. “He just laid his body out there and made some big shots for us tonight.”
Late in the first half, McCauley was frustrated at a call under the basket. He was visibly frustrated, and on his way back down the court Atsur slapped him on the shoulder and told him to stay focused.
“He said, ‘Just keep your head up,'” McCauley said. “He said, ‘We need you to play well. You’re going to be big for us.’ I took that to heart because Engin’s been around for a while. He knows what he’s talking about, and whenever he talks, you listen.”
Grant was held out of the starting line-up for the game. Lowe said he held Grant out because he missed a tutoring session Wednesday morning, and Grant hadn’t been playing “the defense he’s capable of playing.”
“We want to have guys out there on the floor that play defense,” Lowe said. “I didn’t feel that he was playing up to his potential. When he came in, he played up to his potential and showed what he can do.”
