By Scott Ratcliffe

Malik Thomas and Ugonna Onyenso led the charge on their Senior Day at John Paul Jones Arena Saturday, as Virginia held off Virginia Tech, 76-72, in the regular-season finale.

The 13th-ranked Cavaliers finished with a 15-3 conference record (27-4 overall) and had already clinched the No. 2 seed heading into next week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte.

Thomas and Onyenso each scored a team-high 16 points, while fellow seniors Jacari White, Dallin Hall and Devin Tillis each played a part in the victory as well after being honored in a pregame ceremony.

The visitors, meanwhile, were hoping to pull the upset — and season sweep — to boost their postseason chances, but Virginia emerged victorious in the second Commonwealth Clash of the campaign.

Trailing by 16 at halftime, the Hokies (19-12, 8-10) came out firing to start the second half, using a quick 10-2 run to get back within single digits, and continued to chip away at the UVA lead.

Tech knotted the score at 51-all on a pair of Neoklis Avdalas free throws midway through the second half before the Wahoos countered with 8 unanswered points as part of a 12-3 spurt to push the advantage to nine [63-54], as the clock went under six minutes.

The first meeting between the two bitter rivals back on New Year’s Eve in Blacksburg went three overtimes to decide the winner, and as the Hokies continued to draw closer Saturday, it seemed like at least one more extra session was a strong possibility.

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Virginia’s lead was trimmed to four on a Ben Hammond bucket with 2:32 to go, 67-63, and then the sophomore guard from Manassas drew a foul with 2:10 remaining, but misfired on a pair of free throws.

On the ensuing Cavalier possession, Hall found Onyenso open beyond the arc, and the 7-footer confidently knocked down his second triple of the afternoon to extend the lead to seven with 1:47 on the game clock.

Onyenso then came away with a steal that led to two Sam Lewis free throws, and all of a sudden, Virginia was ahead by nine, 72-63, with 1:25 to play.

As was the case all day, the Hokies refused to throw in the towel, as Jailen Bedford sank two of three from the charity stripe to get his team within five points, 74-69, with 18 ticks showing.

After Thomas split a couple on the other end, Bedford then nailed a wide-open 3-pointer from the corner with 8 seconds left, and it was back to a one-possession affair, 75-72.

Following a Tech timeout, Tillis was fouled with 4.4 seconds to go, sending him to the foul line to try to ice the contest. The UC Irvine transfer couldn’t convert on his first attempt but sank the second, and the Hokies’ final desperation 3-ball fell short as the clock hit triple zeros.

In the opening half, UVA jumped out to a 12-0 start, with Thomas connecting on a 3-pointer and then a traditional 3-point play to start the scoring.

Virginia’s lead grew to 22-5 on a Tillis 3-pointer, as the Hoos made 5 of their first 7 from long range, with five different players drilling a first-half triple.

The Hokies crawled back within 6 before UVA closed the half on a 12-2 run to lead by 16, 41-25, at the break. Thijs De Ridder scored a half-dozen of those, with the Cavaliers scoring 12 points off of 9 VT turnovers in the half.

In the end, UVA shot 45 percent (26 for 58) from the field Saturday and 36 percent (9 of 25) from downtown, sinking 15 of 17 from the line (88 percent).

The Hoos outrebounded the Gobblers, 21-15 after halftime and 36-33 for the game, scoring 16 second-chance points off of 12 offensive boards and 14 points off of a dozen Tech giveaways.

Virginia edged the Hokies in the paint (32-30) and in transition (10-6), while dominating the bench scoring, 27-10.

Aside from Thomas’ (6 for 9 FG; 2 for 4 from deep) and Onyenso’s (5 for 7 FG; 2 of 3 from 3-point range with 5 rebounds and 3 blocks) big days, De Ridder added 13 points and a game-high 8 rebounds.

Sam Lewis also reached double figures with 15 points to go along with 7 rebounds, bouncing back strong from a two-game shooting slump (1 for 11, 0 for 9 in the previous two contests).

As for the other seniors, White scored 7 off the bench and Tillis finished with 4, while Hall didn’t score but dished out a game-high 9 assists and added a steal. The BYU transfer floor general fouled out with 1:19 remaining.

Hammond led the visitors with 21 points, 5 assists and 5 steals (also team-highs), as they shot at a 42-percent clip (26 of 62) and 25 percent from long distance (8 for 32), making 12 of 16 at the line (75 percent). Bedford and Amani Hansberry each chipped in 12 points in the loss.

Jon Golden Photo Gallery

Team Notes

Courtesy UVA Media Relations 

• No. 13 Virginia improved to 27-4, 15-3 ACC
• UVA finished 16-1 at home
• Virginia earned a half point for the win in the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash and the Cavaliers lead this year’s Clash 10.0-4.0
• UVA won the rebound battle 36-33 and went 15 of 17 from the free throw line
• Virginia Tech started the second half on a 26-10 run to tie the score at 51-51
• UVA closed the first half on a 12-2 run and led 41-25
• UVA had six 3-pointers, five blocks and seven steals in the first half
• UVA started the game on a 12-0 run and led 17-3
• UVA celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its 1976 ACC Tournament championship team during the game. Former players Wally Walker, Steve Castellan, Mark Newlen, Marc Iavaroni, Otis Fulton, Bobby Stokes, Tommy Briscoe and Bob Sefcik were in attendance for the event
• Dallin Hall, Ugonna Onyenso, Malik Thomas, Devin Tillis, Jacari White and managers Maren Council and Artie Humphreys

Series Notes

• Virginia is 100-62 all-time vs. Virginia Tech, including a 44-14 mark in Charlottesville, in a series that dates to 1914-15
• Virginia Tech defeated Virginia 85-85 in triple overtime in the ACC opener on Dec. 31 in Blacksburg
• UVA and VT have split the two-game series between the teams in each of the last five seasons

Player Notes

• Double Figure Scorers: Ugonna Onyenso (16), Malik Thomas (16), Sam Lewis (15), Thijs De Ridder (13)
• Onyenso has reached double figures in five games (7 career)
• Onyenso (3 blocks) has multiple blocks in 20 games
• Thomas has reached double figures in 22 games (77 career)
• Lewis has reached double figures in 17 games (50 career)
• De Ridder has reached double figures in 24 games
• Dallin Hall had a game-high nine assists
• UVA started Johann Grünloh, Hall, Lewis, Thomas and De Ridder and for the 30th game

UP NEXT

Virginia will begin competition at the ACC Tournament on Thursday at noon. The Cavaliers will face either the No. 7, 10 or 15 seed in Thursday’s quarterfinal round, and would likely face No. 3 Miami in the semifinals on Friday evening with a win.

Saturday’s ACC Scoreboard

Virginia 76, Virginia Tech 72
Boston College 77, Notre Dame 69
Clemson 79, Georgia Tech 76
Louisville 92, Miami 89
Florida State 91, SMU 78
Stanford 85, NC State 84
Wake Forest 80, California 73
Pitt 71, Syracuse 69 (OT)
Duke 76, North Carolina 61

If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!