The Virginia Cavaliers (15-17, 18-13) fell to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (17-15, 11-10) in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Wednesday afternoon. The No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup was a tossup from the beginning, with Virginia having beaten the Yellow Jackets on February 8 at home. Despite a competitive first half and Virginia’s strong last-minute effort in the second, the Yellow Jackets learned to expose UVA’s weak frontcourt, dominating the paint and the boards for the duration of the second half.

The ‘Hoos opened both halves in similar fashion: scoreless for two or three minutes until a much needed three-pointer came from junior Isaac Mckneely. Both instances summarized the game for Virginia who relied on McKneely’s 27 points and four rebounds against the Yellow Jackets. Otherwise, the Cavaliers weren’t so lucky – hitting 36.2% of their shots to Georgia Tech’s 45.1%.

Early on, it seemed like the ball was going to fall all night long for Virginia – with Taine Murray hitting a three right off the bench, Andrew Rohde hitting one from way downtown, and of course McKneely’s three from beyond the arc in the first half.

Although the offense was producing good looks, the shooting spark began to simmer. Elijah Saunders missed several wide-open shots, air-balled a three, barely grazed the rim on another, and ultimately hit only 2-of-11 against Georgia Tech. In fact, half of Saunders’ points came from the line, where he hit 4-for-4 — all in the first half.

Despite some poor shooting, Virginia had all but won the first half. The off-ball movement made UVA a challenge to guard, and they played some of their most effective defense of the season. The ‘Hoos forced a shot clock violation on Georgia Tech which was later followed by Jacob Cofie’s steal and successful fast break.

Blake Buchanan got a clean block to end the half with momentum, until the referees determined the play ended with a half second remaining in the half. Buchanan fouled on Georgia Tech’s inbound play which, against Virginia’s favor, was called in the act of shooting. Despite a close lead for most of the half, the ‘Hoos entered the locker room 25-25 after Georgia Tech’s two made free throws.

“[We] made a few fatigued plays down the stretch … couple of freshman kind-of … first-experience type of things,” Sanchez said at the half. “But I do like the way we’re defending.”

Georgia Tech wisely adjusted their play in the second half, exposing Virginia’s weak side post defense and relying on the lob down low that beat the Wahoos nearly every time. UVA, often out-sized, couldn’t defend the post and sacrificed the paint for most of the second half. Whereas Virginia won the boards against Georgia Tech in their February matchup, the Yellow Jackets dominated with 44 rebounds to Virginia’s 26 on Wednesday.

Still, Virginia wasn’t without quality effort. McKneely still showed up in the second half, hitting four more impressive (often contested or even fouled) three-pointers and pressuring Georgia Tech for a 10-second violation before half-court. Cofie followed him up with some important plays, including two statement dunks and an offensive put-back. Plus, Dai Dai Ames hustled for a full-court scramble on a loose ball.

The team, collectively, fought until the end, even as the lead slipped away. UVA went on an 11-to-3 run over Georgia Tech in the last ten minutes of the game. In the final minutes, Virginia cut the deficit from nine to two points when McKneely hit another nasty three off an in-bound play.

Still, Georgia Tech extended the lead to six in the final seconds at the free-throw line. Virginia ultimately couldn’t sustain their first-half performance. Plus, poor shooting from critical players like Saunders and Ames emphasizes UVA’s desperate need for a makeover in the frontcourt.

While the loss ends Virginia’s ACC Tournament run, it shifts perspective to an offseason which will surely consist of plenty of turnover as the program heads in a new direction with a new leader at the helm.