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Reynolds, Singletary extend Virginia's home winning streak to seven

Feb 25, 2007 - 12:31 AM CHARLOTTESVILLE, Virginia (Ticker) -- Sean Singletary and J.R. Reynolds made sure Virginia's Atlantic Coast Conference title hopes stayed alive.

Reynolds scored 25 points and Singletary added 24 as the Cavaliers beat ACC foe Georgia Tech, 75-69, to post their seventh straight home win.

Virginia (19-8, 10-4 ACC) jumped out to a 22-6 lead at the 12:36 mark in the first half when Adrian Joseph drained a 3-pointer.

Georgia Tech (18-10, 6-8), however, refused to let the game become a blowout. The Yellow Jackets went on a 27-7 run to enter the half with a lead, 38-34.

"We had our better defenders out there and they were making plays offensively, too. It was working and that's the thing that's most important," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "We knew we were going to come back and we just kept trying to do what we were supposed to do. And then they panicked and we got back in the game."

"As I just told the team and the assistant coaches, for the life of me, I'm not sure what just happened," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said. "We started the game really well and we finished the game really well. All that stuff in the middle ..."

Reynolds took over in the second half, scoring 18 points after the break and converting a three-point play at the 2:44 mark to pull Virginia within 69-67.

"Just make them take tough shots. They're both great players," Hewitt said of Reynolds and Singletary. "There was one major breakdown at the end when we allowed Reynolds down the lane. We just inexplicably got out of his way.

"We were running out to a guy we didn't think was going to shoot a three, and if he was going to kick the ball out to the guy for a three, we'd like to see him do it. We know in that situation these kids are going to put their head down and go to the basket. We just jumped out of the way. They got a three-point play, and that's what got their momentum going."

A layup by Tunji Soroye gave the Cavaliers the lead at 71-69 with 29 seconds to play. A pair of free throws from Singletary put the game away.

Virginia ended the game on a 13-0 run.

"There was a lot more intensity on our half, a lot of defense, a lot of helping defense," Singletary said. "We really played five guys against the ball. At the beginning of the first half, we did that real well, and at the end of the second half we did that real well. And that's what we have to do to win."

The win clinches a bye in the ACC tournament for Virginia and keeps its hopes of a regular-season title alive. The 10 conference wins are the Cavaliers' most since a 12-win season in 1994-95.

Freshman Thaddeus Young scored 15 points to lead Georgia Tech, which lost to a ranked foe for the third time in four games.