Mike Scott scored 18 points to help No. 19 Virginia hold off N.C. State 61-60 on Saturday night.
Joe Harris and Sammy Zeglinski each added 12 points. The Cavaliers (17-3, 4-2 ACC) shot 60 percent in the first half to take the lead but had to turn away the Wolfpack's second-half rally for the win.
Virginia led by 10 with about 61/2 minutes left before N.C. State (15-7, 4-3) pushed back.
Scott Wood shook off a game's worth of shooting struggles to bury a 3-pointer off a loose rebound, cutting the Wolfpack's deficit to 61-60 with 46.3 seconds to play.
Zeglinski then missed a step-back jumper with the shot clock winding down, giving the Wolfpack the ball and a chance to win.
But after a State timeout with 7.8 seconds left, Lorenzo Brown managed a desperate 3-point attempt that missed, ending the game.
C.J. Leslie scored 17 points to lead the Wolfpack, and Richard Howell had 11 points and a career-high 18 rebounds before fouling out with 1:47 left.
N.C. State shot just 40 percent but got back in it in the second half by holding Virginia to 4-for-18 shooting (22 percent).
N.C. State was coming off a 19-point loss at rival North Carolina on Thursday, a game in which it trailed by 31 in the second half. The loss threatened to drain some of the buzz that had built during State's run to a 4-1 ACC record, and Saturday night's game seemed to be a perfect opportunity to chase away the sting of that loss, against a ranked ACC opponent in front of a loud home crowd.
Instead, the Cavaliers won their fourth straight game against the Wolfpack.
Virginia played its third game without starting center Assane Sene, who is expected to be out six weeks after injuring his right ankle at Georgia Tech on Jan. 19.
Virginia lost at home to Virginia Tech in the first game without Sene, then rolled past Boston College on Thursday night.
After shooting 51 percent against BC, Virginia went 15-for-25 from the field and led by nine against State before settling for a 38-31 halftime lead.
N.C. State rallied and closed the gap to one midway through the second half but never could push ahead. The Cavaliers got some breathing room with an 8-0 run. Harris knocked down a 3-pointer during the surge, then ended it with two free throws that made it 55-45 with 6:31 left.
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