The Associated Press

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Pete Gillen seemed to be measuring his words, as if he didn't want to jinx things when his team can't afford it.

"Majestic Mapp gave us a lift," Gillen said Thursday night, after his junior point guard played significant minutes for the first time in three years and led Virginia to an 85-75 victory against No. 17 Wake Forest.

Mapp scored just three points and had four assists in 17 minutes, but after four knee surgeries and countless setbacks in his recovery from a right knee injury, he finally appears ready to help the Cavaliers again.

"We need him," Gillen said. "Our guys enjoy playing with him because he finds them with his passes. And he gives us some fire and emotion."

Whether he was feeding a teammate for an open shot, making a 3-pointer for his lone basket, directing the offense from his point guard spot or just riling up the crowd, Mapp changed the game in a short amount of time.

He came in with 6:43 left in the first half to rousing applause and led Virginia on a 20-10 run that gave it a 43-41 lead. He played the first 4:32 of the second half and the Cavaliers opened a 51-44 advantage.

Later, he came back in and quickly found Jason Clark free and fed him for a dunk that boosted the Cavaliers' lead to 71-59 with 6:46 left.

Two weeks ago, when he received thunderous applause before his first appearance since the 1999-00 season, Mapp said he was appreciative of the crowd support, but more interested in starting to play well again.

"I'm not out there trying to do too much," Mapp said after his third appearance of the season following a 1,032-day absence and so much frustration. "I'm just trying to let the game come back to me slowly."

The Cavaliers get an instant boost whenever Mapp peels off his sweats, prompting a roar of approval and appreciation from the crowd who knows the long road he's traveled. When he plays well, his worth is magnified.

"Majestic is just an intangible point guard," said Nick Vander Laan, who had seven points, seven rebounds and several diving hustle plays that fired up the crowd. "He sees the floor, he knows when to shoot, he knows when to pass and he knows when to set up the plays."

The victory snapped Virginia's three-game losing streak, eased the pain of an embarrassing 18-point loss at Virginia Tech on Tuesday night and made the Cavaliers (11-6, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) 8-0 at home.

It also tempered a developing feeling of doom for the Cavaliers.

"We were desperate for a victory," Gillen said. "I had people telling me which bridge to jump off. They were going to drive me."

Todd Billet led Virginia with 23 points, Devin Smith had 17, Clark 10 and Travis Watson had 11 points, 13 rebounds and five assists.

Wake Forest (12-2, 2-2) got 20 points from Josh Howard and career highs of 20 points from Vytas Danelius and 19 from Taron Downey.

"We knew they'd be a wounded animal," Demon Deacons coach Skip Prosser said, referring to Virginia's losses at No. 3 Duke, Clemson and to the Hokies. "We're still learning how to play in (hostile) situations."

Mapp's play made it even tougher, and when he went to the bench, Smith and Vander Laan took over. Smith scored eight points in a span of three minutes and Vander Laan provided toughness underneath the Cavaliers need.

"Nick was great," Gillen said. "He did the dirty work."

Wake Forest got just 10 points from its bench and shot 17 3-pointers. It made just one of nine in the second half, many on poor shot selection.

"Ours is a team that doesn't have a large margin for error," Prosser said. "Tonight we just made too many errors."

WAKE FOREST (12-2)-Levy 1-4 2-4 4, Danelius 8-12 3-4 20, Williams 1-3 0-2 2, Downey 4-10 10-10 19, Howard 7-19 4-5 20, Ellis 0-0 0-0 0, Benken 0-0 0-0 0, Joyce 2-3 0-0 5, Lepore 0-2 0-0 0, Strickland 2-2 1-4 5. Totals 25-55 20-29 75.

VIRGINIA (11-6)-Clark 5-7 0-0 10, Watson 4-7 3-3 11, Vander Laan 2-2 3-7 7, Billet 7-14 6-8 23, Smith 5-12 4-4 17, Byars 1-5 1-2 3, Jenifer 0-1 0-2 0, Mapp 1-3 0-0 3, Harper 1-2 0-0 2, Brown 4-6 0-1 9. Totals 30-59 17-27 85.

Halftime-Virginia 43-41. 3-Point goals-Wake Forest 5-15 (Howard 2-7, Danelius 1-1, Joyce 1-2, Downey 1-3, Levy 0-2). Virginia 8-20 (Smith 3-6, Billet 3-9, Brown 1-1, Mapp 1-2, Byars 0-1, Jenifer 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Wake Forest 34 (Danelius 8), Virginia 32 (Watson 13). Assists-Wake Forest 11 (Danelius, Downey 3), Virginia 19 (Watson 5). Total fouls-Wake Forest 26, Virginia 24. A-7,642.