RALEIGH — Dereon Seabron hit two free throws with two seconds left to lift North Carolina State to a 77-74 win over Colgate on Saturday.
Tucker Richardson pulled Colgate even at 74 with 11 seconds left with a 3-pointer, but Seabron drew a foul and gave the Wolfpack the two-point lead and Ebenezer Dowuona hit the second of two free throws with no time left.
NC State led by one at intermission, 38-37, and extended the lead to as many as eight after Seabron scored at the basket to make it 47-39 with 15:57 remaining. Colgate answered with an 11-2 run and took the lead, 50-49, on a Jeff Woodward layup. Neither team led by more than three points the rest of the way.
Casey Morsell and Seabron scored 22 and 21 points, respectively, to lead the Wolfpack (2-0). Seabron added 10 rebounds and three assists. The Wolfpack shot 28 of 57 from the field (49.1%).
Nelly Cummings scored 19 points to pace Cornell (1-1). Woodward added 14 points off the bench as Cornell shot 25 of 55 from the field (45.5%).
No. 16 Arkansas 86, Gardner-Webb 69
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Connor Vanover scored 19 points and helped lead a big run that ended the first half to send No. 16 Arkansas over Gardner-Webb 86-69 on Saturday.
Vanover had eight points during a 27-5 burst. The Razorbacks (2-0) turned a six-point deficit into a 16-point halftime lead.
JD Notae had nine of his 18 points during the run. Vanover also had seven points while playing just 17 minutes.
Vanover, a 7-foot-3 center, was a starter for most of last year but didn’t play in Arkansas’ final three games as the Razorbacks made the Elite Eight. He also didn’t play in Arkansas’ season opener against Mercer.
Coach Eric Musselman wanted to give him another chance and said after the game that Vanover has re-earned his spot in the rotation.
“He practiced hard every day. He had great body language the night he didn’t play. He’s in the rotation now,” Musselman said. “There’s going to be some nights defensively where we’ve got to figure stuff out. We’re going to keep working with Connor because I feel like we’re going to need him this year.”
Arkansas shot 13 of 27 from 3-point range. Devo Davis added 10 points and six assists for the Razorbacks.
Julian Soumaoro scored 20 points and Lance Terry and Kareem Reid each had 16 for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (0-2).
No. 12 Memphis 90, NC Central 51
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Freshman Emoni Bates scored 15 points and Landers Nolley added 12 to help No. 12 Memphis defeat North Carolina Central 90-51 on Saturday night.
Jalen Duren and Lester Quinones added 10 points each. Duren also had 10 rebounds for the Tigers (2-0), who have won both of their first two games in dominating fashion.
“I think we came out serious from the beginning. We did not relax,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway said. “… We didn’t take them lightly because we felt like they were a really good opponent.”
Eric Boone had 11 points to lead the Eagles (0-2), who shot 26.2% and were 3 of 25 from 3-point range — missing 14 of their 15 long-range shots in the second half. NC Central committed 26 turnovers.
“Anytime you have that, it’s a win-win,” Hardaway said of the NC Central’s shooting percentages both overall and from the perimeter.
Memphis freshman Josh Minott had nine points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocks on Saturday.
“Before I got here, I watched the defense. I think they had the No. 1 defense in efficiency in the country last year,” he said of Memphis. “As I got here, I realized why that was the case. We stress defense so much. It’s just something that every day we are striving to get better.”
Similar to the Tigers’ opening win against Tennessee Tech, Memphis controlled the pace, and its defense pestered the Eagles up and down the court.
“We just wanted to be full throttle from the jump. We know we’re capable of a good press,” Minott said.
Memphis did have a problem with ballhandling in the first half, fumbling away passes and slowing momentum, and part of that was because North Carolina Central went to a zone defense.
Memphis would continue adding into its lead in the second half, with defense creating turnovers. The Tigers outscored North Carolina Central 38-10 to start the second half.
“The only thing was that after shooting 41 free throws, we only made 31,” Hardaway said. “And we gave up 19 offensive rebounds and turned the ball over 19 times with only 13 assists.
“We still have work to do.”
NC Central plays at Iowa on Tuesday night.
Jacksonville 63, North Carolina A&T 54
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jordan Davis had 18 points as Jacksonville topped North Carolina A&T 63-54 on Saturday.
Mike Marsh had 12 points and eight rebounds for Jacksonville (2-0). Bryce Workman added 10 points. Tyreese Davis had seven rebounds.
David Beatty had 12 points for the Aggies (0-2). Kameron Langley added 12 points and five steals. Harry Morrice had three blocks.
