Virginia Crushed by Hot-Shooting NC State as Road Struggles Continue

Virginia fell to 0-3 in true-road games as the Wolfpack, who made ten three-pointers, dominated the Cavaliers.

It's back to the drawing board for Virginia as the Cavaliers were once again dismantled on the road, this time getting crushed by NC State 76-60 at PNC Arena. After getting a bounce-back win against Louisville earlier this week, the Cavaliers failed to carry the momentum as the Wolfpack exposed the Pack Line Defense, scoring 76 points, including ten threes.

The Hoos maintained a steady lead until late in the first half when Dennis Parker Jr. made a deep three just before the shot clock expired, sparking a 12-2 run that allowed the Wolfpack to earn a comfortable lead they maintained through the rest of the game.

The pace of the game favored Virginia early on as the Hoos jumped out to a 7-4 lead, with the Wolfpack struggling to create offense. For the Cavaliers, Isaac McKneely opened up the scoring with a signature three before Ryan Dunn added an emphatic dunk minutes later.

The tempo then began to increase, but the Cavaliers maintained their advantage with a 17-13 lead, which included four points and an assist from Reece Beekman. On the defensive side, Beekman held NC State’s leading scorer, DJ Horne, to zero points through the opening 12 minutes.

In the early stages, the bulk of the Wolfpack offense came from DJ Burns, who picked up six points and two assists while matched up against freshman Blake Buchanan, who struggled to deal with the physicality from Burns.

As Virginia began to control the game, Dennis Parker Jr. hit a three from half court just before the shot clock buzzer, sparking a 12-2 run for NC State and a 28-21 Wolfpack lead, a lead they would maintain for the remainder of the game. The run included three threes from the Wolfpack, including a second one from Parker, as momentum had completely flipped in NC State’s favor.

The hot shooting for the Wolfpack continued as they closed the half with four straight made shots, giving them a 35-28 lead entering the locker room. In the first half, the Wolfpack shot 50% from the field compared to 41% from Virginia. NC State also shot 5/15 from beyond the arc in the first half compared to 1/8 shooting for the Hoos, echoing trends from Virginia’s loss against Notre Dame.

Reece Beekman led the way for the Hoos with eight points and five assists, including a last-second shot to end the half, while Ryan Dunn helped out with seven points and five rebounds.

Casey Morsell stretched the lead to 10 with an and-one before Blake Buchannan missed two free throws as NC State’s momentum bled into the second half. On the next possession, Parker knocked down another three as the Hoos struggled to contain Burns on the inside while defending from beyond the arc.

Horne then knocked down a three of his own to make it 46-32 as the Hoos were struggling in all facets, forcing Bennett to call a timeout. After the timeout, Virginia managed to cut the lead to 14 with a three from McKneely and a layup from Dunn, before NC State responded with an 8-2 run, increasing the lead to 20 with eleven minutes remaining.

With the lead out of reach, Elijah Gertrude and Jordan Minor were both given significant minutes in the final stages of the game, NC State also looked to their bench. Despite the game being out of reach, McKneely and Dunn both had a productive second half, scoring 13 points and nine points, respectively.

Virginia never made the game close in the second half as they fell to NC State 76-60.

Isaac McKneely led the way for the Hoos with 18 points, while Reece Beekman finished with 12 points and ten assists.

Virginia (11-4, 2-2 ACC) will look to get back on track and end their road losing streak at Wake Forest on Saturday, January 13th at 2pm.

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