CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- When Virginia dropped to 1-2 in the ACC after a road overtime loss to Pittsburgh earlier this month, the mood was a bit somber, especially given the Cavaliers' upcoming schedule.
Over three weeks later, optimism crept back into the picture as No. 16 Virginia ran its win streak to four with a 62-49 victory over Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon at John Paul Jones Arena.
"Virginia is a very good basketball team," Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner said. "They are very well coached and they do a high level job in a lot of areas. For our guys, they gave me every ounce of energy they had."
Now at 5-2 in conference play, Virginia's road ahead will become a bit more challenging with upcoming games away from home against Notre Dame and Villanova.
Guard Marial Shayok scored a career-high 19 points to lead three Cavaliers in double figures. London Perrantes tallied 11 points while Devon Hall added 10.
"I think he's (Shayok) just played better since I put him in the starting lineup," Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said of his junior. "He has always shown good stretches but I think he's become more comfortable and established a spot. I liked his ability to play off of the bounce and score."
Virginia (15-3, 5-2 ACC) shot 46 percent for the game and was seemingly never in danger as Georgia Tech could never get over the hump against the Cavaliers' defense.
Georgia Tech (11-8, 3-4) was led by guard Josh Okogie with 15 points while Justin Moore chipped in with 10. Center Ben Lammers, who entered the game averaging 15 points, was held to a season-low seven on 3-of-12 shooting.
"That's a good player, Ben Lammers is a good player," Bennett said. "Jack Salt did a great job on him and made him earn today. He played with his hands and held his position. He showed his strength and I really enjoyed watching that. I love seeing that and that was a huge key for us."
Despite the loss, Georgia Tech held Virginia, the top shooting 3-point team in the conference, to 5 of 22 (23 percent) from beyond the arc.
"We've been good defensively," Pastner said. "They (Virginia) are one of the top 10 3-point shooting teams in the country so we did a good job there."
After the Yellow Jackets closed the deficit midway through the second half, Virginia used a 7-0 run capped by a Hall 3-pointer to regain control of the game.
Virginia was hot out of the gate and knocked down eight of its first 10 shots from the field, including 3 of 4 from downtown. The hot shooting subsided, however, as the Cavaliers were 0 of 10 from deep for the remainder of the half.
Virginia led by as many as 12 in the first half before Georgia Tech used an 8-0 run to close the gap. The Cavaliers shot 50 percent in the first half and led 35-28 after 20 minutes of play.
Georgia Tech shot 48 percent and was led by Okogie with 13 first-half points.
Perrantes led Virginia with 11 points but did not score over the final 12:54 of the half.
NOTES:
-- Virginia guard London Perrantes became the fourth Cavalier to record 1,000 points and 500 assists in a career.
-- Georgia Tech is shooting 47 percent from behind the 3-point line in its last three games.
-- Virginia ranks first nationally in points allowed per game (53.5) and second nationally in turnovers per game (9.5).
-- Virginia guard Marial Shayok has averaged over 13 points since being inserted into the starting lineup five games ago.
-- Georgia Tech C Ben Lammers was held to single digits for only the second time this season.
