CHARLOTTESVILLE – After leading by double digits at the half, Virginia didn’t appear headed for a grind against North Carolina State on Wednesday night. Halftime appearances can deceiving.
The Cavaliers blew a 14-point second-half lead, but responded with a gritty final four minutes of regulation and then overtime to win their fourth straight, fighting off the Wolfpack 59-53 Wednesday night for their third straight victory.
Forward Ryan Dunn scored 13 points and had 12 rebounds and guard Reece Beekman scored 11 points to go with six assists. Guard Isaac McKneely and forward Jordan Minor added 10 points apiece as UVa ran its nation’s-best home win streak to 21 games.
Reserve guard Taine Murray was the hero of the extra period, hitting a 3-pointer, knocking down three free throws and grabbing a pair of rebounds to help the Cavaliers win their first overtime game of this season.
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Murray finished with 11 points.
Virginia missed four free throws in the final 3:14 of overtime to keep things tense.
Former Virginia guard Casey Morsell, who transferred to State three years ago, led the Wolfpack with 13 points.
On a night when points were hard to come by for both teams and style points were largely non-existent, Virginia saw 12-point halftime lead disappear into a 43-42 deficit with 3:28 to go. But it responded with a gritty stretch of play.
Beekman drove hard into the lane and pulled up, hitting a jumper and drawing a foul. He knocked down the free-throw and then McKneely hit a long pull-up jumper to put UVa up 47-43 with 2:21 left.
State sent the game to overtime when Michael O’Connell rushed in to stick-back D.J. Burns’ short shot attempt with eight second left in regulation.
The Wolfpack had drilled UVa, 76-60, on Jan. 6 in Raleigh. Since then, the Cavaliers have inserted Minor into the starting lineup and got tenacious on-ball defender Dante Harris back from an ankle injury.
They came in off back-to-back wins over Virginia Tech and at Georgia Tech and already had the nation’s longest active home winning streak.
The game started with Virginia keeping the ball for 1:09 on its opening possession, grabbing five offensive rebounds and drawing a foul. But the Cavaliers came away without scoring, missing six shots during that time.
In all, they hit just one of their first 11 shots, falling behind 6-3 in the opening minutes. But Virginia found its stroke, going on a 7-0 run and taking a 13-6 lead. That included a McKneely 3-pointer that snapped the team’s early 0 for 4 showing beyond the arc in this one.
UVa outscored the Wolfpack 11-1 over the final six minutes of the half and went to the locker room ahead 27-15. It was the seventh time this season, and second time in ACC play, the Cavaliers held an opponent to under 20 points in a half.
After a decent start, State went 3 for 18 shooting over the final 15:20 of the half and finished the period shooting 25%.
When the second half started, Virginia pushed its lead to 35-21 with 14:53 remaining. That didn’t last. State used an 11-2 run to trim the deficit to 37-32 with 9:14 to go, seven of those points coming from Morsell, who fans booed every time he touched the ball in his final appearance in his former home arena.
A McKneely 3 temporarily stymied that surge, but a Minor turnover led to a fastbreak dunk for Mohamed Diarra, and State was within a shot, down 40-37 with 6:23 to go. Diarra’s next transition basket made it a one-point game, sending the teams toward the tight finish that needed an additional five minutes to resolve.
Next up, the Cavaliers play at Louisville (6-13, 1-7) on Saturday. They beat the Cardinals 77-53 on Jan. 3 in Charlottesville.
Louisville has lost four straight and is just 5-6 at home at KFC Yum! Center.