CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – From the moment a retiring police K-9 did her business on the John Paul Jones Arena court during a pregame ceremony, Tuesday’s penultimate regular season game was destined to be ugly.

But No. 13 Virginia took care of its business, putting away Wake Forest in the second half, winning 75-70 to clinch the No. 2 seed and a double-bye in next week’s ACC tournament in Charlotte, N.C.

Thijs DeRidder scored 16 points and Jacari White came off the bench to add 14 for the Cavaliers (26-4, 14-3 ACC). Johann Grunloh added 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

“The first half was a little bit slower and our defense kept us in it,” UVA coach Ryan Odom said. “Offensively, we couldn’t get our shots to go. Then I thought our guys, in the second half, did a good job.”

Despite going just 10 for 32 on 3-pointers, UVA beat Wake for the 14th time in the last 16 meetings and improved to 15-1 at home this season going into Saturday’s regular-season finale against rival Virginia Tech.

Mekhi Mason scored 26 points and Juke Harris added 21 for the Demon Deacons, who failed to capitalize on a dreadfully slow start for the ‘Hoos.

“I thought their size really bothered us early in the game,” Wake coach Steve Forbes said. “We were 2 for 10 at the rim in the first half. We just couldn’t get anything going offensively. Wasn’t very aesthetically pleasing.”

Virginia, which went 7 for 35 from 3-point range in Saturday’s road loss at No. 1 Duke, started off cold from the perimeter Tuesday, as well. The Cavaliers, who have not lost back-to-back games this season, missed their first eight shots from beyond the arc, and finished the first half 3 for 17 from 3.

“As shooters, you’re going to have times where it’s up and down,” Odom said. “The key is just taking the right shots. We have a lot of guys who can knock it in. We just have to continue to trust them.”

The game was tied 22-22 with 4:48 to go in the half but Virginia ended the period on a 10-2 run, heading to the locker room ahead 32-24. Both teams combined to go 18 for 60 from the floor in the half.

UVA went up by 12 early in the second half, but Wake kept hanging around. The Demon Deacons were down by just six when Malik Thomas stepped into a transition 3 and sank it for a 62-53 lead with 5:26 left. They got within three points with 6.1 seconds to play, but could not close the gap any further.

“I’ve been impressed with our guys resilience all year,” Forbes said.

Dallin Hall’s free throws with 5.2 left sealed the win.

“Wake put a ton of pressure on us,” Odom said. “And our guys stood up.”