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J.R. Reynolds scored 24 points in the second half to help UVa fend off N.C. State. |
When the television camera flashed to Dave Leitao in the closing moments of Wednesday night’s 71-58 road win at N.C. State, he appeared to have a sly smile on his face with a glint in his eye.
And why not?
Thanks to another outstanding night from guards J.R. Reynolds and Sean Singletary , the Cavaliers picked up just the second ACC road victory of Leitao’s brief tenure. Time will tell if the win ditches the proverbial monkey on the Hoos’ back for good, but for one night the Cavs celebrated away from Charlottesville.
Of course, Leitao didn’t really think there was a Bonzo hanging on Virginia’s back to begin with.
“You all make much more of that than I even care to think about, quite honestly,” UVa coach Dave Leitao said during his postgame press conference with the media. “You need some pretty good ingredients to win and win consistently on the road. We’re a year and a half in here and we’re short-handed in some areas that aren’t going to allow us to win in hostile environments [all the time]. It’s as simple as that. But in a building like this, and they were ready to beat us, we were stable enough defensively and just had [enough offense] that we could throw at them to help us win.”
For the second straight game, Reynolds had a smoking hot hand from the perimeter, especially in the second half. That propelled him to a 24 points after intermission, which nearly surpassed what the Hoos scored in the first half (26).
But more impressive than the total points in the second half were the “when” and “how” for Reynolds. During one stretch, he scored 20 of 22 points for UVa. He hit several tough shots and buried three 3-pointers as he took over the game at the offensive end when the Hoos needed it most. After a 12-point lead dwindled to one at 42-41, that’s when the Cavaliers’ senior guard put the offensive load on his shoulders.
Reynolds, who added 6 rebounds and 3 assists as well, hit two fade-away jumpers over defenders during the stretch and knocked down the trifectas despite contesting defenders.
“I don’t know, I can’t explain it,” Reynolds told the Virginia Sports Network after the game. “We needed it and I knew we needed it so I was going to take the shots. I tried my best to put the team on my back and carry it.”
The electrifying outing followed his dynamite showing on Sunday when Reynolds dropped 40 points on Wake Forest. Of course, that meant the encore simply couldn’t live up to the weekend showing, right? Wrong. There was at least one person who thought Reynolds was better in this game – his coach.
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Sean Singletary had 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. |
“He responded very well obviously and made some big shots with guys draped all over him,” Leitao said. “I never thought after a 40-point performance that I could say that he came back better, but his 29 today was better than the 40 in the last game.”
Singletary made sure his backcourt mate had plenty of help, particularly in the first half. The Cav point guard scored 15 points before intermission as he kept the offense afloat. He finished with 27 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists.
“He had it going in the first half,” Reynolds said. “He was making every shot and he did a good job of keeping us in the game.”
The offensive showcase from the guards provided enough firepower as the Cavaliers locked down NCSU on defense. The Wolfpack shot just 31 percent from the field for the game. Forward Jason Cain played a key role on that end of the floor as he provided solid helpside defense, took a charge, and controlled the glass. In the end, Cain recorded five points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
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