WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — In a contest that featured 12 lead changes and six ties, Northwestern fell to Virginia, 83-78, to open The Greenbrier Tip-Off on Friday.
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The Wildcats (4-1) led for nearly 22 minutes of game time in the back-and-forth affair, but the Cavaliers (5-0) took the lead with fewer than four minutes remaining. Neither team led by more than eight points.
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"It's a tough loss," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "Obviously, we're not a moral victory program at this point. We were here to win. It was a really high-level game with two good teams, and I was just disappointed we didn't come out on top."
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Junior guard Jayden Reid came up just one point short of his career-high with 25 points. The 5-foot-11 floor general added four rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while converting a career-high 11 free throws. He became the first Northwestern player to post 25+ points and 5+ assists since Boo Buie on March 2, 2024.
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Junior forward Arrinten Page logged 20 points, a team-high six rebounds, and two assists on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. Page has notched 20+ points and 5+ rebounds in two straight games.
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"Jayden, I thought he did a great job. Arrinten continued to play really well. I thought we got really good minutes out of [senior guard] Justin Mullins [and sophomore guard] Angelo Ciaravino," Collins said.
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The Wildcats forced Virginia to shoot 37.3% (24-of-64) from the floor and 20.8% (5-of-21) from three-point range. In each of Northwestern's five games this season, it has held its opponent to shoot worse than 43% from the field.
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The Wildcats shot 46.6% (27-of-58) from the field and 43.8% (7-of-16) from beyond the arc.
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Sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino opened the scoring for Northwestern with a fast break dunk, jump-starting a 7-0 run that would give the Wildcats an early lead.
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Virginia managed to stay within striking distance to take a narrow 40-36 lead at halftime. Page led the team with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Reid contributed nine points and four assists.
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The Wildcats found their groove to open the second half, putting up 17 points in four minutes to take a five-point lead. Northwestern made its first seven field goal attempts to open the second half.
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"We had a spurt to start the game. They kind of fought back. It was a two-possession game at halftime. We came out of the break and played really well," Collins said.
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Despite leading by as many as seven points early in the second half, Northwestern suffered its first defeat of the season.
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"We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game. It's a really good team you're playing," Collins said.
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The Wildcats close out play at The Greenbrier Tip-Off on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. CT against South Carolina. The game will air on CBS Sports Network and Varsity Network.
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The Wildcats (4-1) led for nearly 22 minutes of game time in the back-and-forth affair, but the Cavaliers (5-0) took the lead with fewer than four minutes remaining. Neither team led by more than eight points.
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"It's a tough loss," Sullivan-Ubben Head Men's Basketball Coach Chris Collins said. "Obviously, we're not a moral victory program at this point. We were here to win. It was a really high-level game with two good teams, and I was just disappointed we didn't come out on top."
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Junior guard Jayden Reid came up just one point short of his career-high with 25 points. The 5-foot-11 floor general added four rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while converting a career-high 11 free throws. He became the first Northwestern player to post 25+ points and 5+ assists since Boo Buie on March 2, 2024.
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Gallery: (11-21-2025) Men's Basketball vs. Virginia
Junior forward Arrinten Page logged 20 points, a team-high six rebounds, and two assists on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor. Page has notched 20+ points and 5+ rebounds in two straight games.
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"Jayden, I thought he did a great job. Arrinten continued to play really well. I thought we got really good minutes out of [senior guard] Justin Mullins [and sophomore guard] Angelo Ciaravino," Collins said.
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The Wildcats forced Virginia to shoot 37.3% (24-of-64) from the floor and 20.8% (5-of-21) from three-point range. In each of Northwestern's five games this season, it has held its opponent to shoot worse than 43% from the field.
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The Wildcats shot 46.6% (27-of-58) from the field and 43.8% (7-of-16) from beyond the arc.
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Sophomore guard Angelo Ciaravino opened the scoring for Northwestern with a fast break dunk, jump-starting a 7-0 run that would give the Wildcats an early lead.
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Virginia managed to stay within striking distance to take a narrow 40-36 lead at halftime. Page led the team with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while Reid contributed nine points and four assists.
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The Wildcats found their groove to open the second half, putting up 17 points in four minutes to take a five-point lead. Northwestern made its first seven field goal attempts to open the second half.
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"We had a spurt to start the game. They kind of fought back. It was a two-possession game at halftime. We came out of the break and played really well," Collins said.
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Despite leading by as many as seven points early in the second half, Northwestern suffered its first defeat of the season.
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"We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game. It's a really good team you're playing," Collins said.
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The Wildcats close out play at The Greenbrier Tip-Off on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 4 p.m. CT against South Carolina. The game will air on CBS Sports Network and Varsity Network.