CHARLOTTE — Jahmir Young registered 14 points and eight rebounds as Charlotte extended its home win streak to eight games, narrowly defeating UTEP 68-64 on Thursday night.
Drew Edwards had 13 points for Charlotte (13-9, 7-4 Conference USA). Amidou Bamba added 11 points. Milos Supica had 10 points.
Daryl Edwards scored a career-high 24 points for the Miners (13-11, 4-7). Souley Boum added 20 points.
Charlotte takes on UTSA at home on Saturday. UTEP faces Old Dominion on the road on Saturday.
Martin carries Presbyterian over Gardner-Webb
CLINTON, S.C — Chris Martin had a career-high 25 points as Presbyterian narrowly defeated Gardner-Webb 65-61 on Thursday night.
Cory Hightower had 12 points for Presbyterian (9-15, 6-5 Big South Conference), which snapped its four-game losing streak. JC Younger added 11 points. Owen McCormack had seven rebounds.
Gardner-Webb totaled 21 points in the first half, a season low for the team.
Eric Jamison Jr. had 13 points for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (8-14, 4-6). Kareem Reid added 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. Justin Jenkins had 11 points.
The Blue Hose improve to 2-0 against the Runnin’ Bulldogs for the season. Presbyterian defeated Gardner-Webb 68-62 on Jan. 4. Presbyterian plays Campbell on the road on Saturday. Gardner-Webb plays South Carolina Upstate on the road on Saturday.
Wright’s 34 powers High Point past Hampton
HIGH POINT — Jamal Wright scored 34 points and Caden Sanchez added 24, both career highs, and High Point edged Hampton 88-85 on Thursday night.
High Point pushed a 40-39 halftime lead to 13 midway through the second half but basket by Ben Stanley pulled the Bears into a tie at 80 with 2 1/2 minutes to play.
Denny Slay II quickly answered with a 3-pointer for High Point. Twice Hampton got within a point, the last on a 3-pointer by Dondre Griffin with nine seconds go play cut it to 86-85.
Wright made a pair of free throws with seven seconds left but Marrow missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.
Wright made 10 of 13 shots, including 5 of 7 on 3-pointers, and converted 9 of 11 foul shots. Sanchez added nine rebounds and three blocks.
John-Michael Wright added 11 points and eight rebounds for High Point (7-16, 4-6 Big South Conference). Rob Peterson III had seven rebounds.
Ben Stanley had 25 points and 10 rebounds for the Pirates (10-12, 5-4). Jermaine Marrow added 20 points and eight assists and Greg Heckstall had 18 points.
High Point plays Radford at home on Saturday. Hampton matches up against Charleston Southern on the road on Saturday.
UCF tops East Carolina
GREENVILLE — Matt Milon scored 17 points and Collin Smith added 14 points and seven rebounds as Central Florida defeated East Carolina 68-64 on Thursday night.
The Knights led 62-45 with 5:17 remaining. East Carolina then scored the next nine points before Caesar DeJesus hit a jumper to put UCF up by eight with 1:38 to go. Four free throws by Dazon Ingram were enough to preserve the win for the Knights.
Darin Green Jr. added 13 points and Ingram had six points, 10 assists and seven rebounds for Central Florida (12-10, 3-7 American Athletic Conference).
Tristen Newton scored a season-high 23 points for the Pirates (9-14, 3-7). Jayden Gardner added 15 points and 12 rebounds. Bitumba Baruti had six rebounds.
Central Florida plays Tulsa at home on Sunday. East Carolina plays at Tulane on Saturday.
Williams leads Appalachian State past UT Arlington
BOONE — O’Showen Williams had a career-high 25 points as Appalachian State defeated Texas-Arlington 57-50 on Thursday night.
Williams made 8 of 14 shots from the floor, including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, for the Mountaineers (13-11, 7-6 Sun Belt Conference). He added six rebounds. Hunter Seacat scored 13, while Isaac Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds to go with seven points, four assists and three steals.
Brian Warren topped the Mavericks (10-14, 6-7) with 14 points. David Azore added 12 points and six assists.
UT Arlington shot just 36% from the floor and made only 2 of 24 from beyond the arc (8%). The Mountaineers evened the season series against the Mavericks with the win. Texas-Arlington defeated Appalachian State 66-56 on Jan. 9.
Sheffield propels Elon past UNCW
WILMINGTON — Marcus Sheffield finished with 18 points and eight rebounds and Elon defeated UNC Wilmington 62-56 on Thursday night.
Sheffield sank half of his 14 shots from the floor, hitting two 3-pointers, for the Phoenix (8-17, 4-8 Colonial Athletic Association). While Sheffield shot 50% from the floor, his teammates made just 11 of 38 (29%).
Ty Gadsden hit three 3-pointers and topped the Seahawks (7-18, 2-10) with 15 points. Mike Okauru pitched in with 11 points and seven rebounds.
UNC Wilmington shot 36% overall and made just 3 of 17 from distance (18%). Elon shot 35% overall and 22% from beyond the arc (6 of 27). The Phoenix hit 20 of 24 free throws (83%), while the Seahawks connected on 19 of 31 (61%).
Winthrop overcomes Campbell for 13th straight win
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Chase Claxton came off the bench to score 10 of his 12 points in the second half and help Winthrop earn a 62-53 win over Campbell on Thursday night, the 13th consecutive victory for the Big South leaders.
D.J. Burns had 11 points for Winthrop (17-7, 11-0). Micheal Anumba added 10 points, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:27 remaining. Josh Ferguson had 10 points.
Cory Gensler had 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks for the Fighting Camels (11-12, 2-9), whose losing streak stretched to five games. Cedric Henderson Jr. added 10 points.
The Eagles swept the regular-season series from Campbell. Winthrop defeated Campbell 87-72 on Jan. 4.
Winthrop plays Longwood on the road on Saturday. Campbell plays Presbyterian at home on Saturday.
Baker carries UNC Asheville past USC Upstate
ASHEVILLE — DeVon Baker scored 30 points for his third 30-plus career game and UNC Asheville defeated USC Upstate 84-71 on Thursday night.
Lavar Batts Jr. added 12 points, LJ Thorpe scored 11 and Tajion Jones had 11 points and eight rebounds as all five starters scored in double-figures for UNC Asheville (10-12, 4-7 Big South Conference). Baker was 11 of 20 from the field and 6 of 10 at the free-throw line.
Tommy Bruner had 22 points for the Spartans (10-14, 5-6). Everette Hammond added 14 points and six rebounds, and Bryson Mozone had 10 points.
The Bulldogs leveled the season series against the Spartans with the win. USC Upstate defeated UNC Asheville 80-63 on Jan. 25. UNC Asheville faces Hampton on the road on Monday. USC Upstate plays Gardner-Webb at home on Saturday.
