CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — DJ Funderburk scored nine of his 14 points in the second half and NC State opened a big lead and held off No. 15 Virginia 68-61 on Wednesday night for its fourth straight Atlantic Coast Conference road victory.
Cam Hayes led the Wolfpack with 16 points and Shakeel Moore had 12 for NC State (11-9, 7-8 ACC), which last won four in a row on the road in the last two games of 1980-81 season and the first two the following season.
Sam Hauser led Virginia with 21 points and Jay Huff had 19 points and 11 rebounds, but the Cavaliers (15-6, 11-4) lost their third straight for the first time since the 2016-17 season. They were outscored 30-16 in the paint, 17-6 off the bench and led for just 48 seconds.
The Cavaliers twice closed within five, the second time at 54-49 on Hauser’s third 3-pointer with 3:40 left, but Hayes barely beat the shot clock and banked in a desperation 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead back to eight.
Two free throws by Huff made it 57-53, and back-to-back 3s by Hauser brought them within 65-61 with 18 seconds left. But Dereon Seabron hit a free throw and Hayes hit two more to finish it off. NC State made 15 of its last 17 free-throw attempts.
The Wolfpack led 17-4 after nine minutes, but Virginia used a 13-4 run to close within 25-21 two minutes before halftime. The Cavaliers took their first lead at 35-33 on two free throws by Huff with 14:31 remaining, capping a 12-4 spurt that started with consecutive 3-pointers by Hauser from in front of the Cavaliers’ bench.
But NC State steadied itself, getting four points each from Manny Bates and Moore and a 3-pointer from Braxton Beverly as it scored 12 of the next 14 points.
The Cavaliers twice closed within five, the second time at 54-49 on Hauser’s third 3-pointer with 3:40 left, but Hayes barely beat the shot clock and banked in a desperation 3-pointer from the top of the key to push the lead back to eight.
The Wolfpack returns home to face Pittsburgh on Sunday.
Marquette 83, UNC 70
CHAPEL HILL — Dawson Garcia had 24 points and 11 rebounds, D.J. Carton added 17 points with five assists and Marquette beat North Carolina 83-70 on Wednesday night in a game schedule just four days ago.
It was just North Carolina’s 18th nonconference defeat in the 35-year history of the Dean E. Smith Center.
North Carolina scored first but did not lead the rest of the way as Marquette answered with a 14-2 run. Garcia had 16 points in the first half and Greg Elliott added 13 as the Golden Eagles led 45-29.
Marquette struggled in the backcourt against North Carolina’s pressure defense in the second half, having 10 turnovers to just nine made field goals with 5:22 remaining. But the Golden Eagles went on an 8-0 run, with six points from Carton, for a 79-63 lead with 2:38 left to seal it.
Elliott scored 15 points with four steals and Theo John had 11 for Marquette (11-12). The Golden Eagles, who are currently 10th in the 11 team Big East, entered having lost six of their last eight — with two victories over Butler.
Garrison Brooks led North Carolina (14-8) with 18 points. RJ Davis added 11 points, Walker Kessler scored 10, and Day’Ron Sharpe had nine points and 11 boards.
North Carolina is schedule to host No. 11 Florida State, looking for coach Roy Williams’ 900th career victory. His 899 wins are third most all-time, behind Mike Krzyzewski (1,168), Jim Boeheim (977) and Bob Knight (902) — all Naismith Hall of Famers. Legendary UNC coach Dean Smith won 879 games.
The Tar Heels had postponed home games against Clemson (Jan. 9) and No. 16 Virginia Tech (Feb. 16), along with Tuesday’s road game at Boston College, amid COVID-19 issues involving their opponents.
Clemson 60, Wake Forest 39
WINSTON-SALEM — Alex Hemenway scored 17 points with five 3-pointers, Aamir Simms had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Clemson beat Wake Forest 60-39 on Wednesday for its fourth straight victory.
Clemson held its second opponent this season to less than 40 points in 40 minutes after topping South Carolina State 75-38 in its third game. The Demon Deacons were just 12-of-46 shooting (26.1%) — with only two makes in the final 10 minutes.
It was Wake Forest’s third-fewest points in the shot-clock era (since 1985-86), trailing a 37-point outing at Clemson on February 3, 2019.
Nick Honor added 11 points with six assists, and Hunter Tyson had nine points and a career-high 10 boards for Clemson (14-5, 8-5 Atlantic Coast Conference), which hadn’t played since Feb. 12 after games against Notre Dame and Pittsburgh were postponed.
Daivien Williamson led Wake Forest (6-12, 3-12) with 16 points and Isaiah Mucius added 13.
Clemson hosts Miami on Saturday, followed by games against Syracuse and Pittsburgh next week to close the regular season. Wake Forest will try to end a four-game losing streak on Saturday against No. 16 Virginia Tech.
North Carolina A&T 79, NC Central 63
DURHAM — Webster Filmore recorded 12 points and 14 rebounds to lead North Carolina A&T to a 79-63 win over North Carolina Central on Wednesday.
Tyrone Lyons and Kwe Parker added 15 points apiece for North Carolina A&T (10-10, 6-1 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). Kameron Langley had 11 points and nine assists.
Deven Palmer had 19 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles (4-6, 2-3). C.J. Keyser added 11 points. Jordan Perkins had nine rebounds and seven assists.
St. Bonaventure 56, Davidson 53
DAVIDSON — Jaren Holmes registered 16 points as St. Bonaventure edged past Davidson 56-53 on Wednesday.
Dominick Welch had 15 points and seven rebounds for St. Bonaventure (12-3, 10-3 Atlantic 10 Conference). Jalen Adaway added 14 points and seven rebounds, and Holmes shot 4 for 6 from behind the arc. Kyle Lofton, whose 16 points per game coming into the contest led the Bonnies, was held to only seven points (3 of 13).
Adaway capped the scoring with a 3-pointer at the 1:56 mark.
Carter Collins had 16 points and seven rebounds for the Wildcats (11-7, 6-4). Luka Brajkovic added 12 points. Kellan Grady, whose 18 points per game coming into the contest led the Wildcats, was held to only two points. He was 0 of 5 from 3-point range.
The Bonnies improve to 2-0 against the Wildcats this season. St. Bonaventure defeated Davidson 69-58 last Sunday.
Western Carolina 81, UNC Greensboro 80
GREENSBORO — Mason Faulker scored a season-high 28 points, and Kameron Gibson went 5-for-5 from 3-point range to lead Western Carolina to an 81-80 win over UNC Greensboro on Wednesday night. The Spartans got the ball back with 21 seconds left and a chance to win, but Isaiah Miller — who also had 28 points — missed the go-ahead shot and Keyshaun Langley’s follow-up 3-pointer at the buzzer didn’t go.
The Catamounts (10-15, 3-13 Southern Conference) made 14 of 26 3-pointers (53.8%) to counteract UNCG’s advantage on the boards. The Spartans (17-8, 12-5) outrebounded WCU 49-33 and had 18 offensive rebounds to the Catamounts’ two. Mohammed Abdulsalam had a career-high 16 rebounds — including six on the offensive end — for UNC Greensboro.
The win snapped Western Carolina’s four-game losing streak and leveled the season series against the Spartans. UNC Greensboro defeated WCU 77-56 on Monday.
