VIRGINIA BEATS NC STATE A THIRD AND FINAL TIME 81-74

Virginia for the third time this season defeated NC State, this time in the ACC Tournament.

While the Cavaliers achieved blowouts in the first two matchups, this one was a lot more tightly contested. All throughout the game contained very even scoring, if Virginia hit a big bucket, NC State responded immediately.

The bench was rolling for Virginia early after NC State jumped out to a 9-5 lead. Jacari White did Jacari White things dropping 13 points as well as grabbing a steal. Meanwhile, the story of the entire game was former Kentucky Wildcat Ugonna Onyenso. Many call him "The best shot blocker in the nation," yet players are still trying to drive on him. Onyenso finished with eight blocks as well as 8 points of his own. When asked if he is surprised players still try and drive on him he said, "At this point, I'm not anymore. Not anymore. They're going to keep trying. You know, when they get a bucket, they get a bucket. When they get a shot block, go their shot block. So, at this point, it's like it's whatever, you know, keep coming, I guess. Onyenso being good was so important early on due to Johann Grunloh picking up two very early fouls. When Grunloh was asked about the bench picking up slack, he explained, "I think this is one of the special abilities this team has that the bench is so deep, everybody can step up. I think that what makes us like everybody can rely on everybody that play in the second half." Ugo picked up a lot of slack playing a total of 30 minutes.

Coach Odom commented on Onyenso postgame, " Yeah, it's hard for any coach to say they have favorites, but I love Ugo. We all love Ugo. He's an amazing person. He's found a home at the University of Virginia and within our basketball program. I can remember when he first arrived, really quiet, probably unassured, not quite sure what was going to happen next. Confidence a little bit shaken."

After starting slow, the starters for Virginia got hot and they did not turn back. Malik Thomas had 16 points including some clutch late game free throws. Sam Lewis finally got going again and in a big way as he went 4-5 from three finishing with 12 points. Thijs De Ridder had 15 points and 5 rebounds as well as some great defense. De Ridder typically gets into some foul trouble but today did a great job playing physical while not picking up tick tack fouls. Devin Tills contributed on the boards with 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Dallin Hall commanded the offense with 5 assists and 5 rebounds. Hall also made a very big three to give Virginia a double-digit lead in the second half.

NC State started the game on an 11-5 run before Jacari White came off the bench to hit his first shot of the day. That was followed by a three from Chance Mallory to give Virginia some momentum. Today was Freshman Chance Mallory's first ever postseason/ACC Tournament game, a tournament he grew up watching. "It's been so much fun. Just playing in front of everybody. Just a dream come true to be playing ACC tournament. So, it was just great to have a first win in the first game," Mallory explained postgame. Th

The game then had a lot of back-and-forth action before Malik Thomas and Ugo Onyenso put some offensive magic together. Thomas hit a nice turnaround jumper before Dallin Hall threw a glorious lob to Onyenso to hammer down. Thomas was asked about the turnaround jumper, "Each one of our guys made big time plays. I was able to get that that jumper flowing for me and then we had some big stops down there. So, it's something we live by. Score, stop in practice, and it just translates into game." Onyenso's offense has been such an improvement throughout the year. He commented on it afterwards, "Thanks to the coaching staff for the belief that they have in me, let me shoot the ball because I didn't start shooting the ball until I got here. I'm taking the opportunity that they are giving me and I'm producing with it. Onyenso was also presented with an award pregame, the Bob Bradley Spirit and Courage award. Ugo was asked what that meant to him, "I mean, it's about we a group of guys that are willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to help the team even in tough moments. That's what's great about us being able to do that. So, again, I'm going to give the team credit.

The next portion of the game is when Sam Lewis started to get going. Lewis hit two threes in the span of a minute to help get Virginia its first lead. NC State held a lead late in the first half, but Thijs De Ridder halted it with a three of his own with 27 seconds remaining to give Virginia the one-point lead headed to halftime. Today was De Ridder's first experience in College Basketball postseason on a neutral court, here is what he had to say about that, "Yeah, this is a dual ride. So, if you lose, go home, no way to get another price, another shot. So, we know where we want as a team and we just try to go from there."

In the second half, Grunloh finally got a couple baskets to fall after having some limited minutes due to foul trouble. That was followed by Dallin Hall hitting a fastbreak layup and a huge three to push the lead to 10 points. From there, Virginia got rolling holding a pretty strong lead for a few minutes. Anytime the Wolfpack would hit a shot, Virginia responded between White hitting a three, Lewis rolling, or even De Ridder with a very tough layup. Despite the early nerves, Hall was able to lead the offense to a good second half. "We didn't come out with full force on the attack offensively especially," Hall explained, "And so definitely took us a little bit to get our footing, but that's been the story of this team is we weather storms. We stay together and just find ways to compete each possession and win." That is what you call a leader mentality.

In the closing stages, the game got a bit dicey with Paul McNeil Jr. hitting a three for NC State to cut the lead to 4. However, after some clutch free throws from Dallin Hall and Malik Thomas, Virginia would shut the game down winning by 7. Thomas was asked the value of winning a gritty game afterwards, "Yeah, it's big time. These games are tough because we're in March. Everyone's season is on the line. So we're playing every game like it's our last. Something that Jacari (White) told us before the game is that we just got to have fun but play like it's our last game because we're down to the stretch where, you know, every game matters. Every possession matters and coach did a great job telling us that." As opposed to a blowout like the first two games against NC State, Coach Ryan Odom commented on what was different with this game, "Yeah, I think in early halves, early in the halves, leads are going to happen. It's more about how you're playing the game and what were the things that were leading to them getting the lead in that instance. Our guys, they're veterans. We've had situations throughout this season where we've been behind. We've had situations where we've had big leads and lost them. It's all part of the process."

Virginia moves on to play the winner of Miami/Louisville Friday evening. To see more coverage of interviews of each player check out our YouTube channel The Cavalier Connection.

Photo credit: ACC