Virginia pull away for win over Wake Forest

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA - Travis Watson had 20 points and 17 rebounds and Roger Mason Jr. scored 25 points Tuesday night, helping to rally No. 10 Virginia to an 86-74 victory over No. 14 Wake Forest. <br> <br> The Cavaliers (11-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), hit nine of their first 10 shots to open the second half, using a 24-14 run to open a 65-53 lead. Mason started the half with one of his seven 3-pointers, and Watson finished it with the second of his three three-point plays, all in the second half. <br> <br> Wake Forest (13-4, 3-1), seeking its fifth consecutive ACC road victory dating to last season, couldn&#39;t contend with the barrage of three-point trips for the Cavaliers. Virginia hit four 3-pointers and had three three-point plays in the first 11:18 of the second half alone. <br> <br> Watson had 14 points in the second half, Mason 11. <br> <br> The Cavaliers led 77-63 after Mason&#39;s last 3-pointer with 4:21 to go, but the Demon Deacons scored the next eight points to make it interesting until Watson, Jermaine Harper and Chris Williams combined to 5-of-6 from the free throw line. <br> <br> Williams added 14 points for Virginia, which ended a two-game losing streak to begin conference play Saturday by winning at North Carolina for only the second time in 17 attempts. Williams was 6-for-7 from the field. <br> <br> Josh Howard led Wake Forest with 19 points and Broderick Hicks had 12. Darius Songaila had 11, six below his team-leading average. <br> <br> Virginia erased a nine-point deficit over a span of 4:14 in the first half, holding Wake Forest scoreless while Mason hit consecutive 3-pointers, Williams scored on a drive and Watson hit a turnaround 8-footer. <br> <br> The burst gave Virginia a 32-31 lead and began a back-and-forth duel in which the next eight baskets all produced lead changes, the last on Mason&#39;s shot clock-beating 3-pointer 4.8 seconds before halftime. <br> <br> The Demon Deacons hit 11 of their first 17 shots, including four 3-pointers, and led 27-17 midway through the half before going cold.

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