Mike Scott leads No. 16 UVA past Clemson 65-61
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Mike Scott scored 23 points, including four free throws over the final 16.8 seconds, and had 10 rebounds as No. 16 Virginia rallied and then hung on to beat Clemson 65-61 on Tuesday night.
Joe Harris added 19 points for Virginia (18-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), which used a 19-3 second-half run to take command. The Cavaliers reached 18 victories before the end of January for the first time since 1981-82.
Devin Booker scored 16 points and Tanner Smith had 14 for the Tigers (11-10, 3-4), who were without starting forward Milton Jennings after he was suspended for academic reasons on Monday. The Tigers were within 61-58 and had the ball when they called a timeout with 20.6 seconds to play. They inbounded to Andre Young, who quickly launched a 3-pointer that missed. Scott rebounded, was fouled and made both.
The Tigers led 35-30 early in the second half before Harris and Sammy Zeglinski hit consecutive 3-pointers to put Virginia ahead. The shots were the start of an 11-0 run before Booker hit a 3-pointer for the Tigers. The Cavaliers then added eight straight points to open a 49-38 lead.
The Cavaliers made 8 of their first 9 shots in the second half, including three 3s by Harris and one by Zeglinski.
Harris matched his career high with five 3-pointers and missed only once from beyond the arc. Virginia shot 56 percent against the league’s second-stingiest defense, which arrived allowing just 59.7 points per game, but it still came down to the final minute.
Trailing 57-49 with 5 minutes left, the Tigers got seven points from Booker in a 9-4 run to get within 61-58. .
Early on, the Tigers hardly missed Jennings and his 8.9 scoring average. Seven-foot-2 Catalin Baciu scored six points in the first half, exceeding his 4.2 average, and K.J. McDaniels had four, above his average of 3.1 But neither scored in the second half..
The first half was tight throughout with the lead changing hands 15 times and neither team leading by more than four.
The first 8:28 was up-and-down offense, with Virginia hitting 7 of its first 9 shots, and Clemson 6 of 9.