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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) -- Julius Hodge was 5 years old the
last time North Carolina State won a game at University Hall. Since
then the Wolfpack had made 13 trips here, and each time went home
losers.
On Saturday, the freshman scored 21 points on near-perfect
shooting and Anthony Grundy added 19 and two big defensive plays as
the Wolfpack ended the streak with an 81-74 victory against No. 4
Virginia.
"We're underrated, and if we play together at the end of the
game, guys are going to make big plays and we're going to win,"
Hodge said.
Hodge's attitude is part of a new atmosphere in State's program,
Grundy said, and one coach Herb Sendek might have been playing off
this week when he reminded the team of the record at Virginia.
"I think it really got to the older guys because we've had to
deal with it the most," Grundy said. "But the younger guys, they
bring a different energy and haven't really been under the fire
like that. They haven't had the losses, so it was a different
attitude."
The Wolfpack (11-3, 1-1 ACC) led almost throughout, and
responded both times Virginia threatened to take over. In the first
half, a 12-3 run gave the Cavaliers (9-1, 0-1) a 31-27 lead, and
North Carolina State went on a 21-6 burst, getting 10 points from
freshman Illian Evtimov.
Then, when Chris Williams' baseline turnaround pulled the
Cavaliers to 65-64 with 9:57 left, the Wolfpack got a steal and
layup from Grundy, another steal and a short basket by Clifford
Crawford and a putpack by Grundy to open a 71-64 lead with 7:20 to
play. The Cavaliers, meantime, went without a basket for 7:42 and
never got closer than four points again.
The loss also ended Virginia's 13-game home winning streak, and
left coach Pete Gillen with an I-told-you-so tone for his cocky
team.
"We were able to escape some nonconference games where we had a
big deficit, and you just can't keep doing that," he said. "I
don't know if our guys just think that they can turn it on and
off."
This time, they never really turned it on and the youthful
Wolfpack never slowed down, turning 16 turnovers into 24 points,
playing rugged defense in close and hitting 11 3-pointers, all in
the first 32½ minutes.
"It's definitely a different N.C. State team from last year,"
said Virginia point guard Roger Mason Jr., who scored 18 points but
connected on only five of 18 shots. "They have a lot of great
shooters and they spread you out and try to expose you defensively
by getting open threes."
Hodge hit his first seven shots, including three 3-pointers, and
Evtimov, another freshman, was 3-for-3 from behind the line. He
also had a four-point play to tie it at 31 after the Cavaliers'
12-3 first-half run.
It was the Wolfpack's third victory here in the last 25 games.
Travis Watson led Virginia with 20 points and 13 rebounds, and
Williams added 18 points, hitting two 3-pointers in the closing
minute.
The Cavaliers didn't get a point from their reserves until Elton
Brown's jumper with 12:09 left and were outscored off the bench
23-5. | 
