By AARON BEARD
AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- With the score tied in the final seconds, Sean Singletary just knew he was going to make the big shot.
He was right _ just not the way he expected.
The 6-foot freshman rebounded his own miss and scored with 2.2 seconds left Saturday night to lift Virginia past North Carolina State 64-62.
Singletary finished with 11 points and two key buckets late for the Cavaliers (11-9, 2-7 Atlantic Coast Conference), who blew a 14-point lead midway through the second half but still held on for their first win here since 1997.
"At the end, I had the confidence that I knew was going to make the shot," Singletary said. "It came off (the rim), but I got it back. It was right there so I didn't have anything else to do but score."
T.J. Bannister and Devin Smith each scored 14 points to lead Virginia, which did everything it could to get its first league road win.
The Cavaliers shuffled their lineup, benching tri-captain and second-leading scorer Elton Brown for the first time this season to get more speed on the court. They changed their style of play, using a spread offense that slowed the game down and created dribble penetration opportunities for Singletary, Bannister and J.R. Reynolds.
The 6-9 Brown, who came in averaging 15 points and nine rebounds per game, finished with seven points in four minutes. But it all paid off when Singletary's stickback stunned the RBC Center crowd.
"We weren't real big," Virginia coach Pete Gillen said, "but we played with courage."
For the Wolfpack (13-9, 3-6), it was another disappointing ACC loss in a season that is rapidly deteriorating. N.C. State was ranked No. 12 nationally in December, but has lost eight of 11 games to fall near the bottom of the league.
Tony Bethel scored 20 points to lead the Wolfpack, and freshman Cedric Simmons had a career-best 16 points in his first start. But Julius Hodge, the reigning ACC player of the year, finished with just six points on five shots.
"Obviously we don't feel good about the way things have gone for us," N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said. "Our guys hurt. But that's part of it. You've got to be able to deal with different things."
Unfortunately for N.C. State, it couldn't deal with Singletary in the final minute.
First, he hit a runner in the lane over the 6-9 Simmons for a 62-61 lead with 1:11 to play.
Then, after Simmons hit a free throw to tie it with 16.3 seconds left, Singletary drove into the lane and missed a runner against Bethel. But despite being the shortest player on the court, he managed to grab the loose ball and lay it up.
"Sean's a fighter," Smith said. "He wants to win as bad as anybody I know. For him to take those shots, it just shows that he has a lot of confidence in his game."
The clock stopped with 1.7 seconds left, but officials reviewed video footage and changed the time to 2.2 seconds.
That set up an unusual final sequence in which the Wolfpack essentially got two chances to tie the game.
On the first, freshman Andrew Brackman's fullcourt pass was tipped as it got to Engin Atsur. But the horn sounded a split-second after the ball was touched because the clock started too quickly.
The officials restored the 2.2 seconds, giving the Wolfpack one more chance. But forward Jason Cain intercepted Brackman's second heave to seal the win.
It was a much better defensive effort for the Cavaliers, who were coming off a 98-79 loss to Providence in which they allowed Donnie McGrath to tie an NCAA record by going 9-for-9 from 3-point range. N.C. State shot just 40 percent, including 5-for-20 from behind the arc.
But it seemed to be their unusual style of offense that caught the Wolfpack off guard.
The Cavaliers used a 14-3 run spanning halftime _ getting several open looks off penetration _ to take a 37-23 lead less than a minute after the break.
The Wolfpack fought back, pushing the ball inside and playing better defense to close that gap. N.C. State scored 12 straight points midway through the half, taking a 48-45 lead on a transition layup from Bethel.
But the Wolfpack couldn't sustain that momentum.
"Losing isn't fun," Hodge said. "I'm a winner. All I've done in my life is win and work hard. This doesn't feel good at all."
