Virginia wins at UNC on last-second Woldetensae 3-pointer, 64-62

Virginia junior Tomas Woldetensae pump-faked to get some space and then sank the game-winning 3-pointer with eight-tenths of a second to play to lift the Cavaliers to a 64-62 win at North Carolina Saturday night.

The win improves UVA to 17-7 on the season and 9-5 in the ACC with six games to go and gives the Wahoos their first sweep of the Tar Heels (10-15, 3-11) since the 2001-02 season.

Woldetensae made six long balls on the night — four of them in the second half — to help propel his team to victory in a game it couldn’t afford to lose. UVA stays alone in fourth place in the conference standings.

Virginia trailed by a point as the clock went under seven minutes Saturday before back-to-back 3s by Woldetensae and freshman Casey Morsell gave the ‘Hoos a 53-48 edge.

Kihei Clark scored on a nifty backdoor reverse on a perfect feed from Jay Huff to make it a 57-53 lead with 3½ minutes to go, but Carolina freshman Armando Bacot got one to go on basket interference from Huff, then drilled a pair of free throws to knot it back up with 1:10 remaining.

On the ensuing possession, UVA senior Mamadi Diakite drew contact and completed a tough three-point play over UNC big man Garrison Brooks, and the Cavaliers led by three with 48 ticks showing.

Tar Heel freshman guard Cole Anthony answered with a challenging double-clutch bucket on the other end to get his team back within a point with 26 seconds left.

Clark split a pair of free throws and the Heels had a chance to tie or take the lead, which they did. Woldetensae ran into Carolina’s Christian Keeling on a 3-point attempt with 10 seconds to go, and the Charleston Southern transfer swished all three, and UVA needed an answer.

Clark drove to the hole and found Woldetensae in the corner in front of the Cavalier bench, and he gave a head fake to get his defender, Leaky Black, up in the air and out of his way.

Woldetensae stepped to his right, set his feet and let it fly, hitting nothing but net to silence the Dean Dome crowd, who thought they were about to see their team pull off a much-needed upset.

Instead, the desperation halfcourt heave fell way short and the final buzzer sounded.

Kyle Guy, who knows a thing or two about last-second heroics, tweeted a video of himself watching the final seconds:

I like being a fan. #TOMAS #GOMFHOOS @UVAMensHoops pic.twitter.com/3rPe05BMPf

— Kyle J Guy (@kylejguy5) February 16, 2020

Brooks led all scorers with 20 points to go with his 5 boards, Anthony had 17 points, Keeling finished with 11 and Bacot added 8 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Carolina shot 50 percent for the game (25 for 50) and 30 percent from deep (3 of 10) while missing 5 of 14 free throws. UNC won the rebounding battle, 32-26, turning the ball over 15 times to UVA’s 12.

Virginia shot 44.4 percent on the night (24 for 54), 42.9 percent from downtown (9 of 21) and 7 for 8 from the charity stripe. Woldetensae led the ‘Hoos with 18 points (6 for 10 from long range), while Diakite added 15 points and 4 rebounds. Clark finished with 10 points and 9 assists, while Morsell scored 10 off the bench, all in the second half.

The ‘Hoos take on Boston College Wednesday night at 8 on ACC Network.

Courtesy UVA Media Relations:

Team Notes

• The Cavaliers improved to 17-7, 9-5 ACC
• Tomas Woldetensae drilled the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left
• Virginia has a six-game winning streak against the Tar Heels and posted its first two-game regular season sweep of UNC since 2001-02

Series Notes

• UVA is 59-131 all-time vs. UNC in the series that began in 1910-11
• UVA has won back-to-back games at North Carolina for the first time in school history
• UVA is 9-66 all-time against the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, including a 6-24 mark at Smith Center (4 wins under Bennett)
• The Cavaliers have won eight of the last nine regular-season meetings between the teams
• UVA and UNC met as unranked teams for the first time since Jan. 20, 2014
• UVA has won three of the last four meetings at Smith Center
• Tony Bennett is 11-8 all-time vs. North Carolina, including a loss as head coach of Washington State in the 2008 NCAA Sweet 16
• Virginia is 4-4 in true road games and 6-4 away from home in 2019-20

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Tomas Woldetensae (18), Mamadi Diakite (15), Casey Morsell (10), Kihei Clark (10)
• Woldetensae made six or more 3-pointers for the third time in 2019-20
• Diakite had one blocked shot to move into a tie for second all-time at UVA with 148
• Morsell had a career-high three steals
• Morsell reached double figures for the first time since scoring 10 points vs. Navy (12/29/20)
• Clark had a game-high nine assists