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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Pete Gillen took center stage after his Virginia Cavaliers held off No. 21 North Carolina on Tuesday
night.
The nail-biting 87-85 victory was the 300th in 15 years of
coaching for Gillen, who is in his second season trying to return
Virginia's program to national status. It was the importance of the
triumph, not the number, that Gillen wanted to celebrate.
"It's about our players. I'm thrilled for them. It's a great
victory, beating a Top 25 team. It was a step in the process,"
Gillen said. "It's special for our players and also for our
coaching staff, myself included."
The Cavaliers, who blew a 10-point lead in an overtime loss to Duke earlier this season and squandered most of a huge lead at
Clemson on Saturday, rallied this time to take control, then hung
on for dear life.
Chris Williams started the charge to the front, scoring six
straight points during a 13-4 run that gave Virginia a 61-55 lead,
and Donald Hand shook off an 0-for-10 start and got hot when the
Cavaliers needed him most down the stretch.
"I just wanted to maintain my confidence and knock down my shot if I was open," said Hand, whose first basket was a 3-pointer with 7:15 left. It gave Virginia a 68-60 lead and gave Hand the
confidence to keep shooting.
"The coaches were on me telling me to keep my follow through up and that's what I did when I hit that 3-pointer," he said. "Then it started rolling."
Hand scored 12 points in the final 7:15, again bailing Virginia
out after Tar Heels freshman Joseph Forte almost singlehandedly
brought them back with his own 8-2 run that trimmed a 79-72
Virginia lead to 81-80 with 1:15 remaining.
Hand converted a three-point play to boost the lead back to four with 42.2 seconds left, and Williams made two from the line with 28 seconds left to help the Cavaliers end a six-game losing streak
against the Tar Heels.
"Donald Hand didn't have his best game, but he stepped up for us and made the big three-point play when we were gasping for
air," Gillen said.
"They wanted to win, but we were desperate," Gillen said. "We had to win. I think we were a little more desperate. I thought our
guys just refused to lose."
Tar Heels coach Bill Guthridge said Hand made a difference.
"He's sensational. He could play running back in football,"
Guthridge said. "He can go full speed straight ahead, then go
sideways at the same speed."
Virginia (12-5, 3-2 ACC) won despite allowing North Carolina to shoot 58.6 percent from the field while outrebounding the Cavaliers 433-30. But Virginia turned 21 turnovers into 29 points while giving it away just seven times.
North Carolina (11-7, 2-2) lost its third straight.
Williams led Virginia with 24 points and Travis Watson added 17.
Forte, whose only 3-pointers in five tries came during the late 8-2 surge, paced North Carolina with 27 points and added 11
rebounds and five assists. Brendan Haywood added 20 and 12 rebounds and Jason Capel had 17 points.
The end of the game was delayed when a horn sounded and hundreds of Virginia fans, thinking the game was over, poured onto the court with three-tenths of a second left as balloons were released to
celebrate Gillen's milestone. The court eventually was cleared and
the game ended with fans rimming the baselines.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
North Carolina Clubhouse
Virginia Clubhouse
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