Virginia holds off Virginia Tech for key ACC win

BLACKSBURG -- Has anybody been more under the gun from Virginia fans this season than guards Jontel Evans and Sammy Zeglinski? The common gripes being that Evans doesn’t shoot very well and Zeglinski, well, he’s just too streaky.

On Tuesday night, the Cavaliers’ backcourt tandem came up big when it mattered most as No. 25 Virginia got revenge on Virginia Tech, downing its biggest rival, 61-59, in front of a crowd of 9,656 at Cassell Coliseum.

Evans and Zeglinski each scored 13 points, giving UVa leading scorer Mike Scott - who had 20 points and nine rebounds - some much-needed offensive support.

With the win, Virginia (21-6, 8-5) put itself in a good spot to qualify for its first NCAA Tournament in five seasons if it can win one or two more games.

“We’ve got a saying, ‘Blinders on and one game at a time,’” said Virginia coach Tony Bennett, when asked about the postseason. “When the horses run races they put blinders on them so they’re not looking to the horses to the left or right.”

With 3 minutes left in the game, Evans was certainly zeroed in. As the shot clock was running down, he hit a 3-point bank shot that put Virginia up by eight.

“I was watching Kemba Walker highlights when he just threw it up against Texas [last season],” Evans said. “It kind of felt like the same thing when I hit it. All I could do was smile.”

Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg certainly wasn’t.

“Jontel’s shot obviously became a huge factor,” Greenberg said. “I don’t know if it counted or not. I was a little disappointed they didn’t check a [replay] monitor.”

Evans fouled out of the game with 2:02 remaining and Zeglinski did the same 30 seconds later, but their contributions paved the way for the win.

“I wasn’t feeling really confident if the game went into overtime,” Bennett said, “just because...you have to have primary ballhandlers on the floor.”

With less than 10 seconds left, Tech (15-13, 4-9) had a chance to tie the game or take the lead on a 3-pointer but a pass from freshman Dorian Finney-Smith was stolen by Virginia freshman Malcolm Brogdon. Brogdon missed the front end of a one-and one before Dorenzo Hudson’s last gasp length-of-the-court shot at the buzzer.

“We were leaking oil at the end,” said Bennett, whose team hosts North Carolina Saturday. “But we hung tough enough and came away with a hard-fought victory.”

Early in the second half, a highlight reel tomahawk dunk by Akil Mitchell tied the game at 37 before Tech -- thanks to two Eric Green 3-pointers -- went on a 10-2 run to take a 47-39 lead with 14:46 remaining.

However, Virginia went on an 14-0 run in which Zeglinski and Evans scored 11 of the points.

“Jontel gave us a great spark,” Bennett said. “He really was our engine. He got the guys fired up, you could see it. He put the pressure on them that I thought made a difference.”

Zeglinski hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 49, then Evans scored on a strong drive to the basket and Zeglinski followed with a steal and layup to make it 53-49.

Scott gave Virginia a seven-point lead after he scored in the post on Cadarian Raines for a 3-point play with 4:49 left.

Tech finally stopped the bleeding when Robert Brown knocked down two free throws to trim the lead to 56-51 with 4:35 left. 

But with 43 seconds to play, freshman

Paul Jesperson -- who was only in the game because Zeglinski and Evans had fouled out -- scored a huge basket off an offensive rebound to put Virginia up 61-55.

In the first half, Virginia followed its usual formula -- scoring from Scott and whatever it could get from anybody else.

Scott scored eight of Virginia’s first 10 points.

The Cavaliers took a 15-13 lead when Jesperson drilled a 3-pointer from the wing off nice penetration from Zeglinski.

But Tech responded with four straight 3-pointers -- two from freshman guard Marquis Rankin -- to take a 27-21 lead. The Hokies went up 29-21 when Brown, another freshman, found Raines for a dunk off a pick and roll.

Early in the second half, it looked like Tech might be on its way to sweeping the season series, but Scott said Virginia wasn’t having any of that.

“It was my last trip here,” Scott said, “so we just had to come out with a win.

“When it was all said and done we got defensive stops and came out with a win.”

Dunks

Brogdon played only 13 minutes due to a bothersome foot...Virginia shot 60 percent from the field and held Tech to 45 percent shooting...The Cavaliers outrebounded the Hokies, 24-21...Jesperson scored a career-high seven points.