2002 ACC Tournament on TheACC.com | All ACCess

March 8, 2002

By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - If Virginia doesn't make the NCAA tournament it can look no further than its games against North Carolina State for the reason.

Anthony Grundy scored a career-high 32 points as the Wolfpack beat the Cavaliers 92-72 in the Atlantic Coast Conference quarterfinals Friday and swept the three meetings between the teams this season.

The Wolfpack (21-9) had its best outside shooting game of the season and one of the best long-range displays in ACC tournament history, making its first eight 3-pointers of the second half and 13-of-18 overall.

Archie Miller had 16 points - all in the second half - and Ilian Evtimov added 15 as the Wolfpack shot 60 percent and set its ACC tournament record for 3-pointers in a game. N.C. State had 12 two previous times.

Fifth-seeded Virginia (17-11) hasn't won an ACC postseason game since 1995, dropping its seventh straight as coach Pete Gillen fell to 0-4.

N.C. State, the fourth seed, advanced to play top-seeded Maryland in the semifinals. The Terrapins beat Florida State 85-59 earlier in the day.

While Grundy was N.C. State's best overall player again, it was the shooting of Miller and Evtimov that pushed the Wolfpack over the top in the second half.

Miller made three straight 3-pointers in the opening 3:59, while Evtimov made three over a 6{-minute span.

Then Grundy's shot behind the arc with 6:44 left gave N.C. State a 73-60 advantage and forced yet another timeout from Gillen, who used several stoppages to try to cool off the Wolfpack.

The Cavaliers started 9-0 and were ranked as high as fourth on Dec. 31, but a home loss to the Wolfpack in their ACC opener started a slide that covered the final 2{ months of the regular season.

Virginia also lost to N.C. State 85-68 a month ago in Raleigh and after starting 14-2, went 3-9 down the stretch to make its NCAA situation tenuous.

Roger Mason Jr. led the Cavaliers with 24 points, but Virginia had to play a crucial portion of the second half with Travis Watson, who led the ACC with 16 double-doubles.

Watson went to the bench with his fourth foul with 16:48 left and Virginia down by six. He returned seven minutes later and his team trailed by 11. He then turned it over twice to help N.C. State build a 13-point cushion.

Grundy, who was 11-for-16 from the field, and the Wolfpack started slowly with the senior missing his first two shots and N.C. State falling into a quick seven-point hole.

But Grundy got hot later in the half after 11 lead changes, making seven straight shots. He scored nine points over the final 7:01 as the Wolfpack grabbed a 42-35 lead at the break.