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East Regional No. 5 seed Virginia narrowly escaped an upset bid by 12th-seeded UNC Wilmington with a 76-71 victory Thursday afternoon in the first round of the 2017 NCAA tournament at the Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
The Cavaliers trailed by as many as 15 in the first half before storming back with a 19-3 run to close out the opening half with a one-point lead. The nation's top scoring defense rose to the occasion by holding the Seahawks to 43 points over the final 26 minutes.
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