Sunday in the ACC:N.C. State continues to struggle and Carolina closes the door on Wake Forest

Sean Singletary scored 21 points and Virginia took full advantage of turnover-prone North Carolina State on Sunday, winning its second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference game for the first time this season, 78-60.

Virginia (13-12, 3-9) forced 17 turnovers in the first half and outscored the Wolfpack 17-0 after such mistakes in building a 38-18 lead at the intermission.

The Wolfpack (15-12, 4-9), which finished with 25 turnovers, never got closer than 13 after a 10-0 Virginia run early in the second half gave them a 50-23 advantage.

Calvin Baker added 13 points for Virginia, which had not played since it won at Boston College a week ago. The Cavaliers were supposed to play at Georgia Tech on Thursday night, but it was postponed because of a leaky roof at the arena.

Brandon Costner led N.C. State with 14 points and Trevor Ferguson had 11.

Tyler Hansbrough had 29 points to help keep third-ranked North Carolina atop the Atlantic Coast Conference with an 89-73 win over Wake Forest on Sunday night.

Wayne Ellington added 17 points for the Tar Heels, who won their fourth straight in the series and fifth in a row overall. Danny Green added 15 points to help North Carolina (26-2, 11-2) move a half-game ahead of idle Duke.

North Carolina shot 56 percent, including 7-for-14 from 3-point range and 26-for-34 from the foul line.

James Johnson scored 22 points for the Demon Deacons (16-9, 6-6), who were within two points late in the first half before the Tar Heels steadily pulled away. Wake Forest was playing for the first time since last weekend’s 86-73 upset of the then-No. 2 Blue Devils, easily the program’s biggest victory since Chris Paul left early for the NBA three years ago.

Hansbrough turned in another stellar performance, going 9-for-13 from the field and 11-for-14 from the line. It was his seventh straight game with at least 22 points, a streak that began when the Tar Heels lost point guard Ty Lawson to a sprained left ankle in the early minutes of an overtime win at Florida State on Feb. 3. from theacc.com

*****N.C. State is hitting it’s lowest(or Lowe-est) point of the season. The Pack losing to Virginia? We’ll have to give Virginia some credit they are responding to coach Dave Leitao and the Pack is not improving under the leadership of Sidney Lowe. What else can you say? Some fans are already saying “Lowe must go!”, but that’s not my call. The Pack made it to the conference finals last year and maybe they are waiting to make that big run at the end of the season. Don’t count on it, things are looking a bit bleak in Raleigh these days.

Has North Carolina really misssed Ty Lawson all that much? How many games have the Tar Heels lost since Lawson went out, one? The game to Duke and that was it right? When he does return they will be a better team and the all-around experience gained with Quentin Thomas at the point while Lawson was out might be a big bonus come tournament time.*****