Isaac McKneely scored 27 points and Virginia led most of the way in a surprising 83-75 Atlantic Coast Conference victory against Wake Forest on Wednesday night at Winston-Salem, N.C.
Dai Dai Ames notched 14 points, Andrew Rohde provided 13 points and reserve Jacob Cofie added 12 points for Virginia (14-14, 7-10 ACC), which snapped a two-game losing streak. McKneely made 10 of 14 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers.
Hunter Sallis racked up 25 points, Cameron Hildreth posted 22 points and Efton Reid III had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Wake Forest (19-9, 11-6), which repeatedly faltered on defense, negating much of the good from shooting 55.6 percent from the field.
But Virginia hit at 55.8 percent. The Cavaliers were 10 of 22 on 3-pointers.
It’s the second ugly loss in a row for Wake Forest, which lost to struggling North Carolina State on Saturday. The Demon Deacons also dropped a home game this month to Florida State.
Wake Forest made a 10-1 run to cut its deficit to 66-64. Cofie made two free throws and McKneely scored five points in 62 seconds as part of Virginia’s response.
The Cavaliers’ lead grew to 79-68 on Taine Murray’s putback with slightly more than two minutes to play.
It marked the second time in a matter of minutes that Virginia regained momentum.
Wake Forest pulled within 60-54 on Hildreth’s basket. He was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Then Murray’s 3-pointer and Ames’ jumper pushed Virginia back to a double-digit lead with 9 1/2 minutes to play.
Virginia shot 63 percent (17-for-27) from the field in the first half to take a 44-33 advantage to the break. McKneely had three treys in the half — one more than Wake Forest’s total.
Sallis and Hildreth combined for 24 of the Demon Deacons’ points in the first half.
Virginia improved to 4-6 in road games.
–Field Level Media
