Junior forward Tracy Smith’s 18 points weren’t enough to lift the Wolfpack past the Virginia Cavaliers in its home conference opener. The Pack fell, 62-70, in its third loss at home. For the second time in three games, the Pack’s inability to hit free throws was the difference in the game.

State falls to 0-2 in the ACC and 11-5 overall, while the Cavs start conference play 1-0 and 9-5 overall. The Cavaliers heated up late in the back and forth game, hitting their last 17 free throws to put the Pack away.

State went in to the locker room with a four point lead over Virginia, but the Wahoos came out fired up, as they went up 32-30 at the start of the second half. This didn’t deter the Pack for long, as it went on a furious 11-0 run against Virginia, stretching the lead out to 42-32 with 13:21 remaining.

A 17-7 run by Virginia brought the visiting team back into the game, tying everything up at 49 with just over six minutes on the clock. The Pack scored the next four points to make it 53-49, but the Cavs took over after that point, outscoring the Pack 17-4 to take a commanding nine 66-57 lead with 41 seconds remaining.

The majority of Virginia’s late scoring was accomplished at the line, where the Cavs hit their final 17 free throws, 12 of which were made during the final 3:10. Virginia’s hot shooting from the free throw line turned a four point Wolfpack lead with six and a half minutes to play into an eventual eight point loss.

The Pack will continue its ACC schedule this week, traveling to take on Florida State Wednesday before returning home to face Clemson at the RBC Center Saturday.