Sam Hauser and Trey Murphy III contributed 18 points each to propel the #14 Virginia Cavaliers (12-3, 8-1 ACC) past the North Carolina State Wolfpack (7-7, 3-6) in Raleigh Wednesday night. Coming off their first ACC loss this past Saturday, the Hoos managed to right the ship and hold strong against an inferior, albeit feisty, opponent.
It was a tight affair throughout, with both teams going back and forth throughout before the Hoos stretched out a nine-point lead with 3:19 in the second half and never looked back. Jericole Hellems burst out for 23 points, but overall, the Wolfpack offense was held in check by the Hoos pack-line defense.
UVA held a slim margin going into the break after a low scoring, turnover riddled, first half. The Cavaliers jumped out to a quick nine-point lead to start the second half after a Trey Murphy three and a Reece Beekman and-one. A strong six minutes from Wolfpack big man D.J. Funderburk in the middle of the second half in addition to two three pointers from Hellems saw N.C. State close the gap and take a 46-45 lead with 6:22 remaining in the game. The Hoos quickly responded with a 12-2 run, and after a Trey Murphy dunk, held a commanding 57-48 advantage from which they never looked back. Another Murphy dunk with 43 seconds remaining staved off a late run from the Wolfpack, sealing the 64-57 win.
The Cavaliers will host Pitt, hot off a win against Virginia Tech, at John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday at 4:00 PM. The Wolfpack are also back in action Saturday, when they will travel to Boston College for a 12:00 PM showdown.
Written recap by Patrick Carey
Video recap produced by Matt Newton
Footage courtesy of the ACC Network
