Sophomore forward C.J. Leslie scored 19 points and had a game-high 14 rebounds to lead NC State to a 67-64 victory over Virginia in a quarterfinal game in the Atlantic Coast Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Friday afternoon (March 9) at Philips Arena.
Leslie made nine of 11 field goal attempts in the game.
Sophomore guard Lorenzo Brown had 15 points and a game-high eight assists for the Wolfpack and junior forward Richard Howell added 10 points.
Senior forward Mike Scott led Virginia with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Joe Harris scored 18 points and sophomore forward Akil Mitchell tied his career-high with 10 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Scott has scored at least 20 points in five of the last six games and he has had double-doubles in his last three games.
The victory improves NC State’s record to 22-11, while the loss drops UVa’s record to 22-9. The win broke the Wolfpack’s four-game losing streak to Virginia.
The double-doubles by Scott and Mitchell marked the first time UVa had two players with double-doubles in the same game since Scott and Adrian Joseph had double-doubles in a 100-85 win at Pennsylvania on Nov. 23, 2007.
The double-double was the first of Mitchell’s career, while Scott’s double-double was his 10th of the season and the 34th of his career.
Scott’s 10 rebounds enabled him to move into third place on Virginia’s career rebounding list with 938 rebounds.
Virginia led by six points (9-3) 3:14 into the game before the Wolfpack ran off 14 consecutive points to take a 17-9 lead with 11:24 left in the first half. Leslie scored eight points in that NC State run.
The Cavaliers battled back and Harris capped a 6-0 run by making two free throws that gave UVa a 33-32 lead with 31 seconds remaining until halftime.
Junior forward Scott Wood then hit a three-pointer for the Wolfpack with one second remaining in the first half, was fouled and made the free throw to give NC State a 36-33 halftime lead.
Virginia junior guard Jontel Evans tied the game early in the second half with a three-point play, but NC State took the lead for good on a free throw by Brown with 18:59 left in the game. The Wolfpack went on to lead by as many as nine points at 58-49 with 6:08 to play after a three-pointer by Wood.
UVa cut NC State’s lead to two points on three occasions, the last time at 64-62 with 25 seconds remaining in the game on two free throws by Harris. Wood made a free throw to increase the Wolfpack’s lead to three points with 22 seconds left and after Harris missed a three-point attempt for Virginia, Brown made two free throws with seven seconds to play to secure the victory for NC State.
NC State made 54.0 percent (27-50) of its field goal attempts, including 33.3 percent (5-15) from three-point range, and shot 44.4 percent (8-18) from the free-throw line.
Virginia shot 43.4 percent (23-53) from the field, including 16.7 percent (2-12) from three-point range, and 80 percent (16-20) from the free-throw line.
The Cavaliers will now wait until Sunday (March 11) to learn where they will play in the postseason.
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