Wake Forest 55, Virginia 52
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- C.J. Harris scored 16 points and made several key free throws down the stretch as Wake Forest hung on to beat Virginia 55-52 Wednesday night at Joel Coliseum.
Harris, an 80 percent foul shooter, was a perfect 8-for-8 from the line. He made six in a row in the final 1:19 to help the Deacons even their record in the Atlantic Coast Conference record at 1-1. Wake Forest improved to 8-6 overall.
Backing Harris were Travis McKie, who scored 14 points, and freshman Arnaud William Adala Moto, who added nine points.
The Deacons had a 14-point lead midway through the second half, but they made no field goals in the final 10:20 of the game.
Virginia (11-4, 1-1) was down three and had the ball with 5.3 seconds left after Harris hit two free throws, but the Cavaliers failed to get off a shot. Point guard Jontel Evans turned the ball over trying to pass to Mike Tobey just outside the 3-point arc.
The Cavaliers committed 17 turnovers, their second-highest total this season, and shot just 36.4 percent from the field (20-for-55).
Tobey led the Cavaliers with 14 points, and he added seven rebounds. Joe Harris had 13 points, and Akil Mitchell scored 10 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Cavaliers, who went 3-for-11 on 3-point attempts, made all three of their 3-pointers in the final minute, but it wasn't enough.
The Deacons eased ahead by as many as nine points late in the first half by tightening up their defense. Tyler Cavanaugh got loose for a layup with 1:22 left to give the Deacons a 29-20 lead, their biggest advantage of the half.
Wake Forest, which shot 52 percent in the first half, led 29-22 at the break following one of their best periods of the season.
Keeping the Cavaliers close in the first half was Tobey, who had 10 points and in one stretch scored four consecutive baskets on the inside. His short hook shot with 5:10 to go in the half cut the Deacons' lead to 22-18.
In the final five minutes of the half, however, the Cavaliers had just two more field goals.
The Cavaliers had 11 turnovers in the half and shot just 38 percent.
Leading the way for the Deacons in the first half was McKie, who had seven points. Coach Jeff Bzdelik's team had a lot of balance, as eight players scored before intermission.
The Cavaliers enjoyed an 18-12 advantage in rebounding at the break.
NOTES: Wake Forest has beaten Virginia 10 straight times at Joel Coliseum and 14 of the past 15 times going back to the 1994-95 season. ... Virginia began the night second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 50.8 points a game. Virginia has held six opponents under 50 points this season.... In the latest ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, Virginia received one vote.... Harris headed into Wednesday's game with 1,326 career points, which ranked sixth in the ACC among active players.
