Cavs gallop past Pack

N.C. State hits its 'low point'

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. -- A few questions begged to be asked Sunday after N.C. State's miserable 78-60 loss at Virginia.

Was it the low point of the season for the Pack? After all, the Cavaliers are the ACC's last-place team.

"Yeah, it's a very low point," State forward Brandon Costner said.

How did it happen?

"I can't explain it," Costner said. "I'm as puzzled as you are."

Finally, after five straight ACC losses, has the Wolfpack forgotten how to win?

"It may seem like it but we're still trying to," junior forward Ben McCauley said. "We're definitely trying to.

"I don't think we've forgotten how to win [but] I think we're kind of one step behind. We're almost there."

That may be debatable. The Pack (15-12, 4-9 ACC) was a furlong or two behind the Cavs (13-12, 3-9) in the first half at John Paul Jones Arena.

Virginia, the ACC's worst shooting team, shot almost 55 percent from the field in that half. The Cavs had almost twice as many steals (11) as State had field goals (six), and turned 17 Pack turnovers into 17 points.

"Our hands were all over the place," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.

The Pack -- after a 20-minute funk filled with careless, sloppy play, after shooting 6-for-22 from the field, after having the ball stolen 11 times -- went to the locker room down 38-18. Even in a season when State has had some dreadful halves of basketball, it may have been the worst.

"We did not take care of the ball and [Virginia] was very aggressive," NCSU coach Sidney Lowe said. "They were playing very good defense, aggressive and active."

Sean Singletary was good, aggressive and active. The Cavs' senior point guard helped himself to the ball a few times against State guards Javi Gonzalez and Marques Johnson as if he was saying, "Excuse me, I'll have that."

Singletary, always on the move, looking to attack, had 13 of his game-high 21 points in the first half and six of his seven steals. When he wasn't scoring, he would simply dribble through the Pack defense and whip out passes to open shooters, which led to his six assists.

"He puts pressure on you all game," said Costner, who led the Pack with 14 points.

The Cavs kept pressure on State center J.J. Hickson. Virginia used its big bruisers -- 6-foot-9, 250-pound Ryan Pettinella or 6-8, 246-pound Laurynas Mikalauskas -- to be physical with the freshman and keep him away from the basket, then double-teamed him if Hickson did get the ball.

"They trapped him, they came down on him, they were sinking in on him," Lowe said.

Hickson did not score in the first half, going 0-for-5 from the field with three turnovers. He finished with seven points.

"He's a load," Leitao said. "To keep him off-balance is a credit to our team defense."

Virginia's biggest lead was 50-23 with 14:41 left. State responded with a 10-0 run, and with 8:15 to play had trimmed the Cavs' lead to 56-42 and had Trevor Ferguson at the foul line to shoot a one-and-one.

But Ferguson, who scored a career-high 11 points, missed the front-end. Singletary then penetrated and kicked the ball out to guard Calvin Baker for an open 3-pointer, and with a 59-42 cushion, the Wahoos coasted in.

"We missed the front-end of the one-and-one -- that's one thing," Lowe said. "But then to come down and leave a shooter when we're not supposed to, that's another thing."

Virginia had not played in a week, since ending a seven-game skid with a victory at Boston College. Its game Thursday at Georgia Tech was "rained out" because of a leaky roof at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

The Cavs shot just 39.3 percent in the second half. But State's 25 turnovers in the game -- the Cavs had 16 steals -- resulted in 25 Virginia points while the Pack managed just two points off UVa's nine turnovers.

State has three games remaining in the regular season -- at home this week against Florida State and Duke, then at Wake Forest. And there's still some optimism about reaching the NCAA Tournament.

"We have to win these last three games and do very well in the ACC Tournament," McCauley said. "If not win it, get to the finals and hope for the best. But we can't think about the ACC Tournament right now. We got to win these last three games."