Scott back to aerial ways

If you ask Mike Scott his most embarrassing moment as a college player, it probably wouldn’t take the Virginia sophomore long to mention his failed dunk at Florida State last season.

Scott was all alone on the break when he jumped into the air for the dunk. Only, he didn’t get high enough — the result of a nagging ankle injury — and completely blew the shot.

This season, Scott’s ankle is 100 percent and the explosiveness that he exhibited in high school has returned in full.

In the last two games, it has seemed as if Scott has been on a pogo stick. Ditto for his teammates.

This afternoon in Raleigh, N.C., the Wahoos (9-13, 3-8 ACC) — flying high after back-to-back wins — take on N.C. State.

“We’re feeling pretty good,” said Scott, who had 10 points against Tech. “We just need to keep that same energy from the last two games and we should be able to win this next [one].”

N.C. State (14-10, 4-7) still has a chance to make it to the postseason. The Wolfpack beat Wake Forest and Georgia Tech before losing by nine to North Carolina on Wednesday.

The Pack — who, like Virginia, have relied on several young players — didn’t play poorly against the third-ranked Tar Heels. They shot 64 percent in the second half and 54 percent for the game.

Sophomore center Tracy Smith had 15 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore point guard Javier Gonzalez had a season-high 18 points.

“Obviously, I feel great about the way Tracy is playing,” N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe told the school’s web site. “We’ve got two seniors in Courtney [Fells] and Ben [McCauley], and Brandon [Costner] has been around here for a while. If those guys play the way they’re capable of playing then we should be alright. Obviously, we need solid play from the point guard position to keep us going.”

One of the keys to Virginia’s win over Tech on Wednesday was getting contributions from just about everyone. The Cavaliers had four players score in double figures, but also received a bevy of intangibles from the likes of Solomon Tat, Assane Sene, Sammy Zeglinski and Tunji Soroye.

If there’s one thing that Virginia players have learned during their tumultuous season, it has been the importance of getting off to strong starts — especially on the road.

“In the first half of ACC season, teams were throwing the first punch and attacking us first,” said sophomore Jeff Jones. “Now we’re attacking first and being the aggressor. I think that’s the main difference from now compared to the beginning of the season.”

Really, Virginia couldn’t have picked a better time to be hitting the road.

“I think these two wins have boosted all of our confidence,” said junior Jamil Tucker, who had 13 points off the bench against the Hokies.

Believe it or not, some UVa players feel like there still may be an opportunity for some form of postseason.

“We’re just trying to win every single game out,” Jones said. “Nobody on this team is saying this season is over. Nobody’s hanging their head and feeling sorry for themselves.

“We’re just going out every single day saying, ‘We’re going to win here on out.’ That’s the goal we set. We just have to maintain it and keep playing hard.”

Dunks

N.C. State leads the all-time series with Virginia, 79-54. UVa won the lone meeting last season, in Charlottesville, by 18 points. … In the win over Tech, Soroye had one block, giving him 86 for his career and tying him with Olden Polynice for 10th on the school’s all-time blocks list. … Tucker has scored in double figures 11 times this season, equaling his total through his first two seasons.