March 3, 2026; Charlottesville, Virginia, USA; Virginia Cavaliers forward Tis De Ridder (28) shoots the ball while Wake Forest Demon Deacons guard Isaac Carr (7) defends during the first half at John Paul Jones Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Image Thijs De Ridder scored 16 points and led No. 13 Virginia to a 75-70 victory over Wake Forest in an Atlantic Coast Conference win Tuesday night in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The Cavaliers (26-4, 14-3 ACC) never trailed and earned the No. 2 seed and a double-bye in next week’s ACC Tournament in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are 15-1 at home heading into Saturday’s regular season finale against visiting Virginia Tech.
Jacari White added 14 points and Johann Grunloh had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks for Virginia. Malik Thomas added 11 points and Dallin Hall had 10.
The Demon Deacons (15-15, 6-11) have lost three of their last four games and are 0-7 against ranked opponents. Mekhi Mason scored a season-high 26 points, Juke Harris added 21 points and Sebastian Akins added 10 points.
Virginia took a double-digit lead, 37-26, on Hall’s 3-pointer early in the second half.
Every time Wake Forest turned it into a two-possession game, the Cavaliers found an answer.
After Mason’s 3-pointer cut Virginia’s lead to 56-50 with 6:31 left, Hall immediately responded with a 3-pointer.
Mason knocked down another trey to make it 59-53, and Thomas answered with a transition 3-pointer.
The Demon Deacons fell behind 68-62 on a layup by Harris with 2:02 left, but Thomas struck back with another 3-pointer.
Mason’s 3-point play moved Wake Forest within 71-67 with 25 seconds left. Chance Mallory missed the front end on Virginia’s first-and-1 with 21 seconds left, but Harris missed a 3-pointer on the other end and Hall sank two free throws for a 73-67 lead.
Akins buried a late triple for Wake Forest to make it 73-70, and Hall canned two free throws with just over 4 seconds left in the final margin.
The win gave the Cavaliers a 73-72 lead in the all-time series, which began in 1910-11.
Virginia led 32-24 at halftime despite missing 14 of 17 3-point attempts. Wake Forest shot just 23.3% (7 of 30) from the field in the first half.
–Field level media
