Virginia survives NC State to advance to ACC Tournament semifinals
· Yahoo Sports
Virginia basketball advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals with a 81-74 win over NC State in the first quarterfinal game on Thursday, March 12.
Virginia (28-4) got 16 points from Malik Thomas and 15 from Thijs De Ridder to hold off a late run by a resilient NC State (20-13) team in Charlotte. The Wolfpack lost by 15 and 29 to Virginia during the regular season, but managed to make this a much more competitive game until the final buzzer.
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NC State actually controlled the game early. Virginia's first lead didn't come until 6:58 left in the first half, when Sam Lewis hit a 3-pointer. Seconds before that, NC State's Darrion Williams picked up his third foul and went to the bench, where he stayed for the rest of the half. Williams, who averages 14 points a game, scored just three in the opening 20 minutes and finished the game with seven.
Virginia led three times for a total of 3:15 in the first half, but De Ridder hit a 3-pointer with 27 seconds left to put the Cavaliers up 33-32 at halftime.
The Cavaliers were clinging to a 46-44 lead with 14:55 remaining in the second half before Johann Grunloh hit back-to-back shots to start a 9-0 run to open up some breathing room for Virginia. Those were his only points of the game.
Grunloh, the 7-foot Virginia freshman, got in early foul trouble and only played four first-half minutes, failing to score. He played just 10 minutes in the game.
NC State didn't go away though, cutting it deficit to four on Paul McNeil's 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining in regulation. McNeil scored 10 of the Wolfpack's final 13 points, trying to keep State's ACC Tournament run alive.
After his three, McNeil, who led State with 26 points, got a steal on the ensuing inbounds play. But State missed two shots, including one on a block by Virginia's Ugonna Onyenso.
Virginia hit three free throws in the final seconds to seal the victory.
Onyenso shines off bench
Onyenso came off the bench when Grunloh got into foul trouble and played 16 minutes in the opening half and 30 in the game. The 7-foot senior came into the game averaging just 17.8 minutes. He finished with eight points, six rebounds and eight blocks, all above his season average.
That's back-to-back big games for Onyenso, who had 16 points, five rebounds and three blocks off the bench in Virginia's 76-72 win over Virginia Tech to end the regular season.
Up next for Virginia
Virginia will play the winner of No. 3 Miami and No. 6 Louisville in the semifinals March 13 at 7 p.m. Virginia beat Miami by 86-83 in Charlottesville on Feb. 21 and beat Louisville by 79-70 on the road Jan. 13.
Virginia seeking fourth ACC title
Virginia has won three ACC Tournaments in its history, as the No 6 seed in 1976 and the No 1 seed in both 2014 and 2018.
Virginia has now advanced to the semifinals of the tournament in nine of the last 12 ACC tournaments.
Patrick Hite is a reporter at The News Leader. Story ideas and tips are always welcome. Connect with Patrick (he/him/his) at [email protected] and on Instagram @hitepatrick. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.
This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Virginia moves on to ACC Tournament semifinals with win over NC State