The Cavaliers (11-5, 2-3 ACC) took to the road once more Saturday, seeking to earn their first true road victory of the season in a clash against a team of similar strength in the Wake Forest Demon Deacons (12-4, 4-1 ACC). However, despite Virginia’s best efforts, they eventually fell to Wake Forest 47-66.
After dropping two of their last three conference matchups, Coach Tony Bennett made a major change in the lineup, taking sophomore guard Andrew Rohde out of the starting lineup in exchange for the larger physical presence of graduate forward Jordan Minor.
From the tipoff, things seemed to go much in the way that has become characteristic for this year’s Virginia squad — chaotic yet unproductive. The Cavaliers made just one attempt from the field out of their first 13, with senior guard Reece Beekman hitting a long mid-range jump shot from the top of the key to put the Cavaliers on the board.
An early deficit only got worse as the first 10 minutes of the half ticked away, with junior guard Hunter Sallis’ seven early points helping the Demon Deacons to a 12-4 advantage. The Cavaliers finally started to come into their own offensively at this point, with a jump-start to the scoring coming courtesy of a creative shot from underneath the basket by Minor.
Beekman quickly drew an offensive foul, and redshirt freshman guard Leon Bond III tacked on a successful mid-range attempt on the other end. Sophomore guard Isaac McKneely found himself in scoring position off of a screen on the wing and added his own two points with a jump shot.
Some good luck struck the Cavaliers when the team was awarded a goaltend after a floater offered up by a slashing Rohde met with the hands of big man junior forward Efton Reid III.
The good luck would not last long, however, as Virginia found itself in another scoring rut. Minor tried to fight his way inside and convert twice in one possession, both to no avail.
The only saving grace was a successful floater off the glass from Rohde and a made free throw by Minor that sandwiched the two wayward post attempts and two consecutive misses from McKneely.
McKneely found redemption, getting his third jump shot to go in. A Beekman steal and his very own three-pointer ended the half on a rather good note, although the Cavaliers still found themselves trailing by six points in a 27-21 game.
The beginning of the second half didn’t offer anything new for the Cavaliers, as Beekman missed his first two shots and Minor missed one of his own before Rohde got another floater to go off the glass.
Virginia’s next points came nearly two minutes later, with Beekman sinking a pair of free throws. It seemed that the Cavaliers’ offense had found a second life, with sophomore forward Ryan Dunn knocking down a mid-range jump shot and graduate forward Jake Groves finding his first points of the night from behind the arc.
They were met with Wake Forest’s stifling defense once again, with a tremendous chase-down block from junior guard Cameron Hildreth on a Groves fast break layup bringing the crowd to its feet.
Beekman hit his second three-pointer of the night, and Dunn got his first points of the night on a layup not long after.The Cavaliers’ good looks at the basket were stripped of any importance by the sheer amount of misses, with Minor, Beekman and McKneely all missing shots after the Dunn layup.
A couple decent plays by Minor — a successful and-one opportunity off of his own steal and another crafty look from underneath the basket — gave Virginia the slightest hope of a late run but it died as quickly as it began.
The game ended with a final score of 66-47, cementing a third loss in Virginia’s first five ACC matchups. The Cavaliers have faced massive struggles away from the confines of John Paul Jones Arena, playing to a -13.3 point differential when visiting.
The Cavaliers will simply have to work their way through this rough patch if they want to have any chance at an ACC title or an NCAA Tournament bid. For Bennett and his squad, the search for the solution starts now. In the postgame press conference, he explained that despite the current struggles, the next few months of play provide a valuable learning opportunity for his team to adapt against adversity.
“Anybody can have a good culture and good team character and buy in when you’re successful,” Bennett said. “This is the time, when you’re struggling and getting humbled, will you have a good team culture? Will you show character? Will you show up on Monday and work as hard as you can?”
Virginia’s next game arrives Wednesday, with a high-stakes rivalry matchup against Virginia Tech at John Paul Jones Arena, broadcast at 7:00 p.m. on ESPNU.
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