CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — The last time Virginia played at home, Roger Mason Jr. tried to do it all by himself down the stretch, came up empty more often that not and the Cavaliers lost to North Carolina State.
On Tuesday night, with No. 14 Wake Forest in town, Mason had far more help in helping lead No. 10 Virginia to an 86-74 victory over the Demon Deacons.
"For us to be a big-time team, it can't be just one person," Mason said after scoring 25 points, eight after a trip to the locker room to have his right shoulder popped back into place. "We've got a lot of people that can do a lot of things. It was nice to see other guys step up."
This time, there were plenty.
Travis Watson added 20 points and 17 rebounds for Virginia (11-2, 2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference), Chris Williams had 15 points and reserve Jermaine Harper added 10.
The Cavaliers hit nine of their first 10 shots to open the second half, using a 24-14 run to take a 65-53 lead. Mason started the half with the fifth of his seven three-pointers, and Watson finished it with the second of his three three-point plays, all coming in the second half.
The Cavaliers, who never clicked in their 81-74 loss to the Wolfpack, played like a team at its peak after rallying to lead 41-39 at halftime.
"We just kept going at them," Watson said. "The scores kept going back and forth. We knew we needed to get a stop and we looked up and were up by 13 or something. Coach told us to attack them and we did."
No. 11 Illinois 77, No. 17 Iowa 66
Champaign, Ill. Brian Cook had 21 points and Frank Williams flirted with a triple-double in No. 11 Illinois' victory over No. 17 Iowa Illinois (14-4, 3-2 Big Ten) led by five points at the half but quickly built its lead to double digits.
No. 12 Kentucky 87, Mississippi 64
Lexington, Ky. Tayshaun Prince scored 19 points and Marquis Estill had 15 as No. 12 Kentucky beat Mississippi. Gerald Fitch had 13 points and 11 rebounds, his second-double-double of the season, as the Wildcats (11-4, 2-2 Southeastern Conference) won their second straight game following consecutive losses.
No. 23 Oregon 71, Willamette 48
Eugene, Ore. Frederick Jones scored 19 points and Luke Ridnour added 14 as No. 23 Oregon defeated Division III Willamette in a game commemorating the 75th anniversary of McArthur Court. On Jan. 14, 1927, the Ducks opened the building with a 38-10 victory over Willamette. The victory gave the Ducks (13-4) an 11-0 home record.
No. 24 Miami 76, Pittsburgh 69, 2OT
Miami Marcus Barnes, who had a chance to give Miami the lead with 1.3 seconds left in the first overtime, hit a key three-pointer in the second and the 24th-ranked Hurricanes beat Pittsburgh.
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