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Virginia's Adrian Joseph lifts
Virginia's Ryan Pettinella puts in two of his seven points against North Carolina State |
CHARLOTTESVILLE--University of Virginia men's basketball coach Dave Leitao isn't one to coddle his players when they're in a slump.
So as Cavaliers senior J.R. Reynolds was struggling in yesterday's Atlantic Coast Conference opener against N.C. State, Leitao got in the face of his standout shooting guard.
Reynolds, who had missed 15 of his last 21 shots dating back to Wednesday's loss at Purdue, responded.
He drilled a key 3-pointer from the right corner that gave the No. 25 Cavaliers a one-point lead with 1:40 left as they went on to edge the Wolfpack 67-62 in the first-ever ACC game in John Paul Jones Arena.
After his big 3, Reynolds stared down his demanding coach.
"I was in him pretty good based on the Purdue game," Leitao said. "I was trying to implore him to find his rhythm. Sometimes I don't do that so nicely."
After the game, Reynolds didn't say what his coach told him, only saying it was pretty "explicit."
Leitao said Reynolds' intense stare was the type of response he was looking for. Cavaliers junior point guard Sean Singletary understood.
"Coach Leitao is a teacher. If you're not doing something right, he's going to get on you," Singletary said. "But he does it in your best interests. He's not trying to embarrass anybody."
Reynolds' 3 put the Cavaliers (5-1, 1-0 ACC) ahead 62-61. After the Wolfpack tied it at 62 on a Ben McCauley free throw, Singletary made a 17-foot jumper with 1:03 left to give his team a 64-62 lead.
With Virginia ahead 65-62, Wolfpack freshman Brandon Costner missed a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and Singletary rebounded. He made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left to seal the Cavaliers' first win in an ACC opener since 1995. The loss was the first of the season for N.C. State (5-1, 0-1).
"It's important because we need to get every ACC win we can get," Reynolds said. "It's definitely pretty important to start at the top and not the bottom."
Leitao said yesterday's win "falls in the category of any win is a good win."
It certainly wasn't pretty.
Virginia shot just 31 percent from the floor in the first half and 38 percent for the game. However, they found another way to come out on top: rebounding.
Virginia won the battle on the boards 47-31. Included in that total are 18 offensive rebounds, which led to 15 second-chance points.
Leitao said the Cavaliers have the potential to be the "best rebounding team" in the ACC.
"If you look at us as a unit, we're big and physical enough, but we weren't taking advantage of it the way our bodies say we can," Leitao said. "Especially since there were so many missed shots today, we thought there would be a lot of rebounding opportunities."
Reynolds and freshman reserve swingman Will Harris led the Cavaliers with 14 points apiece.
Singletary added 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists, but also had four turnovers.
The Wolfpack were paced by Costner's 17 points. Gavin Grant had 15 points and eight assists, while McCauley chipped in with 12 points.
N.C. State first-year coach Sidney Lowe was pleased with his team's effort in front of a lively
sold-out crowd of 15,219 fans.
"I was extremely proud of our guys," Lowe said. "This was a tough environment to play in, and we played hard that first half. I thought we had control of the tempo."
The Cavaliers led 27-26 at halftime, but fell behind 34-28 on a 3-pointer from N.C. State's Dennis Horner early in the second half. Virginia rallied to tie the score at 34 on an Adrian Joseph putback, and the teams went on to trade leads most of the second half. There were 18 lead changes in the game.
If not for a spark from Harris, the Cavaliers would've been in an even tougher predicament.
Harris relieved Reynolds after he collected his third foul with 18:39 left in the game.
He kept the team afloat with 12 of his 14 points in the second half until Reynolds returned with 8:51 remaining.
Harris said a halftime meeting with Leitao and the Cavaliers starting backcourt got him going.
"After coach, J.R. and Sean came up to talk to me, I had this fire in me to go out there and win and try to play confident," he said.
Because of exams, the Cavaliers don't play again until Dec. 16, when they host Hampton.
No. 25 VIRGINIA 67, N.C. STATE 62
N.C. STATE (5-1)
Nieman 1-3 2-2 4, Costner 7-13 0-0 17, McCauley 5-11 2-4 12, Fells 4-10 2-2 11, Grant 5-16 4-4 15, Albritton 0-0 0-0 0, Horner 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 23-55 10-12 62.
VIRGINIA (5-1)
Diane 2-12 0-0 4, Cain 1-8 0-1 2, Soroye 1-1 1-1 3, Reynolds 4-11 4-6 14, Singletary 4-12 2-2 11, Harris 5-6 3-4 14, Mikalauskas 0-1 0-0 0, Tucker 1-1 0-1 3, Joseph 4-10 0-0 9, Pettinella 3-4 1-3 7. Totals 25-66 11-18 67.
Halftime--Virginia 27-26. 3-Point Goals--N.C. State 6-22 (Costner 3-8, Horner 1-2, Grant 1-4, Fells 1-5, McCauley 0-1, Nieman 0-2), Virginia 6-25 (Reynolds 2-3, Tucker 1-1, Harris 1-2, Joseph 1-6, Singletary 1-8, Cain 0-1, Diane 0-4). Fouled Out--Nieman. Rebounds--N.C. State 31 (Costner, McCauley 7), Virginia 47 (Cain 10). Assists--N.C. State 12 (Grant 8), Virginia 14 (Singletary 5). Total Fouls--N.C. State 16, Virginia 16.
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