Virginia (12-8, 2-7 ACC) and N.C. State (14-5, 7-2) battled neck and neck for the first 15 minutes of Saturday's game, but one blown opportunity by the Cavaliers turned a tied game into a double-digit deficit as the Wolfpack cruised to a 79-63 win.
After an uncontested layup by junior forward Elton Brown rimmed out, N.C. State responded with a three-pointer from senior forward Marcus Melvin, allowing a possible two-point Virginia lead to become a three-point deficit.
"I thought the key was when the score was 22-22 and we got a wide open layup and missed it," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said. "We got deflated and that's when they got momentum. When a good veteran team gets momentum, it's tough to get back in it."
The Wolfpack capitalized on the momentum swing, pouncing on the Cavaliers to close out the first half with a 12-1 run.
"The key was at the end of the first half when we were able to open up a working margin," N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said.
During the run, N.C. State spread the floor while the Cavaliers went without a field goal for over nine minutes. Virginia's offensive futility ended with a layup by Brown, bringing the score to 25-39 with 17:13 left in the game.
"I feel like we aren't playing together on both sides of the court," Virginia junior forward Devin Smith said. "We aren't in sync."
Smith led the Cavaliers with 14 points off of the bench. Freshmen Gary Forbes and J.R. Reynolds added 10 points apiece for Virginia.
With the Cavaliers out of sync, the Wolfpack were able to shoot nearly 60 percent from the field in the second half. Leading the way for N.C. State was standout swingman Julius Hodge. The Harlem native finished with a game-high 26 points, shooting 7-12 from the field. Hodge also pulled down seven rebounds and dished out three assists in 37 minutes of action.
"He's a great player," Virginia freshman T.J. Bannister said. "He does a good job of getting everyone involved."
Hodge indeed had help as three other N.C. State players finished the game in double figures, including sophomore forward Ilian Evtimov, who added 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists. Freshman guard Engin Atsur put the nail in the Cavalier's coffin with three second-half three-pointers to put an end to any Cavalier comeback.
"Virginia didn't make it easy for us," Sendek said. "To their credit they kept the pressure on and kept attacking."
The game marked the return of Majestic Mapp to the starting lineup for Virginia. Mapp, who last started on November 27, 1999 against Arizona State, logged 12 minutes of action against the Wolfpack.
"We wanted a change, get Todd [Billet] off the ball," Gillen said of the decision to start Mapp. "I thought he did a solid job."
In the end Billet only totaled five points as the Cavaliers shot only 22 percent from long distance.
The 16-point loss to the Wolfpack comes on the heels of a four-point loss to Maryland. For the Cavaliers, the consecutive home losses represent a missed opportunity to gain valuable ground in the competitive ACC.
"These were two games we needed," Smith said. "We let them slip by."
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