ORLANDO, Fla. -- Early in the second half of Thursday's game, Virginia guard Marial Shayok took a few moments to get up off the floor and gather himself after withstanding a hard hit to draw a charging foul.
Shayok was calm on both ends to help fifth-seeded Virginia regroup after a slow start and survive a hot-shooting performance from No. 12 seed UNC Wilmington to earn a tense 76-71 victory at the Amway Center.
Shayok finished with 23 points for the Cavaliers, who moved on to face Florida in the second round Saturday. London Perrantes added a game-high 24 points, including 19 in the second half, in what became a back-and-forth contest.
"I just wanted to provide energy off the slow start," Shayok said. "Personally, I just didn't want to go out like that, and I knew my teammates didn't either. So I just wanted to come out and provide what I could on both ends and just bring a spark."
Virginia (23-10) used a 10-0 run during the second half to build a 54-45 lead, but UNC Wilmington refused to go away. Devontae Cacok made a layup to pull the Seahawks (29-6) within 73-71 with less than a minute to play before Shayok came through in the clutch again, banking in a shot to push Virginia's cushion back to 75-71.
Wilmington's Denzel Ingram threw an errant pass into his own bench on the other end of the floor with 15.7 seconds remaining, and the Seahawks' upset bid ran out of time.
Chris Flemmings, who had a pair of three-point plays in the second half, led UNC Wilmington with 18 points. Ingram had 17, including four 3-pointers, while Ambrose Mosley chipped in with 14, including making four 3s of his own. Cacok had 12 and proved to be a force inside.
"I think the difference in the game is they made a couple plays toward the end, and we missed a few chippies," UNC Wilmington coach Kevin Keatts said. "Certainly, obviously, you get the result."
UNC Wilmington had no such problems early on, bombing in 3-pointers over what was the country's stingiest scoring defense during the regular season.
The Seahawks finished the regular season with the 14th-most made 3-pointers in the country, and it was easy to see why during the first half as Ingram and Mosley each connected on three 3-pointers while surging ahead.
Trailing 26-11 midway through the first half, the Cavaliers turned to Shayok to chip away at their early deficit. He responded with a driving layup, a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer during an extended 19-3 run to close the half and shake Virginia out of its sluggish start.
"(Shayok) is a crafty scorer," Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. "He can create. If you've watched him over the years, he can manufacture his own shot, and we needed it all."
UNC Wilmington, the Colonial Athletic Association champ, couldn't maintain its blistering start. After making six of 12 tries from behind the arc in the first half, the Seahawks finished 10-for-26 shooting beyond the arc.
"Basketball is a game of runs," Perrantes said. "They had theirs and we had ours."
After a quiet first half, Perrantes looked like his usual self in the second half, hitting shot after shot and teaming with Shayok to calm a young Virginia team.
Darius Thompson added 10 points for the Cavaliers, including a pair of important free throws with just over a minute left.
"We just let (Perrantes) go to work," freshman guard Kyle Guy said. "He relies on us just as much as we rely on him. That's why he is so good at what he is. He's the best point guard in the country."
NOTES:
-- Considered a game-time decision due to a lingering illness, Virginia F Isaiah Wilkins was limited to five minutes. Wilkins, who was the team's leading rebounder during the regular season, finished with no points and one rebound. He appeared fatigued while sitting on the bench.
-- Cavaliers F Marial Shayok crashed to the floor multiple times in the second half and needed a few seconds to get up on each occasion.
-- Virginia G London Perrantes briefly left the game after getting hit while chasing a loose ball.
-- Neither team shot well from the foul line. The Cavaliers made just 17 of 25 free throws, and the Seahawks were 11 of 17. UNC Wilmington F Devontae Cacok provided the first highlight of the game by catching an alley-oop from G Jordon Talley in transition and throwing down an impressive dunk early in the first half. He caught another alley-oop from G Chris Flemmings later in the half as part of an 11-0 run.
-- The game featured eight lead changes and six ties.
