With the shot clock ticking away, and Jay Huff racing toward him, Cam Hayes banked in a 35-foot three-pointer, that pretty much summing up tonight’s 68-61 N.C. State win over Virginia here in John Paul Jones Arena.
That prayer that was answered was a sure omen that little could go wrong for State (11-9, 7-8 ACC), which has now won three consecutive games, four straight on the road in the ACC, and appears to be heading into the right direction as the regular season winds down.
For Virginia, the opposite appears to be in place. The Cavaliers (15-6, 11-4 ACC) lost their third straight game, and lost for the second time in two years at home to the Wolfpack.
Tonight, the Wolfpack trailed for only 88 seconds, and essentially controlled the game from the opening tip. N.C. State led by as many as 14 in the first half and led by double digits midway through the second half after a thunderous dunk by D.J. Funderburk, who led the Wolfpack in scoring with 14 points, one of three players in double figures.
State used a multiple-look defense to bottle up the UVA scoring duo of Jay Huff and Sam Hauser for a long stretch in this one. The Huff-Hauser combo got it going late in the second half and finished with a total of 40 points (21 for Hauser, 19 for Huff), but basically shut down the remainder of the team to secure the win.
State nearly coughed it up late, turning the ball over to UVA with 15.4 seconds remaining, leading 65-61. Hauser missed a long three attempt with 8.6 seconds remaining, and a late Virginia turnover with 1.6 second left, sealed the Pack win.
Story by Scott German
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