Florida State cut a 17-point UVA lead to five in a nerve-wracking second half, but the top-seeded Cavs pulled away for a 58-44 win in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum.
Virginia (29-2, 17-2 ACC) led 34-17 at the break, but the Seminoles chipped away in the second half, cutting the lead to 44-39 on a jumper by Xavier Rathan-Mayes with 7:08 to go.
A pair of free throws by Phil Cofer with 3:42 to go had FSU within 48-42, but then the Cavs’ pffense, which had been asleep for much of the second half, came alive. Malcolm Brogdon hit a pair of free throws to bump the lead to eight, then hit a jumper with 2:35 to go to get the lead back to double digits.
Virginia scored on its last five possessions in the game-closing 10-2 run.
Mike Tobey and Evan Nolte each scored 11 points to lead UVA. Brogdon had 10, all in the second half.
Rathan-Mayes had 13 to lead Florida State (17-16, 9-11 ACC).