National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Virginia 83, Wake Forest 75
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Where: Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Officials: # John Gaffney, # AJ Desai, # Tommy Morrissey
Attendance: 7851

Isaac McKneely scored 27 points and Virginia led most of the way in a surprising 83-75 Atlantic Coast Conference victory against Wake Forest on Wednesday night at Winston-Salem, N.C.

Dai Dai Ames notched 14 points, Andrew Rohde provided 13 points and reserve Jacob Cofie added 12 points for Virginia (14-14, 7-10 ACC), which snapped a two-game losing streak. McKneely made 10 of 14 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers.

Hunter Sallis racked up 25 points, Cameron Hildreth posted 22 points and Efton Reid III had 12 points and 10 rebounds for Wake Forest (19-9, 11-6), which repeatedly faltered on defense, negating much of the good from shooting 55.6 percent from the field.

But Virginia hit at 55.8 percent. The Cavaliers were 10 of 22 on 3-pointers.

It's the second ugly loss in a row for Wake Forest, which lost to struggling North Carolina State on Saturday. The Demon Deacons also dropped a home game this month to Florida State.

Wake Forest made a 10-1 run to cut its deficit to 66-64. Cofie made two free throws and McKneely scored five points in 62 seconds as part of Virginia's response.

The Cavaliers' lead grew to 79-68 on Taine Murray's putback with slightly more than two minutes to play.

It marked the second time in a matter of minutes that Virginia regained momentum.

Wake Forest pulled within 60-54 on Hildreth's basket. He was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Then Murray's 3-pointer and Ames' jumper pushed Virginia back to a double-digit lead with 9 1/2 minutes to play.

Virginia shot 63 percent (17-for-27) from the field in the first half to take a 44-33 advantage to the break. McKneely had three treys in the half -- one more than Wake Forest's total.

Sallis and Hildreth combined for 24 of the Demon Deacons' points in the first half.

Virginia improved to 4-6 in road games.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Virginia   Wake Forest
Isaac McKneely 27 Scoring Hunter Sallis 25
Isaac McKneely 5 Assists Efton Reid III 3
Elijah Saunders 6 Rebounds Efton Reid III 10
Jacob Cofie 8 Free Throws Made Hunter Sallis 4
Dai Dai Ames 2 Steals Cameron Hildreth 1
Jacob Cofie 1 Blocks Efton Reid III 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Virginia 83 55.8 10-22 15-20 16 23 1 8 8
Wake Forest 75 55.6 2-14 13-20 9 27 2 4 10