CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When senior Sean Singletary scores 20 points and his support staff knocks down 39.1 percent of its 3-point field goals, Virginia is a tough team to keep up with.
Georgia Tech's 13-24 shooting from the 3-point line and the 18 points apiece from seniors Anthony Morrow and Jeremis Smith, however, was enough for the Yellow Jackets to trump the Cavaliers' offensive output. After its momentous victory against Maryland senior night Sunday, Virginia quietly exited the first-round of the ACC Tournament Thursday night, 94-76.
In a game that matched up two teams who love to run, the fast pace raged on for 40 minutes; the score, however, was close for only 35. Through the first half and most of the second, the two teams were tit-for-tat, with the lead changing hands 16 times. The Yellow Jackets, however, took advantage of two runs in the second half to put Virginia away, pushing the lead from 2 to 8 with 5:12 remaining, before going on a 14-6 surge to put the game out of reach.
Though both teams ran the break, it was Georgia Tech that was the most successful in transition, netting 30 points on the break to Virginia's 16. Virginia coach Dave Leitao said Georgia Tech's dictation of the tempo that decided the game.
"Georgia Tech did a really good job being the aggressor tonight, starting with the first few minutes of the game," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "On offense especially, they were in attack mode."
After going into the first half down 44-42, Virginia finally made a few stops in the second and hit five of six field goals in the first 5:34 of the second on its way to a 56-51 lead, its biggest of the game. From there, however, the Cavaliers' offensive firepower dampened. Virginia made just five of its next 23 shots for the remainder of the game, and Georgia Tech regained the lead at 12:39 in the second and never lost it.
"We were up because we had some flow and were making shots," Leitao said. "But, it was going to come down to who was going to string together a few defensive sequences that were going to allow you to dictate the rest of the game, and we never did that."
Both teams played lackluster defense in the first half, as open looks were plentiful for each side. The Georgia Tech attack shot 56.7 percent while scoring 14 points in the paint and 13 in transition in the first half.
A poor defensive effort "has happened a number of different times this year, and for a number of reasons," Leitao said. "It's upsetting and its disappointing at the same time."
Though Virginia shot just 41.9 percent from the floor, they made up for it behind the arc, hitting eight of 17 3-point field goals, while Singletary recorded eight assists in the first half. Junior Mamadi Diane was unconscious for the first 22 minutes, making seven of his first eight shots on his way to 18 points off the bench, four of them from 3-point territory, before missing his next five in the remainder of the half. Senior Adrian Joseph, conversely, hardly contributed, scoring just one 3-point field goal in seven minutes of action.
"I thought [Diane] came in and provided something for us," Leitao said. "I just rode [him] for more time than normal."
Singletary finished with 20 points and 10 assists, though he shot just 4-14 from the floor with six turnovers.
"Individually, I think I did all right," Singletary said. "I was able to get 10 assists, so I was trying to be as aggressive as I can."
Whether this is the last game for Virginia is still uncertain. With the new 16-team College Basketball Invitational tournament added to this year's postseason, Singletary and company certainly still have a shot of suiting up at least once more.
"It's ... hard to speak futuristically in terms of this year when you don't know," Leitao said. "It's a little harder this year, then other years, because I don't think there's a lot of information out there about the new basketball tournament"
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