Second-Half Meltdown Dooms Virginia to Another Road Loss at Wake Forest

March Madness is looking bleak for the Cavaliers as they fall to 0-4 in true road games this season

After what Tony Bennett described as an “important week” which included four practices after a crushing defeat to NC State, Virginia (11-5, 2-3 ACC) looked much the same, struggling in a 66-47 loss to Wake Forest (12-4, 4-1 ACC) on Saturday at LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem. The Demon Deacons, the best shooting team in the ACC, shot 50% from the floor as they handed the Cavaliers their third loss in ACC play, as Virginia’s hopes of securing a spot in the tournament are quickly fading away.

Virginia, similar to last week, kept it close in the opening stages and trailed by a single-digit margin at halftime. To open the second half, the Deacons unraveled the Cavaliers with a 7-0 run to start the half, allowing them to lead by double digits for the remainder of the contest.

Read Val's Plus/Minus breakdown of the game here.

The Cavaliers got off to a slow start, shooting 1/13 from the floor as they trailed the Demon Deacons 12-4 in the opening stages. The Pack Line Defense allowed Virginia to remain in the game until the offense came to life, in the form of an 8-2 run to tie the game at 14.

The headline to start the game was Jordan Minor earning his first start in the orange and blue. The transfer from Merrimack was strong defensively against Efton Reid while producing four points and four rebounds in the first half. Minor finished with nine points and five rebounds, but his impact was unable to lift the Cavaliers into the win column.

After the Hoos brought the game back into play, the Deacons came alive to close the half, restoring their lead to six with a 27-21 halftime lead. Wake Forest was led by Hunter Sallis, who registered 11 first-half points. For the Cavaliers it was a collective effort led by Reece Beekman, who had five points, but two fouls that would plague him later on. Virginia also struggled from the charity stripe, shooting 4/8 in the first half.

To open the second half, the Demon Deacons scored the first seven points, which turned into a 20-9 run to make it 47-30 in favor of Wake Forest. The run included three threes for the Deacons, and was a combined effort by the Wake Forest starters, who scored their first 47 points of the game. Beekman also picked up his third foul early on, forcing Bennett to pull him to the bench, leaving Virginia helpless without their best defender.

With the game practically out of reach, the Cavaliers failed to make a dent into the Deacons' lead as Wake Forest continued to shoot the ball, which included 5/10 from three in the second half.

Hunter Sallis led the way for Wake Forest with 10 points in the second half as he finished with 21, leading the Deacons to a 66-47 win over the Cavaliers. In the final stages, Tony Bennett, once again looked to his bench, giving Elijah Gertrude garbage minutes to close the game.

Reece Beekman led the way for the Cavaliers with 10 points as Virginia failed to score over 50 points for the second time this season. As a team, the Hoos shot a meager 28% from the floor as the Virginia offense can not find any rhythm on the road.

With that said, Virginia, who is undefeated at home, will look to get back on track against Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash on Wednesday, January 17th at 7pm. 

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