ATLANTA -- For Georgia Tech, winning wasn't enough. The Yellow Jackets wanted to do something special after watching North Carolina dismantle Maryland.
Holding up its end heading into a much-anticipated Atlantic Coast Conference game, No. 9 Georgia Tech dominated Virginia in the second half for a 92-69 victory Saturday night.
Jarrett Jack scored 22 points and the Yellow Jackets (11-2, 2-0 ACC) came through with their best defensive effort of the season.
That sets up quite a game in Chapel Hill on Wednesday: The Yellow Jackets vs. No. 3 North Carolina, which routed No. 22 Maryland 109-75 earlier in the day.
In the expanded ACC, it's the only regular-season meeting between the powerhouses.
"They played great at home, defended their home court," Jack said. "We did the same thing."
Luke Schenscher, who had 15 rebounds and five of Georgia Tech's 14 blocks, also watched North Carolina's impressive performance.
"They were pretty awesome -- and that's an understatement," Schenscher said. "When they're all firing like that, playing like a team, it's going to be a challenge."
The Yellow Jackets led by as many as 32 points and outscored Virginia 48-31 over the final 20 minutes -- a striking turnaround from the first half.
There were seven lead changes and five ties in the opening period, but Georgia Tech began to gain the upper hand in the waning minutes. The Yellow Jackets closed with a 14-6 spurt, going to the locker room with their biggest lead of the game to that point, 44-38.
It got much worse for Virginia (9-3, 0-2) in the second half. The Cavaliers made only 11 of 40 shots the rest of the way and finished at just under 30 percent from the field.
"We're not going to be this good every night, but these guys leave it out there," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said. "They've worked hard to become one of the best teams in the country."
The defense was stifling. Led by Schenscher, Georgia Tech set a school record for blocks in an ACC game. The Big Aussie also did stellar work on the boards, after getting pushed around on the boards by Miami two nights earlier.
"One of the big things I wanted to do was get the rebounds I missed the other night," Schenscher said.
It didn't help that Virginia was missing its leading scorer. Devin Smith, averaging 17.4 points, sat out his third straight contest because of an ailing ankle.
But Georgia Tech also was missing a key player and didn't miss a beat. With B.J. Elder (who averages more than 13 points) sitting out his second game in a row because of a hamstring injury, three players stepped up big.
Senior Anthony McHenry, the lowest-scoring starter, tied his career high with 13 points and had three blocks. Freshmen Ra'Sean Dickey and Anthony Morrow, coming off the bench, ensured that Elder's absence was barely noticed.
Dickey had 13 points -- going 5-of-5 from the field -- to go along with two blocks and a steal. Keeping pace, Morrow was fearless from the outside, hitting three shots from beyond the 3-point arc to also finish with 13 points. He had five rebounds and two blocks, too, before fouling out.
Jack just played his normal game. He went 5-of-7 from 3-point range -- a career-high -- doled out seven assists and kept the freshmen under control when things got a little helter-skelter in the second half.
"I was trying to be aggressive," Jack said. "With B.J. going down, someone has to fill the scoring void."
The Yellow Jackets got a scare near the end of the game when Dickey went down. He managed to limp off the court but was favoring his right leg. Hewitt said he didn't believe the injury was serious.
J.R. Reynolds led Virginia with a career-high 21 points, but he was just 5-of-17 from the field. That's the way it went for just about everyone in a Cavaliers uniform.
"They are a terrific team and they played great defense," coach Pete Gillen said. "We just couldn't score, we got frustrated and then things fell apart."
Georgia Tech hasn't had much trouble with Virginia, winning 16 of the last 20 meetings -- including nine of 10 at Alexander Memorial Coliseum.
"We kind of folded in the second half," Virginia's Sean Singletary said. "We couldn't match their intensity."
