After suffering a 31-point blowout to Clemson Thursday, the Virginia men's basketball team's sluggish play continued in the opening minutes against Wake Forest Saturday, as the Demon Deacons dominated early and never gave up the lead, handing the Cavaliers an 80-64 loss.
Though Virginia (11-11, 1-8 ACC) would recover from a 36-27 halftime deficit to cut the lead to as few as 3? points, Wake Forest answered every Virginia run, forcing the Cavaliers to play an endless game of catch-up in the closing minutes.
"We're not playing Virginia basketball," senior Sean Singletary said. "That's it in a nutshell. We're not getting over that hump ... that could be the story for a lot of the games this year, is not having what it takes to get over the hump."
In the midst of a six-game losing streak, Leitao went with a new starting lineup against Wake Forest, as freshman Jeff Jones returned to the starting five in place of sophomore Calvin Baker, senior Ryan Pettinella replaced freshman Mike Scott and Jamil Tucker received his first start of the year in junior Mamadi Diane's spot. Senior co-captains Singletary and Adrian Joseph maintained their starting roles. The new look, however, did not produce the results Leitao desired.
"There's only one result, and that's to score more points than the other team," Leitao said. "If you think you've got a recipe to make something happen, and it doesn't happen, it doesn't prove out to be a good one."
The Demon Deacon who was most instrumental in frustrating Virginia's attempt to garner some momentum was sophomore Ishmael Smith. On four occasions in the second half in which the Cavaliers trailed by 6 points or fewer, Smith converted a basket for his team. In one key sequence with Wake Forest leading 61-58 with just under six minutes remaining, Smith converted a layup with the foul. Though he missed the free throw that followed, sophomore David Weaver secured the rebound and passed back out to Smith, who found James Johnson under the basket for a two-handed dunk, pushing the lead to 65-58.
Smith "was really aggressive," Wake Forest coach Dino Gaudio said. "At the TV timeout, I just told him, 'Ish, keep being aggressive, keep your foot on the accelerator and keep pushing the basketball.' He did a really nice job for us."
Though the Cavaliers were unable to complete the comeback after overcoming an early 16-point second-half deficit to get back within striking distance, Leitao said it was how Virginia dug itself into that hole that was the difference.
"I was more concerned about things that had went on a long time before that," Leitao said about the attempted comeback. "Wake Forest, or Virginia, or anybody in this league just can't turn it on, especially on the road, and say, 'Hey, we've been playing a little haphazard, let's get a couple of stops in a row.'"
After Singletary struggled with his shot in the first half, shooting just 2-8, he exploded for 14 second-half points to end with 21. Though Singletary was uncharacteristically off on his jump shot, he got to the basket on numerous occasions, as all 21 of his points were on 2-point field goals or free throws.
"A big part of the game was we couldn't guard Sean," Gaudio said. "He just kept getting to the rim, getting to the rim."
Pettinella also produced an outstanding game, as he contributed the first double-double of his career with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
"I think I just was in the groove today, mentally and physically," Pettinella said. "I came prepared to play, and when I do that, usually good things happen. I don't think there was anything with their defense specifically."
Pettinella's difficulties at the free-throw line continued, however, as he missed all of his five free throws, including three at key moments in the second half.
"It's very disappointing to me personally that I can't really nail that facet of my game down," Pettinella said of his free throw shooting. "It's really just been a downer the whole season."
Virginia has two days off before taking on No. 3 North Carolina at John Paul Jones Arena Tuesday night.
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