Behind a punishing defense and Guy's 17, UVa beats Carolina 53-43
USATSI
CHARLOTTESVILLE -- Devon Hall may have missed the exclamation point with 45 seconds to play but that didn't change what No. 23 UVa did to No. 5 North Carolina on Monday night. Behind a game-high 17 points from Kyle Guy (on 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range) and 13 points from London Perrantes, the Wahoos made timely shots and played suffocating defense to win 53-43.
Virginia (20-9, 10-7 ACC) held the Heels to just 35.4 percent shooting from the field, including 25 percent in the second half as Carolina made just one field over the final 9:24. Its 43 points were the fewest the Heels have scored since Roy Williams returned to Carolina and the fewest by the team in conference play since 1979.
After pummeling the Cavaliers in Chapel Hill last weekend, the Tar Heels looked a bit uneasy early as Justin Jackson, who scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half of the previous meeting, airballed his first shot. It would end up being a frustrating game for the junior wing, who was guarded hard by Perrantes all night and finished with 7 points (matching a season low) on 3-for-10 shooting.
Still, UNC jumped out to a 7-0 at the under-16 media timeout as UVa missed its first six shots from the floor and turned it over twice in the first 4:37. The Heels committed three turnovers during that stretch, though, and it was a sign of things to come.
UVa answered with a 12-0 run, which began on Ty Jerome 3-pointer, to take a 12-7 lead with 12:50 left in the opening half and after Kennedy Meeks scored inside, Guy hit his second 3-pointer as JPJ erupted. But the Cavaliers missed their next seven from the field and it was evident a nip and tuck game was on tap.
Carolina (25-6, 13-4) scored the next four points to make it 15-13 at the under-12, but the Heels had cooled off from the floor (38.5 percent) and had turned it over two more times by that point as Meeks sat with his second foul. In a game of runs, they went on another thereafter, an 8-2 spurt fueled by back-to-back 3s from Nate Britt and Jackson as the Heels retook the lead going into the under-4.
But UNC immediately went cold, scoring just one bucket over the final 4:47 while UVa closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 27-23 lead into the break thanks in large part to Carolina's 12 turnovers.
The Wahoos scored the first six points of the second half on back-to-back 3s from Hall and Guy to build a quick 10-point lead with 17:31 left. UNC responded with it's own 6-0 run over the next couple of minutes. Yet, UVa kept the lead thanks to a pair of free throws and then another 3-pointer from Guy, though another wave landed soon: An 8-2 run by the Heels that made it a one-point game with 9:25 left.
But some 27 seconds later, Perrantes made a 3-pointer from the right elbow to give UVa the 43-39 edge at the under-8 and Carolina would get no closer.
By the time Carolina called timeout about two minutes later, Perrantes had hit another 3, Jack Salt had a mean block and then a tip-in on the other end, and UVa led 48-39 with 5:51 to play as the Heels had missed four shots in a row and went scoreless for more than three minutes.
The lead was seven at the under-4 with 3:33 to play but Perrantes, who got Isaiah Hicks on a switch, buried a 3-pointer from well beyond the arc to make it a 10-point advantage. And after Joel Berry was fouled and made two of three at the line, Perrantes dropped a dime to Guy, Guy got Hicks to commit his fifth foul, and UVa got three of its 13 offensive rebounds in the final minute, much to enjoyment of the crowd at JPJ.
Guy finished with career highs in rebounds (six) and assists (four) while UVa held UNC to half of its season average of 86.4 points per game and 19 points fewer than its previous season low.
