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Scott helps No. 16 Virginia edge Clemson

Feb 1, 2012 - 4:16 AM Charlottesville, VA (Sports Network) - Mike Scott poured in a game-high 23 points to go with 10 rebounds and three blocks as No. 16 Virginia edged Clemson, 65-61, on Tuesday.

Joe Harris finished with 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting while Akil Mitchell donated eight points and seven rebounds for the Cavaliers (18-3, 5-2 ACC), who have won three straight since a 47-45 loss to Virginia Tech on January 22.

"I thought Joe and Mike were terrific tonight. We needed it," Virginia head coach Tony Bennett said. "We were better offensively in the second half and not so great in the first half, but some of the plays that Joe and Mike made were timely."

Devin Booker led the Tigers (11-10, 3-4) with 16 points and Tanner Smith contributed 14 points in the loss. Clemson had its brief two-game winning streak snapped.

Trailing, 35-30, in the opening minutes of the second half, Virginia went on an impressive 19-3 run to take a 49-38 lead and seize control of the game with 12 minutes to play in regulation.

A pair of free throws by Devin Coleman finally snapped the run, but Virginia kept the pressure up and a trey by Harris with just under seven minutes to play put the Cavaliers up 56-46.

Clemson, though, fought back with a 9-3 burst to get within four, 59-55, with two minutes to go.

"Yeah we held in there," Clemson head coach Brad Brownell said of team's effort. "Our guys have been gritty all year so there were probably three times they could have just knocked us out completely. We used some timeouts to try to get settled and to our guys credit, we'd make a basket."

A pair of free throws by Mitchell put Virginia up 61-55 with 1:23 left, but Booker sank a three-pointer with just under a minute left to pull Clemson within 61-58.

The Tigers called a timeout with 20 seconds to play, looking to possibly tie the game with a trey, but Andre Young missed his three attempt. Scott pulled down the board and was immediately fouled with 17 seconds to play.

Scott calmly sank his free throws with the clock stopped to put the Cavaliers up 63-58.

Smith kept Clemson's hopes alive after he drained a trey with 11 seconds to play. Coleman fouled Scott following the bucket and he sank two more free throws to put the game away.

After a tightly-played opening 20 minutes, which featured 11 lead changes, Clemson held a 30-26 lead.

Game Notes

Tuesday marked the 118th meeting in the all-time series. The Cavaliers hold a 68-50 lead in the rivalry...Virginia shot 56 percent from the floor and 43 percent from three-point range, while Clemson shot 41 percent from the field and 8-of-21 from beyond the arc...Virginia got the better of the play inside, scoring 22 points in the paint to only 18 for Clemson...The Cavaliers also had a significant advantage on the glass, outrebounding Clemson, 34-19.