No. 5 Virginia survives No. 12 UNC Wilmington in First-Round, 76-71

By MARK LONG THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

9 years ago

UNC Wilmington forward Devontae Cacok (15) goes up for a shot against Virginia during the first half of a first-round men’s college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 16, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. (Gary McCullough/AP)

Virginia guard London Perrantes (32) goes up for a shot against Devontae Cacok (15) during the second half of a first-round men’s college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 16, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. Virginia defeated UNC Wilmington 76-71. (Gary McCullough/AP)

Virginia guard Marial Shayok (4) goes up for a shot against UNC Wilmington guard Chris Flemmings during the first half of a first-round men’s college basketball game in the NCAA Tournament, Thursday, March 16, 2017, in Orlando, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

Virginia guard London Perrantes, right, passes past UNC Wilmington guard C.J. Bryce during the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Orlando, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

UNC Wilmington guard Jordon Talley (4) looks for an opening past Virginia guard Ty Jerome (11) during the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 16, 2017 in Orlando, Fla. (Wilfredo Lee/AP)

ORLANDO, Fla. — London Perrantes scored 24 points, Marial Shayok added a career-high 23 off the bench and No. 5 seed Virginia rallied from 15 points down to beat 12th-seeded UNC Wilmington 76-71 in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday.

Perrantes scored 19 points in the second half as the Cavaliers (23-10) got their slow-paced offense going. His biggest bucket was a driving bank shot with 1:37 remaining, which put the Cavs up 71-66.

UNCW (29-6) wouldn’t go away, though. Chris Flemmings drained a 3-pointer from the elbow and then Devontae Cacok hit a layup to make it 73-71 with less than a minute to play. But Shayok answered on the other end, banking in a runner that gave the Cavs some breathing room in the closing seconds.

Virginia advanced past the first round for the fourth consecutive year and won as a No. 5 seed for the first time in four tries. The Cavs can thank Perrantes and Shayok for making it happen.