Virginia Rides Strong First Half, Holds on for Big 76-67 Win at Wake Forest
Defeating a team that hadn't lost at home all season and was 28-2 in its last 30 home games was always going to be difficult. That challenge remained even after Virginia used a massive 22-1 run to build a 19-point lead in the first half.
Sure enough, the Demon Deacons rallied to close the gap, pushing the Cavaliers to the brink of blowing that 19-point lead, and bringing the temporarily-quieted crowd at LJVM Coliseum back into the game. With Reece Beekman and Kihei Clark both sitting on the bench for an extended stretch of the second half with four personal fouls each, the outlook was bleak for Virginia as the lead dwindled to just one point. Beekman and Clark reentered the game with seven and a half minutes left and the Hoos played smart and clutch basketball down the stretch, holding off Wake Forest for a hard-fought and consequential 76-67 road victory on Saturday in Winston-Salem.
The game began rather unceremoniously for the Cavaliers, who endured a four-minute scoring drought right from the opening tip and missed 12 of their first 14 shots. Virginia was ice-cold to start the game despite consistently generating open shots against the Wake defense. Eventually, the shots started to fall and the dam burst, as Virginia made seven-consecutive shots, sparking the pivotal run that gave UVA the lead that lasted all the way to the finish line.
A layup from Wake Forest's Cameron Hildreth made it 14-12 in favor of the Demon Deacons at the 11:21 mark of the first half. Wake wouldn't make another shot until more than seven minutes later as the Cavaliers began to dominate on both ends of the floor. Armaan Franklin knocked down back-to-back three-pointers followed by another triple from freshman Isaac McKneely. Franklin hit a third three and then got free inside for a dunk off of a feed from Ben Vander Plas. Reece Beekman joined the three-point party to make it a 17-0 run overall. A free throw from Andrew Carr temporarily interrupted the run, but then Franklin scored another five points on a layup and a fourth three-pointer, capping a 22-1 run for Virginia.
UVA ultimately tied a season-high with 42 first-half points behind nine three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes. Four of those threes came off the hand of Armaan Franklin, who tallied 18 points in the first half. Virginia had 14 assists as a team and did not turn the ball over a single time in the first half. Six of those assists came from Reece Beekman.
Crucially, Wake Forest finished the first half strong and cut the deficit to a more manageable 10-point spread at halftime. Damari Monsanto scored 11-straight points for Wake Forest, including three three-pointers to power the Demon Deacons back into the game.
Wake Forest used a 7-0 run early in the second half to get back within six points, just as Virginia started to get into serious foul trouble. Three different Cavaliers - Kihei Clark, Reece Beekman, and Ben Vander Plas - picked up two personal fouls in the first half and Clark was whistled for his third within the first few minutes of the second half as the refs called a very tight game. Beekman was called for his third personal shortly after that, presenting Virginia with a serious predicament as both of the team's primary point guards were saddled with foul trouble. Momentum had flipped completely to the side of the Demon Deacons and it seemed inevitable that they would eventually overtake the Cavaliers.
Wake Forest continued to work back into the game, cutting the lead to just four points on a pair of free throws by Cameron Hildreth. Isaac McKneely hit a big three-pointer to give UVA some breathing room, but Beekman was then called for his fourth personal foul and exited the game. On the other side of a timeout, Kihei Clark was baited into his fourth foul with a pump-fake by Tyree Appleby. With Clark and Beekman both on the bench with four fouls, Virginia played the next few minutes without a true point guard on the floor.
Wake Forest got within one point and had a couple of chances to take the lead, but Virginia's defense made key stops to stay in front. Ryan Dunn made some crucial defensive plays throughout the second half, including a block of Appleby's layup attempt that would have given the Demon Deacons the lead with less than eight minutes to go.
With seven and a half minutes remaining, both Beekman and Clark checked back into the game at the same time, hoping to steer the Cavaliers to victory without fouling out of the ball-game. Neither player was as aggressive as usual on either end of the floor, but their impact on the game was still tremendous. Beekman immediately drove inside and drew a foul, making both free throws. Clark then threaded a pass to Franklin underneath for a dunk to push the Virginia lead to five points.
A Ryan Dunn putback dunk made it a seven-point edge for Virginia, but Appleby responded with a bucket over Clark. With less than four minutes to play, Clark was fouled by Appleby in the act of shooting a three-pointer and Clark made two out of three free throws. With 2:40 remaining, Beekman made the biggest shot of the game, pulling up and draining a three-pointer from the left wing to make it 68-60 Virginia. Another three from Armaan Franklin, his fifth of the game, put Virginia up by 10 with 1:18 to go to all but seal the deal.
Things got a little dicey as Damari Monsanto hit back-to-back three-pointers on either side of a Clark turnover, but Clark atoned for the mistake by making four-straight free throws to put the game on ice.
Wake Forest came into Saturday's matchup having not lost a game at home since February 12th, 2022. The Demon Deacons got back to within one point and had all the momentum of the game on their side. With two of their best players heavily restricted with foul trouble, the Cavaliers found a way to get the job done and earn their biggest win of ACC play so far. The victory also gave Tony Bennett 400 career wins as a head coach.
Virginia set a new season-high with 15 three-pointers made as a team. That's the most threes UVA has hit in a game since January 16th, 2021. The Cavaliers shot 44.1% from beyond the arc and 40.0% from the floor.
Armaan Franklin recorded his first-career double-double with 25 points and ten rebounds, scoring in double figures for the eighth-straight game. Clark added 12 points, four assists, and three rebounds and Beekman had eight points and six assists. Ben Vander Plas had eight points and collected seven rebounds.
The freshmen Isaac McKneely and Ryan Dunn gave the Hoos a huge lift off the bench. McKneely knocked down three three-pointers and also contributed two rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a block in 23 solid minutes off the bench. Dunn, meanwhile, recorded five points and eight rebounds, including a few huge defensive rebounds late in the game, and also had that big-time block on Appleby when Wake was trying to take the lead. Dunn was pivotal to Virginia's defensive efforts in the final minutes of the game, indirectly helping to keep Kihei Clark and Reece Beekman from fouling out of the game. These true freshmen are clearly up to the task of playing at a high level under the bright lights of ACC play.
Winners of five-straight games, Virginia (15-3, 7-2 ACC) now has sole possession of second place in the ACC standings. UVA has a week off before facing Boston College next Saturday at 12pm in Charlottesville.
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