No. 1 Virginia Survives Second
RALEIGH, N.C. - It took the Virginia Cavaliers 31 years to earn a No. 1 seed in the N.C.A.A. tournament. In 40 minutes, they very nearly blew it.
Virginia survived a scare from Coastal Carolina, pulling away for a 70-59 victory at PNC Arena on Friday night that was a lot more nerve-racking than the final score might indicate. The Cavaliers advance to a Sunday game against eighth-seeded Memphis.
The Cavaliers (29-6) rallied from a 35-30 halftime deficit, but Coastal Carolina, the No. 16 seed in the East Region, made it a nail-biter. The Chanticleers tied the score at 47-47 with 8 minutes 52 seconds remaining on a 3-pointer by Elijah Wilson.
Virginia responded with 6 straight points to pull ahead, 53-47, on free throws by London Perrantes and an unexpected baseline 3-pointer from the reserve Evan Nolte with 7:53 left. The Cavaliers extended the lead to 56-48 on another 3 from Nolte with 7:11 to play.
A layup by Anthony Gill pushed the lead to 60-50 with 5:00 remaining, and Virginia held from there.
Gill had 17 points to lead four Virginia players in double figures. Badou Diagne had 14 to lead Coastal Carolina (21-13), a Big South Conference team that was hardly out of its league against the Atlantic Coast Conference champion.
Coastal Carolina stayed close early and, perhaps gaining confidence, pulled away late in the first half. The Chanticleers actually had a 10-point lead on the Cavaliers in the first half, at 31-21, before Virginia clawed back.
Coastal Carolina shot 52 percent from the field in the first half, including 50 percent from 3-point range. And the mark was 62 percent before the Chanticleers missed their final two attempts. But that could not last against a Virginia team that was ranked No. 1 in scoring defense in the country. Coastal Carolina shot 8 of 25 in the second half (32 percent) - not enough to stay with the Cavaliers.
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