Jayden Gardner scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half and Isaac McKneely did the same as No. 13 Virginia held off Clemson's rally in a 64-57 win Tuesday in Charlottesville, Va.
Armaan Franklin contributed 12 points and Ryan Dunn added 10 points off the bench as Virginia (22-6, 14-5 Atlantic Coast Conference) snapped a two-game losing streak.
The Cavaliers pulled into a tie for second place in the league with No. 16 Miami and clinched a spot in the top four in the league, guaranteeing a double bye in next week's ACC tournament.
Clemson (21-9, 13-6) was led by PJ Hall, who had 19 points and nine rebounds, and Hunter Tyson, who contributed 17 points and nine boards, in the lone meeting of the teams this year.
There was a somber tone in the arena before the game as Virginia paid respects to former coach Terry Holland, who passed away on Sunday at age 80.
Virginia got off to a cold start, missing its first eight shots, before Dunn blocked a shot to fuel a fast-break that he finished with an alley-oop, three-point-play slam.
The play triggered a 17-2 Cavaliers run, which Dunn finished off with a 3-pointer and layup. The spree put Virginia up 17-7, and from there it led the rest of the way.
When Franklin topped off a nine-point run with a 3-pointer and a pull-jumper, it gave Virginia a 41-27 lead with 12:46 left. Hall was the only Clemson player who scored in the first eight minutes of the second half.
But Clemson rallied as Tyson hit a pair of 3-pointers and Virginia went cold from the free-throw line, missing five straight free throws.
When Chase Hunter drained a corner 3 with 31 seconds left, it sliced the Cavaliers' lead to 59-55.
But after missing all seven of his field-goal tries, Kihei Clark hit 3 of 4 free throws in the final 26 seconds and Reece Beekman added a steal with 17 seconds left as Virginia sealed the win.
Gardner had nine rebounds, helping the Cavaliers to a 38-32 edge on the boards.
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