#6 UVA gets off the floor, knocks off Ohio State, 63-61

Down 16 in the first half, #6 UVA rallied for a 63-61 win over Ohio State Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

The Cavs (7-0) trailed 32-16 after a three-pointer by C.J. Jackson with 3:41 to go in the first half. It was still 12 at the half, but Virginia opened the second half on an 11-0 run to cut the deficit to one before the first media timeout, and took its first lead of the game, at 39-38, on a jumper by London Perrantes with 14:43 left.

The Buckeyes (6-1) responded with a 12-3 run over the next 4:53 to go up eight, at 50-42.

Perrantes, who had a woeful first half, going 1-for-5 from the field with an assist and three turnovers, hit three threes over the next 5:51 to key a 13-5 Cavs run that tied the game at 55-55 on the final trifecta, with 3:59 left.

Virginia finally took the lead for good, at 59-57, on a driving layup by Marial Shayok with 1:59 to go, but missed chances to put the game away at the line late.

Isaiah Wilkins missed the back end of an and-one with 18 seconds left after scoring a breakaway dunk that put the ‘Hoos up four at 63-59.

Then, after a pair of free throws by JaQuan Lyle with 12 seconds left cut the margin back to two, Shayok missed both ends of a two-shot foul, giving Ohio State one last chance.

Coach Thad Motta called timeout with 6.5 seconds left to draw up a play, but the Buckeyes could only manage a fadeaway 30-foot three at the buzzer from Lyle that fell well short.

Ohio State shot 50 percent from the field for the game, but cooled off big-time in the second half, connecting on just 7-of-19 from the floor, and committing 11 turnovers, finishing with 20 for the game.

Virginia shot 46.4 percent from the floor in the second half (13-of-28) after misfiring plenty in the first half, going just 8-of-28 from the field (28.6 percent).

Perrantes led the way with a game-high 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including going 4-of-8 from three-point range. Devon Hall had 12 points.

Jae’Sean Tate had 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting to lead Ohio State, but Tate was a non-factor in the second half, scoring just two points after scoring 12 on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half.