After a close first half, Virginia fell well behind NC State (11-3, 3-0 ACC) in the opening minutes of the second half Saturday afternoon. The Cavaliers (11-4, 2-2 ACC) suffered from poor bench play, shooting 3-15 in the contest compared to the Wolfpack’s bench shooting 9-14. Saturday’s result is Virginia’s fourth loss of the season, all of which have been by double digits.
Both teams got off to slow starts on offense. Yet just less than five minutes into the game, sophomore guard Ryan Dunn finished one of his trademark dunks through contact for an and-one opportunity. Despite missing the free throw, the Cavaliers led 5-4.
Graduate student guard Michael O’Connell responded with a three-pointer, jumpstarting the Wolfpack’s offense and ending their three-minute drought from the field. The Wolfpack made five more three-pointers than the Cavaliers Saturday, three of which came from freshman guard Dennis Parker Jr. — a Richmond native who did not receive an offer to play for Virginia despite his status as a four-star recruit. With the shot clock expiring, the freshman heaved a logo three-pointer that hit nylon with 7:17 left in the half.
The Cavaliers’ 19-18 lead quickly faded. After trading buckets, the Wolfpack went on a 12-3 run to retake the lead. Although senior guard Reece Beekman made the final field goal of the half, NC State still led by seven going into the break.
In the first half, Virginia shot 40.7 percent from the field and only connected on one of eight three-point attempts, while their opponents shot 50 percent from the field and made five of 15 three-point attempts. The underwhelming offensive start was reminiscent of past Virginia losses, such as this season’s loss to Notre Dame when the Cavaliers made one three-pointer in the first half.
Despite the slow start, Virginia only trailed by seven coming out of the locker room. However, this lead quickly grew as the Wolfpack went on a 14-4 run to open the second half.
Parker started the ambush from NC State, scoring the second half’s first six points. Sophomore guard Isaac McKneely countered with a pair of free throws, but the Wolfpack caught fire. With 14:53 left in the contest, Parker finished a layup around Dunn —- who committed a foul after the made basket to allow an old-school three-point play, extending the lead to 17.
Beekman tried to respond to Parker’s hot start by facilitating. Dunn finished a pass from Beekman, and McKneely splashed a three-pointer assisted by the senior minutes later. Beekman finished with 10 assists on the day, but the Cavaliers still trailed by 14 with 13:26 remaining.
Virginia continued its improved offensive performance in the second half, but it was too little too late. McKneely connected on two more three-pointers and Dunn hit one of his own with five minutes remaining, but only to bring the deficit under 20.
Beekman, Dunn and McKneely all totaled more than 30 minutes and double-digit points Saturday. A repeating theme this year, Virginia struggled to find other offensive options outside of their three stars. The Cavaliers’ best offensive option from the bench was graduate student forward Jordan Minor, who picked up two dunks in the game’s final moments. The rest of the bench was a combined one for 13 from the field.
The Wolfpack’s lead hovered between 15 and 20 points in the final minutes with the final score being 76-60. Low scoring totals have been common in Coach Tony Bennett’s tenure, especially this season as the Cavaliers have the second worst scoring offense in the ACC. But beyond just points per game, the Cavaliers are the worst free throw shooting team in the ACC and collect the third least offensive rebounds per game.
With redshirt junior guard Dante Harris’s return unknown, the Cavaliers must find new ways to spark their offense. Despite the NBA-level passing from Beekman and sharpshooting from McKneely, Virginia’s blowout losses this season are signs that the current offense lacks the pieces to keep up with high-scoring foes. The squad has often struggled to fight back when facing adversity.
“When we got down, we got a little rattled and tried to get it back too quick,” Bennett said. “I think that composure and inexperience at times is all of a sudden what separates it.”
As the Cavaliers continue to whittle their inexperience away, another tough ACC road game awaits. Virginia will look to get back above .500 in the conference play on the road against Wake Forest Jan. 13, which will be streamed on ESPN2.
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