White's heroics help Wahoos win their fifth in a row
Still in search of finding his groove since returning from a fractured left hand that forced him to miss five games, it’s safe to say Jacari White found a little bit of the special sauce in Tallahassee on Tuesday night.
He scored a team-high 19 points off the bench, including a 5-for-9 showing from 3-point territory, to help No. 15 UVa come back to win at Florida State 61-58.
The Wahoos (21-3, 10-2 ACC) led for just 7:39 of the game, finally taking the advantage for good with an 11-2 run over the last 5:53.
On a night that otherwise felt like a likely loss, White’s shooting, a late transition dunk with 1:09 left to give his team its first lead in forever, and some timely rebounds helped Virginia win its fifth game in a row.
The Noles (11-13, 4-7) saw their three-game winning streak snapped despite getting 21 points from Lajae Jones and 20 points from Robert McCray, to say nothing of UVa turning it over 14 times.
After the game was tied 32-32 at the break, FSU built what felt like a solid lead, especially after UVa failed to take advantage after finally tying it up with 11:32 to play. Instead, the Seminoles stretched out a new lead and seemed poised for the upset.
But after making a pair of 3s and hitting a bucket in the lane over the course of three minutes and change, White finally got some help. Thijs De Ridder scored inside with 59 seconds left in what proved to be the final margin.
De Ridder finished with 9 points and 9 rebounds, while Sam Lewis also had 9 points, too.
The Noles, who shot just 29 percent from the floor and 18 from beyond the arc, couldn’t win despite leading for more than 27 minutes and getting 22 free throws (making 16). Despite its turnovers, UVa was got 32 points from its bench, outrebounded the Noles by 10, and stacked up 14 assists on 23 made baskets in the win.
