By Scott Ratcliffe
No. 14 Virginia led by as many as 16 points late in the first half of Saturday’s 199th meeting with ACC rival North Carolina at a sold-out John Paul Jones Arena, but the visitors stormed back in the second half for an 85-80 win to end a five-game win streak.
UVA (16-3, 5-2 ACC) was ahead by a 74-72 margin with 3:51 to play, after Thijs De Ridder split a pair at the charity stripe. The Cavaliers then offered up four consecutive empty possessions, while the 22nd-ranked Tar Heels (16-4, 4-3) took advantage and converted a trio of three-point plays on the other end, taking a 7-point lead with 1:38 remaining.
Malik Thomas quickly answered with a tough corner triple to trim it to 81-77 with 1:21 on the clock, and then a Dallin Hall drive cut it to 81-79 with 50 ticks left.
Nineteen seconds later, the Heels got a huge bucket from freshman sensation Caleb Wilson, whose fader off the glass and over Johann Grünloh stretched the Carolina advantage to 83-79.
Thomas split two free throws, and then another UNC freshman, Derek Dixon, was fouled two seconds later. With 22.6 on the clock, the Northern Virginia product was sent to the line, making his first free throw and missing the second, but Wilson was there for the all-important offensive rebound. The Heels were able to melt away about four seconds off the clock before Seth Trimble missed the front end of a 1-and-1 opportunity.
The Wahoos grabbed the rebound and Thomas fell to the floor as he launched one from long range, but the ball drew iron, and Carolina was fouled with 9 seconds left, adding another free throw for the final result. Chance Mallory’s 3-point attempt fell short in the waning seconds, and the Heels celebrated their first conference win on the road this season. It was the program’s largest comeback victory in a dozen years.
Virginia used three separate scoring runs to build a comfortable 43-27 lead with just over two minutes left in the opening half. The Heels finished the half strong with seven unanswered points to get within single digits, 43-34, at the break.
A 9-2 Carolina spurt early in the second half cut it to just three, 49-46 by the 16:30 mark, and it was a battle from there on out. Hubert Davis’ squad took its first lead [59-58] since it was 2-0 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
Down by two [67-65] with eight 1/2 minutes to go, Virginia turned defense to offense as Mallory drew a Wilson traveling turnover, then tied it up on the opposite end with a floater as the clock went under eight minutes.
Mallory wasn’t done, drawing an offensive foul on Wilson on the ensuing trip, and then De Ridder drove to the paint to put the Hoos back on top, 69-67.
The Belgian big man capped an 11-3 Wahoo run with a nifty spin move with 4:47 remaining to make it a 73-70 ballgame, soon before the wheels fell off.
Up by two with the clock approaching three minutes, the Cavaliers came up empty their next four times down the floor — a backcourt violation, a missed field-goal attempt, two free throws missed by De Ridder, and then an offensive foul charged to De Ridder.
The Heels capitalized with an and-1 by Alabama junior transfer Jarin Stevenson, then a Trimble and-1 and a Stevenson triple to push its lead to 81-74, and they were able to withstand the late Wahoo rally.
UNC scored 19 points off of 11 Cavalier turnovers, and outscored the Hoos 21-10 in transition. Wilson, a projected NBA lottery pick, led the way with 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting, while Stevenson added all 17 of his points after halftime.
The Heels had three other players — Trimble 16, Dixon 14 and Luka Bogavac 11 — finish in double figures.
Virginia was led by De Ridder’s 20 points and 8 boards, with a trio of his teammates — Thomas, Mallory and Sam Lewis — each tacking on 11 points.
Veterans Hall (7 rebounds, 4 assists) and Ugonna Onyenso each finished with 8 points, as the Hoos shot 45 percent (29 for 64) from the field, 30 percent from downtown (8 of 27) and 70 percent at the foul line (14 for 20), easily winning the rebounding battle, 44-28.
Team Notes
Courtesy UVA Media Relations
- No. 14 Virginia fell to 16-3, 5-2 ACC
- UVA is 1-1 vs. ranked opponents
- UVA has scored 80 or more points in 14 games, most since 21 in 2000-01
- The loss ended UVA’s five-game win streak and 11-game win streak at John Paul Jones Arena
- Virginia is 10-1 at home
- UVA won the rebound battle 44-28, losing for the first time when out-rebounding its opponent
- UNC outscored UVA 51-37 in the second half, while shooting 63.3 percent in the final 20 minutes
- UVA led 43-34 at halftime, falling to 16-2 when leading after the first 20 minutes
- UNC led 2-0 and regained the lead for the second time at 59-58
- UVA used a 10-0 run to gain a 10-2 lead
Series Notes
- Virginia is 62-137 all-time vs. North Carolina in the series that dates to 1910-11
- UNC has a three-game win streak in the series
- Virginia is 38-46 all-time vs. the Tar Heels in Charlottesville, including an 8-6 mark at John Paul Jones Arena
Player Notes
- Double Figure Scorers: Thijs De Ridder (20), Chance Mallory (11), Sam Lewis (11), Malik Thomas (11)
- De Ridder registered his ninth 20-point games
- De Ridder has reached double figures in 15 games
- De Ridder added a team-high eight rebounds
- Mallory has reached double figures in 12 games
- Lewis has reached double figures in 10 games (43 career)
- Thomas has reached double figures in 14 games (69 career)
- UVA started Johann Grünloh, Thomas, De Ridder, Lewis and Dallin Hall for the 18th game
UP NEXT
The Cavaliers are scheduled to play at Notre Dame Tuesday night (7 p.m., ESPN2), weather permitting. UVA remains on the road for Saturday’s 1:30 tilt at Boston College (The CW).
Saturday’s ACC Scoreboard
North Carolina 85, Virginia 80
Duke 90, Wake Forest 69
Clemson 77, Georgia Tech 63
NC State 81, Pitt 72
Miami 85, Syracuse 76
Louisville 85, Virginia Tech 71
SMU 83, Florida State 80
Notre Dame 68, Boston College 64
California 78, Stanford 66
