College Basketball Roundup: Duke throttles Wake, Forbes ejected

UNC, NC State, Gardner-Webb get wins; UNCG, WCU lose

Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes walks off the court after he was assessed double technical fouls and ejected during the first half of the Demon Deacons' loss Wednesday against Duke in Winston-Salem, N.C. (Andrew Dye / The Winston-Salem Journal via AP)

DURHAM — Matthew Hurt scored 22 points on 8-of-9 shooting, DJ Steward added 16 points and Duke never trailed in its 84-60 win over Wake Forest on Wednesday night.

Joey Baker hit 4 of 7 from 3-point range and finished with 12 points for Duke (9-8, 7-6 Atlantic Coast Conference). Wendell Moore Jr. scored 11 points.

Wake Forest went scoreless for nearly five minutes as Duke scored 12 consecutive points to make it 29-13 when Jordan Goldwire hit a 3-pointer with 7:18 left in the first half, and the Blue Devils led by double figures the rest of the way.

Ody Oguama led the Demon Deacons (6-10, 3-10) with 14 points and Daivien Williamson scored 12. Ian DuBose — a graduate transfer from Houston and a Durham native — had 10 points and eight rebounds in his first game against the Blue Devils.

Duke has won back-to-back games following a three-game skid in which the Blue Devils allowed 83.7 points per game. They held N.C. State to its season-low 53 points on Saturday and limited Wake Forest to just 39% shooting Wednesday.

Wake Forest was trailing by 19 late in the first half when coach Steve Forbes took issue with the officiating. He stepped onto the court to complain to the referees as Duke was running its offense in front of him.

Forbes was immediately hit with a technical foul, and when he responded the the referee, he was given a second technical and ejected from the game.

NC State 74, Pittsburgh 73

PITTSBURGH — Jericole Hellems scored 17 points, D.J. Funderburk had 16 points and eight rebounds, and NC State beat Pittsburgh 74-73 on Wednesday.

Cam Hayes made two free throws with 23 seconds left to give NC State a three-point lead. Justin Champagnie answered at the other end with two free throws at 12.1.

Hayes was trapped on the sideline after getting the inbounds pass and was called for a travelling violation with 9.3 seconds left. Pitt guard Au’diese Toney drove the left side of the lane, but his shot hit the side of the backboard. Champagnie grabbed the offensive rebound and attempted a shot from the corner that did not hit the rim as time expired.

Braxton Beverly added 12 points and Hayes finished with 11 for NC State (9-9, 5-8 Atlantic Coast Conference), which won its 11th straight in the series since the 2013-14 season.

Both teams shot over 56% from the field in the first half. Funderburk was 5 of 7 for 13 points to help build a 40-39 lead, while Toney made all five of his shots for 14 points.

Champagnie had 18 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double this season for Pittsburgh (9-8, 5-7). Toney added 17 points and Xavier Johnson had 14.

NC State is scheduled to play at Wake Forest on Saturday, while Pitt hosts No. 16 Florida State. The Wolfpack and the Panthers are set to play each other again on Feb. 28.

UNC 82, Northeastern 62

CHAPEL HILL — Day’Ron Sharpe scored 15 points, Garrison Brooks had 11 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double and North Carolina used balanced scoring to beat Northeastern 82-62 on Wednesday night in a rare February nonconference game for the Tar Heels.

North Carolina added the game on Monday after its matchup with Virginia Tech was postponed due to COVID-19 safety protocols in the Hokie program. It was North Carolina’s latest nonconference regular-season game since hosting North Carolina A&T on February 18, 2013.

North Carolina led 41-30 at the break despite Northeastern guard Tyson Walker scoring 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting — with four 3-pointers. The Tar Heels held Walker to one made field goal on seven attempts in the second half.

Kerwin Walton added 14 points and Walker Kessler scored 10 for North Carolina (13-7). The Tar Heels turned 16 Northeastern turnovers into 22 points, and held a 44-22 scoring advantage in the paint.

Walker, averaging 18 points per game, finished with 27 for Northeastern (9-8). Coleman Stucke added 14 points.

The Tar Heels are scheduled to play Louisville on Saturday with the Cardinals hoping to play their first game since Feb. 1. North Carolina’s following game against Boston College, on Tuesday, has already been postponed.

Gardner-Webb 69, Radford 57

RADFORD, Va. — Jaheam Cornwall had 20 points as Gardner-Webb defeated Radford 69-57 on Wednesday night.

Jacob Falko had 18 points for Gardner-Webb (9-14, 8-10 Big South Conference), which ended its five-game road losing streak. Jamaine Mann added 10 points, six rebounds and four blocks.

Fah’Mir Ali had 11 points for the Highlanders (13-10, 12-5). Xavier Lipscomb and Lewis Djonkam each had 10 points.

VMI 88, UNC Greensboro 77

LEXINGTON, Va. — Greg Parham had 25 points and Kamdyn Curfman added 20 as VMI beat UNC Greensboro 88-77 on Wednesday night.

Myles Lewis added 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Jake Stephens had 14 points and six assists for VMI (12-10, 7-6 Southern Conference), which earned its fifth consecutive home victory.

Isaiah Miller had 19 points and six rebounds for the Spartans (15-7, 10-4). Keyshaun Langley added 11 points and Kaleb Hunter had 10.

The Keydets evened the season series against the Spartans. UNC Greensboro defeated VMI 76-59 on Jan. 30.

Chattanooga 89, Western Carolina 81 (OT)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Stefan Kenic scored a career-high 29 points and Malachi Smith added 20 as Chattanooga got past Western Carolina 89-81 in overtime on Wednesday night.

Kenic hit 8 of 10 shots, including a school-record 7 of 7 on 3-pointers. Smith forced overtime on a baseline drive with 17 seconds left.

Darius Banks had 12 points for Chattanooga (18-5, 9-5 Southern Conference), which won its sixth consecutive game. David Jean-Baptiste added 12 points and seven assists.

Cory Hightower had 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists for the Catamounts (9-13, 2-11). Matt Halvorsen added 17 points and Sin’Cere McMahon had 15.

The Mocs improve to 2-0 against the Catamounts for the season. Chattanooga defeated Western Carolina 74-67 on Feb. 3.