CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Thijs De Ridder scored 16 points and No. 13 Virginia outlasted Wake Forest 75-70 on Tuesday night to secure the No. 2 seed and a double-bye in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament.
Jacari White added 14 points and Johann Grunloh had 12 points, nine rebounds and two blocks as the Cavaliers (26-4, 14-3) beat the Demon Deacons for the 14th time in the last 16 meetings.
Coming off a humbling loss at No. 1 Duke in which they missed 28 of 35 3-point attempts, the Cavaliers struggled again from long range. Virginia missed its first eight 3-point attempts and went 3 for 17 from beyond the arc in the opening half.
The Cavaliers were better after halftime and finished 10 of 32 from deep, including a 3 by Malik Thomas that made it 71-62 with 1:23 left. Thomas finished with 11 points.
Mekhi Mason scored 26 points and Juke Harris had 21 for the Demon Deacons (15-15, 6-11), who kept the outcome in doubt until the final seconds. Wake Forest got within 73-70 with 6.1 seconds to play, but Virginia’s Dallin Hall made two free throws with 5.2 seconds left to seal it.
The game was tied 22-all with 4:48 left in the first half before the Cavaliers went on a 10-2 run and went to the locker room ahead 32-24.
It was a dreadful shooting half for both teams. They combined to go 18 of 60 from the floor.
Up next
Wake Forest: Hosts California on Saturday.
Virginia: Hosts rival Virginia Tech on Saturday.
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