CHARLOTTESVILLE — Malcom Brogdon scored 12 of his 21 points in the final 5:45 and No. 13 Virginia held off a 3-point barrage to beat Syracuse, 73-65, on Sunday night and end their three-game winning streak.
Anthony Gill and London Perrantes each added 16 points each for the Cavaliers (15-4, 4-3 ACC), who squandered all of a 10-point second-half lead, then rallied behind shooting and defense.
Michael Gbinije scored 24 points and Malachi Richardson had 23 for the Orange (13-8, 3-5 ACC). Gbinije had 19 after halftime, including five 3-pointers, and Richardson hit six 3-pointers in all to help keep the Orange in the game. Syracuse made 13 of 30 3-point attempts.
Two free throws by Devon Hall and consecutive wide open 3-pointers from Brogdon led a 10-4 run that gave the Cavaliers a 55-48 lead. Richardson hit his fifth 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, and after Hall’s driving basket for Virginia, Trevor Cooney got loose for a long 3-pointer to pull the Orange to 57-54 with 3:40 remaining.
Perrantes answered with 3-pointer for Virginia, and Gbinije hit again from behind the line with 2:12 to go.
Perrantes then scored on a drive, the Orange turned it over and Gill’s basket made it 64-57.
Syracuse made it interesting one more time, getting within 68-65 after consecutive 3-pointers by Gbinije and Richardson in the final minute, but Brogdon made a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game and the Orange never scored again.
Earlier, Virginia pushed its lead to 45-35 with just under 14 minutes left on a basket by Isaiah Wilkins, but Gbinije hit a pair of free throws and his third 3-pointer, giving him Syracuse’s first 11 points since the intermission. The points also sparked a 12-2 run that pulled the Orange even at 47-47 on Tyler Roberson’s putback.
The scrore was tied at 25-25 until Brogdon’s foul-line jumper sparked a 12-4 run to end the half. Perrantes followed the basket with a pair of 3-pointers and Gill scored twice inside to make it 37-29 at the half.
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