CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Sam Lewis returned to the starting lineup and responded by scoring 23 points as No. 21 Virginia bounced back from its triple-overtime loss at rival Virginia Tech with a resounding 76-61 win at North Carolina State on Saturday.

Lewis scored the first six points of the game, including a 3-pointer 1:57 in, and the Cavaliers (12-2, 1-1 ACC) never trailed.

Thijs DeRidder scored 14 points and had six rebounds, Malik Thomas had 13 points and seven boards and Devin Tillis came off the bench to add 10 for UVA, which notched its first conference victory under first-year coach Ryan Odom.

Quadir Copeland scored 15 for the Wolfpack (10-5, 1-1), who also got 13 from Paul McNeil Jr. and 12 from Alyn Breed.

State opened the second half with a 15-4 surge, during which Odom picked up a technical foul, trimming the Cavaliers’ advantage to 44-35 with 16:41 left.

But Virginia responded to close things out. The Cavaliers host California on Wednesday and then welcome Stanford to John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday. UVA is 8-0 at home so far this season.