Virginia Takes Down North Carolina 68-59, Advances to ACC Tournament Semifinals
The Virginia Cavaliers (24-6) defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels (20-13) 68-59 in the quarterfinals of the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night at Greensboro Coliseum.
UNC built an early 13-9 lead, but UVA responded with an 11-0 run to capture a lead that would last through to the end of the game. Reece Beekman was aggressive in the first half and willed the Cavaliers back in front with 11 points and three assists before halftime. UVA led by as many as eight in the first half, but a late 6-0 run by UNC narrowed the deficit to just 25-24 at halftime.
North Carolina nearly erased Virginia's lead at many points in the second half, and the majority UNC crowd made itself heard at each of those moments. But the Cavaliers had an answer every time. Jayden Gardner led Virginia with a 17-point, 10-rebound double-double, with 13 of those points coming in the second half. Armaan Franklin scored nine of his 14 points in the second half. Beekman joined Franklin and Gardner in double figures with 15 points, five assists, and five steals.
RJ Davis had 24 points on 8/14 shooting, but it wasn't enough to power the Tar Heels to the comeback win. Still hampered by an ankle injury, Armando Bacot was held to just four points and three rebounds as Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro stepped up in a big way for Virginia on the defensive end in the absence of Ben Vander Plas, who was lost to a season-ending hand injury in practice on Wednesday.
Virginia was excellent from the free throw line down the stretch and went 16/22 from the charity stripe for the game. It was a big-time block and a slam dunk from Kadin Shedrick, who spent most of the last couple months on the UVA bench, that sealed the 68-59 victory for the Cavaliers.
Virginia advances to the ACC Tournament semifinals, where the Cavaliers will face Clemson on Friday at approximately 9:30pm.
Read our full long-form recap of the game here: Virginia Shows Toughness in "Slugfest" Win Over North Carolina in ACC Quarterfinals
To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:
Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN
See more Virginia men's basketball news and content: Virginia Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated
See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated
