CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Reece Beekman scored 20 points and No. 21 Virginia overcame poor free-throw shooting to beat Wake Forest 49-47 on Saturday.
The Cavaliers (20-6, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got 12 points from Isaac McKneely. He scored their only made free throw on their 11th and final attempt. Ryan Dunn added six points, nine rebounds and seven of Virginia’s 13 blocks.
Hunter Sallis led the Demon Deacons (16-9, 8-6) with 12 points and Efton Reid III scored 10. Wake Forest was denied a season sweep of the Cavaliers.
Sallis came in averaging 18.7 points and scored 21 when the Demon Deacon beat Virginia 66-47 in Winston-Salem on Jan. 13, but Beekman held him in check.
“I thought Reese had a heck of a game and we matched him up,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “We just tried to make him earn because he’s such a prolific scorer, and he did torch us last time we were there.”
The defensive battle featured long scoreless stretches for both teams.
The Cavaliers used a 10-2 run to open their largest lead at 41-34 with 9:14 left, but then went scoreless for nearly four minutes as the Deacons closed to within 41-39.
Virginia’s Blake Buchanan (0) celebrates after dunking the ball during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against Wake Forest Saturday, Feb. 17, 2024 in Charlottesville, Va. Credit: AP/Mike Kropf
It was 43-42 when Beekman fed McKneely in the corner for his only 3-pointer of the game, stretching the lead to 46-42, but both teams failed to score for more than 2 1/2 minutes before Cameron Hildreth’s powerful layup pulled the Deacons to within 46-44 with 1:07 to play.
Blake Buchanan’s putback with 39.6 seconds left doubled the Cavaliers’ lead, but he missed an ensuing free throw. Virginia secured the rebound and Dunn was fouled, but he then missed the front end of a one-and-one. Beekman and McKneely later missed from the line, leaving the Cavaliers 0-for-10 before McKneely made the second of a pair with 6.7 seconds left to…
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