CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — Shakeel Moore scored a career-high 19 points and added six rebounds on Saturday to lead NC State to an 81-65 victory over a Boston College team coming off a three-week coronavirus shutdown with six scholarship players available.
Calling on five walk-ons and playing for the first time since Jan. 16, the Eagles scored the first two baskets of the game before giving up 37 of the next 40 points.
“These are hard times for everybody. Not just our team,” BC coach Jim Christian said. “It’s a wait and see approach to every game. Kids love to play basketball, so they were excited to play.”
Manny Bates and DJ Funderburk had 14 points and seven rebounds apiece for the Wolfpack (8-7, 4-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), who snapped a two-game losing streak and won for just the second time in eight games since a victory over BC on Dec. 30.
Jay Heath scored 20 points and Steffon Mitchell scored 14 points with seven rebounds for Boston College (3-11, 1-7).
Five walk-ons — dubbed the Martians for the green jerseys they usually wear in practice — appeared in the game, with Andrew Kenny playing 18 minutes and hitting a pair of late 3-pointers. Will Jackowitz had one rebound and a steal; Sam Holtze had a steal and an assist; Jon Noel had an assist, and Quinn Pemberton got into the box score with six minutes and a missed 3-pointer.
“It was nice to see those guys get an opportunity to play. They played really, really hard,” Christian said. “We had some guys play, especially the guys who played at the end, who don’t get a lot of reps. They did a great job picking it up.”
NC State won the previous matchup with BC by three points.
This one was over early.
After taking a 5-0 lead, the Eagles gave up 11 points in a row and 37 of the next 40. They missed 12 straight shots over a span of more than nine minutes before Heath hit a 3-pointer with five minutes left in the half to make it 37-11.
The Wolfpack host Syracuse on Tuesday, while Boston College gets a visit from Wake Forest on Wednesday.
Memphis 66, East Carolina 59
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Alex Lomax tallied 10 points and 10 assists to carry Memphis to a 66-59 win over East Carolina on Saturday.
Landers Nolley II had 12 points for Memphis (12-6, 8-3 American Athletic Conference), which earned its sixth consecutive home victory. D.J. Jeffries added 12 points. DeAndre Williams had eight rebounds.
Jayden Gardner had 23 points and nine rebounds for the Pirates (8-7, 2-7), who were coming off an upset of No. 5 Houston on Wednesday night. It was their first win over a ranked team in almost two decades and the highest-ranked team they ever beat. Brandon Suggs added 10 points.
Memphis defeated East Carolina 80-53 on Jan. 24.
The Citadel 74, Western Carolina 63
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Hayden Brown scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for his ninth double-double as The Citadel beat Western Carolina 74-63 on Saturday.
Kaiden Rice added 19 points for The Citadel (10-7, 3-7 Southern Conference). Tyler Moffe added 14 points and 10 assists. Derek Webster Jr. scored a season-high 12 points off the bench, including eight after halftime.
Mason Faulkner had 18 points for the Catamounts (8-11, 1-9). Cory Hightower added 17 points and eight rebounds. Kameron Gibson had seven points and eight rebounds.
Western Carolina edged The Citadel 76-75 on Monday, blocking a shot at the buzzer.
