Freshman guard Joe Harris scored a game-high 19 points, senior guard Mustapha Farrakhan had 15 points and senior forward Will Sherrill had a season-high 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds to lead Virginia to a 69-58 Atlantic Coast Conference victory over NC State on Senior Night at John Paul Jones Arena.
Junior guard Sammy Zeglinski added 10 points for the Cavaliers who improved to 15-14 overall with the win and 6-9 in the ACC. Virginia’s six ACC wins are its most since the 2006-07 season (11-5, T-1st). The Cavaliers have won three of their last four games.
Senior guard Javier Gonzalez led NC State with 16 points and senior forward Tracy Smith had 10 points. Sophomore forward Richard Howell had a game-high 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack.
The loss drops the Wolfpack’s overall record to 15-14 and NC State is now 5-10 in the ACC.
Seniors Farrakhan and Sherrill were instrumental in Virginia’s victory. Farrakhan hit a key three-point field goal with 3:23 remaining in the game to give the Cavaliers a 59-50 lead and Sherrill was 5-7 from the field, including 4-5 from three-point range, in a career-high 37 minutes.
The 19 points by Harris and 14 points and eight rebounds by Sherrill are their highs in an ACC game.
After leading by four points at halftime, UVa led by as many as 13 points in the second half at 50-37 with 11:18 left to play. The Wolfpack rallied to within six points on two occasions, the last time just before Farrakhan’s three-point basket with 3:23 left in the game. The Cavaliers scored their last 10 points at the free throw line where they were 10-12 in the last 2:11 of the game.
UVa opened the game with a 16-0 run in the first 4:18 of play. Sherrill and Harris each hit two three-pointers in the run.
NC State then scored 11 consecutive points in a 17-2 run to get within one point at 18-17 with 9:20 left in the half. Gonzalez scored seven points and sophomore forward Scott Wood had six in the Wolfpack’s run. NC State never led and Virginia had a 32-28 lead at halftime.
Virginia shot 39.6 percent (21-53) from the field, including 47.6 percent (10-21) from three-point range, and 85.0 percent (17-20) from the free throw line in the game. It’s the 11th time this season the Cavaliers have shot better from three-point range than from two-point range, and the eighth time UVa has made at least 10 three-point field goals in a game.
NC State shot 40.8 percent (20-49) from the field in the game, including 37.5 percent (6-16) from three-point range, and 75.0 percent (12-16) from the free throw line. The Wolfpack out-rebounded Virginia 34-32.
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