Virginia bolted to a 22-5 lead seven minutes in, and led by 16 at the break; credit to Virginia Tech, which was playing for its NCAA fate, the Hokies didn’t throw in the towel.
Tech rallied to actually tie the game at the 10:56 mark, then made things interesting after getting down nine in the final minute, forcing UVA to close things out at the line to finish off the 76-72 win on Saturday in JPJ.
ICYMI
The ’Hoos (27-4, 15-3 ACC) couldn’t get out of their own way in the second half – 10 turnovers that led to 12 Tech points; 10-of-26 shooting, 3-of-12 from three.
The unlikely hero: Ugonna Onyenso, who finished with 16 points, nine of those coming in the second half – 4-of-4 at the line, and a three with 1:47 to go that got the lead back out to seven.
So, 16 points, two made threes, five boards, three blocks in 19 minutes for the seven-footer, who didn’t attempt a three in three seasons at Kentucky and Kansas State, and just said on The CW postgame that he thought, after his disastrous junior year at K State, that he was going to have to transfer down to a mid-major for his senior season.
This UVA team, obviously, isn’t the same without the big guy in the rotation at the five spot.
Virginia also got big games from shooting guards Malik Thomas (16 points, 6-of-9 FG, 2-of-4 3FG, 2-of-3 FT) and Sam Lewis (15 points, 6-of-12 FG, 1-of-2 3FG, 2-of-2 FT, seven boards, four assists).
UVA led 12-0 two minutes and change in, on the strength of threes from Thomas, Lewis and Johann Grunloh (five points, four rebounds), and an and-one from Thomas.
Tech (19-12, 8-10 ACC) fought back to get the margin down to six on two different occasions, but Virginia finished the first half on a 12-2 run, aided by a Hokie meltdown – 1-of-6 shooting, five turnovers, in the final 5:08 – that left the score at 41-25 ’Hoos at the half.
Whatever Mike Young said to his guys in the locker room, bottle it – they made nine of their first 11 shots, as Virginia got off-track on the offensive end, going 4-of-13 with six turnovers coming out of halftime, which is what allowed Tech to get back to square, at 51-51, on a pair of Neoklis Avdalas free throws with 10:56 remaining.
Virginia got back out in front with an 8-0 run, but the Hokies fought back to make it so that Onyenso’s second three of the afternoon was of the variety that, if it missed, and Tech rebounded, you know.
UVA got the lead to nine, at 74-65, on a pair of Thijs de Ridder (16 points, 4-of-11 FG, 1-of-3 3FG, 4-of-4 FT, eight rebounds) free throws with 50 seconds left, but a Ben Hammond layup, a Virginia turnover, a pair of Jailen Bedford free throws, and a Bedford three, around a Thomas 1-of-2 trip at the line, had the game at 75-72 after the Bedford three with seven ticks left.
Devin Tillis (four points in 15 minutes off the bench) made the second of a two-shot foul with 4.4 seconds left to finally salt the game away.
Hammond led all scorers with 21 points (7-of-15 FG, 1-of-6 3FG, 6-of-8 FT).
Hammond also had five assists; his one demerit – he missed two free throws at the 2:10 mark, down four, ahead of the Onyenso three that extended the lead to seven.
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Chris Graham
