MBB: Virginia rallies behind 3-ball to defeat NC State, 70-67

By Scott Ratcliffe

In the first ACC home game of the season, Virginia survived a New Year’s Eve matinee against NC State on Tuesday, rallying from a double-digit deficit and hanging on for a 70-67 victory.

The Cavaliers (8-5, 1-1 ACC) trailed by 14 points early in the second half before storming back behind the 3-point shot, as Ron Sanchez picked up his first conference win as UVA’s interim head coach.

Sanchez’s squad sank seven of its first 10 attempts from beyond the arc out of the halftime break, but the Wolfpack used a late flurry of their own to get within striking distance in the closing minute, as Virginia escaped despite not connecting on a field goal across the final 5:02 of the game.

Junior forward Elijah Saunders set a new career high in scoring for the second game in a row, eclipsing his previous mark — set last Sunday against American — by a point, finishing with 22 to lead the charge.

Isaac McKneely knocked down three 3-pointers in the second half, as the Wahoos erased a 14-point deficit and led by as many as a dozen before the Wolfpack (8-5, 1-1) used one final push to make it interesting down the stretch.

Sanchez credited the second-half turnaround to “a couple of small defensive adjustments,” adding that his troops “buckled down” on that end of the court.

Behind by a 43-29 count early in the second half, the Hoos began to chip away, with Saunders scoring the team’s first seven points out of the locker room and cutting the deficit in half, which prompted a Kevin Keatts timeout with 17:02 to play.

“Coming out in the second half strong, both offensively and defensively, was really important for us, and I think that Elijah did a really good job, looked like an upperclassman helping us get that established,” Sanchez said.

Added Saunders of his big day: “I just felt like a lot of times, I had a mismatch on me. Even their starting [power forward] was more of a [small forward], so we were running our motions, just trying to get back cuts, trying to seal, post up, just be more aggressive towards the basket.”

Jayden Taylor’s second-chance 3-pointer out of the break pushed the State lead back to double digits, but the Cavaliers answered with a 10-0 run to knot the score at 46-all on an Andrew Rohde corner triple with just over 13 minutes to go.

A McKneely 3 gave the Hoos a 51-50 advantage with 11:07 left, marking the first lead since it was 13-11 with 13:35 left in the opening frame. The Poca, W.Va., native wasn’t done, as his fourth trifecta of the day capped an 8-0 spurt moments later, giving the Cavaliers a 59-51 edge.

Blake Buchanan gave Virginia its largest lead, 67-55, with 5:02 on the clock, before the visitors’ 10-1 run got them within three, 68-65, on a pair of Hill free throws with 1:08 left.

After a Rohde miss on the Cavaliers’ ensuing trip down the floor, Saunders came up with a defensive rebound on a State miss and sank a pair from the charity stripe with 15.5 to go, extending the UVA lead to five. Hill put one home with 10.9 ticks left, and the Wolfpack nearly forced a turnover on the inbounds pass, but Saunders was able to draw a whistle in the waning seconds.

The San Diego State transfer, who also led the team with five rebounds, was 7 for 8 from the line as he headed back with a chance to ice the contest with 3.9 seconds remaining, but couldn’t connect on the front end of a one-and-one opportunity.

Hill secured the rebound and quickly got it into the hands of sharpshooter Michael O’Connell, who hoisted one from about three-quarters court and watched it fall way short as the final horn sounded. Wahoo fans will remember that O’Connell was the State player who drilled a buzzer-beating, 3-pointer to send last March’s ACC Tournament semifinal game with Virginia into overtime after a missed Wahoo free throw and began the Wolfpack’s improbable postseason run to the Final Four. No such magic this time.

Virginia shot 54 percent from the field (26 for 48), 45 percent from 3-point range (9 of 20) and 75 percent from the foul line (9 for 12), scoring 10 points off of 11 Wolfpack giveaways. The Hoos turned the ball over seven times, and only once after halftime.

McKneely finished with 14 points (5 for 14 FG; 4 for 9 from deep), while Rohde added 11 points and a game-high 7 assists. First-years Jacob Cofie and Ishan Sharma (2 for 3 from long range) each added six points, while Taine Murray chipped in with 4 points and 5 assists in 23 minutes off the bench.

“I think Taine was terrific today,” said Sanchez. “He took care of the basketball, made some timely plays… and he’s earned that trust by doing his job.”

NC State shot 44 percent (24 for 54) on the day, but only 33 percent (11 of 33) after halftime, making just 2 of 12 from long range in the second half. The Wolfpack dominated on the glass, 34-22, including a 13-3 edge on the offensive end that led to 18 second-chance points. Taylor finished with a team-high 14 points, while Hill and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield each added 12.

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Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

• Virginia improved to 8-5 overall, 1-1 ACC
• Virginia is 3-1 during its five-game homestand and hosts Louisville in ACC action on Saturday, Jan. 4
• UVA is 7-1 at home
• UVA is 6-3, 2-1 ACC all-time on New Year’s Eve
• UVA has an ACC-leading 97 wins in league home games over the past 11 seasons
• UVA outscored NC State 41-28 in the second half after trailing 39-29 at halftime
• UVA shot 54.2 percent (26 of 48) from the field, including 45 percent (9 of 20) from 3-point range
• NC State shot 61.8 percent from the field in the first half and 33.3 percent in the second half
• UVA made nine 3-pointers and has made six or more in each of its 13 games
• Virginia is 171-11 all-time when scoring 70 or more points since 2009-10 (3-0 in 2024-25)

Series Notes

• Virginia is 71-87 all-time vs. NC State in the series that dates to 1912-13
• UVA is 2-2 in its last four meetings vs. NC State and 3-4 in its last seven
• UVA is 44-25 against the Wolfpack in Charlottesville, including an 11-2 mark at JPJ

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Elijah Saunders (22), Isaac McKneely (14), Andrew Rohde (11)
• Saunders had a career-high 22 points
• Saunders shot 7 of 9 from the field and 7 of 8 from the free throw line in the win
• Saunders reached double figures for the eighth time (15 career)
• Saunders scored UVA’s first nine points of the second half
• McKneely scored in double figures for the 10th time (36 career)
• McKneely (4 3-pointers) has made multiple 3-pointers in nine games
• Rohde reached double figures for the fifth time (36 career)
• Rohde had a season-high seven assists
• Taine Murray had a career-high five assists
• Jacob Cofie tied a season high with three blocks

UP NEXT

The Hoos will wrap up their five-game homestand on Saturday against Louisville at 4 p.m. on ACC Network.