The No. 3 Virginia men’s basketball team survived its first test Wednesday without injured junior guard Justin Anderson when it pulled out a gritty win against North Carolina State. The Cavaliers struggled with offense throughout the game but held off the pesky Wolfpack to win 51-47.
The Cavaliers (22-1, 10-1 ACC) relied on their defense virtually the entire game, as they posted a field goal percentage of below 40 percent in the first half. Without Anderson, coach Tony Bennett chose to start junior forward Evan Nolte, but several players shuffled in and out of the line up in the first half, including freshmen Devon Hall and Isaiah Wilkins.
NC State struggled in the first half as well, although it was able to get some big points from junior guard Trevor Lacey to take a 21-19 lead going into halftime. Lacey was complemented by sophomore point guard Anthony Barber, who was able to beat his counterpart London Perrantes off the dribble a couple of times in the first half to give the Wolfpack the lead.
The second half saw much of the same shooting woes for both teams, although Nolte was able to hit a three to give Virginia a one-point advantage with just over 13 minutes to play in the game. Nolte also later drew a flagrant foul on Wolfpack freshman Caleb Martin, just as momentum was shifting in NC State’s favor.
Down the stretch junior guard Malcolm Brogdon and junior center Mike Tobey sealed the game for Virginia. Tobey scored nine points after halftime and was solid defensively to help deter drives from Barber and Lacey, which was critical after Brogdon picked up his fourth foul with less than six minutes left in the game. The two linked up on a pretty pick-and-roll that Tobey finished forcefully with 1:18 to go, and the Cavaliers never looked back.
Virginia will need to tighten up moving forward, as it turned the ball over 12 times in the contest, compared to just twice against Louisville four days ago. The team will be back in action Saturday, when Wake Forest comes to John Paul Jones Arena. The game is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m.
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