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 Anderson scored all nine of his points in the final 3:27 and
Harris hit two crucial 3-pointers as the 14th-ranked Cavaliers
escaped Cassell Coliseum with a 57-53 win over the Virginia Tech
Hokies on Tuesday night.
The victory gave Virginia (22-5, 13-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) a
school-record seven ACC road wins and a fifth consecutive victory
over its in-state rival.
"I feel like we stole one," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "That
was just one of those games, you just had to gut it out."
Anderson, who was shooting 22 percent in ACC play entering the game,
did not hesitate to take the big shot.
"I got a couple of good looks there at the end," Anderson said. "I
appreciate my teammates dearly for having the faith to get it to me
in a spot to score. I'm just happy to do it for this team in
particular."
Guard Malcolm Brogdon, despite a poor shooting night from the field,
led all Cavaliers with 12 points. Point guard London Perrantes was
the only other Virginia player in double figures with 11.
Virginia Tech (9-16, 2-11), coming off just its second ACC win of
the season on Saturday over Miami, carried that momentum into the
game against the Cavaliers. The Hokies led for 26:15 and responded
to nearly every Virginia run with a big basket before coming up
short at the end.
Center Joey Van Zegeren and guard Devin Wilson each scored 13 points
for the Hokies.
After taking a 28-21 lead into the locker room at halftime, Tech
opened the second half with an emphatic dunk from Van Zegeren,
igniting an already raucous home crowd.
"I felt good throughout the entire game," Hokies coach James Johnson
said. "I thought the guys coming off a win ... we were playing with
a little confidence."
The Cavaliers answered, though, rattling off six consecutive points
to make it a three-point affair and signaling that maybe they had
emerged from the fog.
Tech responded with another 10-2 run to take a 40-29 lead and
seemingly had the Cavaliers on the ropes. Unfortunately for the
Hokies, they simply could not shut the door for good. Virginia
slowly chipped away.
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Tech guard Ben Emelogu drilled a deep 3-pointer to put the Hokies up
by eight. Brogdon and Harris counterpunched with consecutive 3s of
their own to make the score 43-41.
Nearly six minutes later, the two teams had combined for only four
points. Trailing 46-42, the Cavaliers utilized another tandem of
3-pointers from Harris and Anderson to take the lead for good. It
was Virginia's first lead since the 11:25 mark in the first half.
"We played well enough to win that game," Johnson said. "Against a
good team, you have to play 40-plus minutes; whatever it takes. ...
I told the guys we should've had that one."
For the sixth consecutive game, the Hokies played almost exclusively
zone defense. Johnson made the switch after a rash of injuries
caused a lack of depth.
Perrantes took full advantage early on, busting the zone by knocking
down two early 3-pointers to push the Cavaliers to an early 8-2
lead.
Perrantes led Virginia with six first-half points. Forward Akil
Mitchell had five points and six rebounds before the break.
The Hokies, however, responded in kind on the offensive end. Wilson
sparked a 20-6 run, including a 9-0 stretch during which Virginia
went 5:55 without a basket.
Wilson finished the half leading all scorers with seven points.
During one stretch, Virginia missed nine consecutive 3-pointers, and
it finished 3-for-13 from long range in the half.
Brogdon's 3-pointer as time expired was Virginia's only field goal
in the final 4:59 of the half.
NOTES: Virginia has clinched a third consecutive winning season in
ACC play for the first time since 1981-83. The Cavaliers also
secured their third consecutive 20-win season for the first time
since 1991-93. ... Virginia leads the series 86-53 after Tuesday
night's win. ... The Cavaliers head home to host Notre Dame on
Saturday. ... The Hokies play host to North Carolina State on
Saturday.
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