By Jerry Ratcliffe

For all the tough times Jacari White experienced growing up, losing his hair, a misdiagnosed knee injury that cost him two high school seasons, having to live in a car, well, Friday afternoon in the City of Brotherly Love made up for a somewhat lost childhood.

With third-seeded Virginia desperately attempting to avoid an early round upset in the NCAA’s Midwest Region against a hungry Wright State team, White rode to the rescue. White’s dead-eye shooting from the 3-point arc not only kept UVA within striking distance, but sparked the comeback as his season-high 26 points fielded the Cavaliers’ 82-73 win.

While he and teammate Sam Lewis have been lethal snipers all season long, White’s prolific scoring Friday was somewhat unexpected after he played less than 10 minutes in UVA’s last game against Duke in the ACC Tournament championship nearly a week ago.

Part of the reason White saw limited time in that outing was because Lewis and Malik Thomas were so effective. Still, when UVA needed him most, White answered the bell.

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