Hauser lifts No. 15 Virginia past Kent State in OT

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) — Sam Hauser scored six of his 18 points in overtime and No. 15 Virginia avoided a second upset by an unranked, nonconference foe, holding on to beat Kent State 71-64 on Friday night.

Hauser scored the first five points of the extra period as the Cavaliers kept the Golden Flashes from scoring until the final minute. Jay Huff also finished with 18 points and had 11 rebounds for Virginia (3-1), which lost 61-60 to San Francisco in its second game this season.

Mike Nuga scored 20 points, Danny Pippen had 13 and Justyn Hamilton had 12 for Kent State (1-1). Pippen's third try from 3-point range swished through the net at the buzzer to force overtime.

The Cavaliers opened their largest lead at 33-24 early in the second half, but the Golden Flashes started making shots and quickly closed the gap.

Hamilton scored twice in a 9-2 run that pulled Kent State within 35-33, and a 3-pointer by Nuga and basket by Pippen gave the Golden Flashes their first lead since the opening minute at 38-37. The lead went back and forth the rest of the way and neither team led by more than four until overtime.

BIG PICTURE

Kent State: The Golden Flashes were animated in their bench area especially after making 10 of their first 15 shots in the second half and swapping the lead back and forth with the Cavaliers. They were playing their second game after their opener against Purdue Fort Wayne was postponed.

Virginia: The Cavaliers' pack-line defense has been among the steadiest nationally for several years, but this year's team has a way to go to get up to coach Tony Bennett's standards. It's a complicated system for new players Trey Murphy III and Reece Beekman to master.

UP NEXT

The Golden Flashes play at Detroit Mercy next Wednesday night.

Virginia is at home against No. 8 Michigan State in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge next Wednesday night.

___

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25