DAVIDSON— Vince Williams scored 16 points, Mikeal Brown-Jones had a huge block with 2 seconds left and VCU held off a furious rally from No. 25 Davidson to win 70-68 on Wednesday night, snapping the Wildcats’ 15-game winning streak.
Adrian Baldwin Jr. added 15 points as the Rams (12-6, 5-2 Atlantic 10) avenged a 63-61 loss to the Wildcats eight days ago.
Davidson (16-2, 6-1) was off to its best start since the 1964-65 season, and its 15 consecutive wins were tied with No. 1 Auburn for the longest streak in the nation. But the Wildcats struggled with the Rams’ pressure defense and committed 15 turnovers.
Luke Brajkovic had 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead Davidson, which suffered its first loss since falling to New Mexico State in the first round of the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Nov. 18.
Davidson trailed by 15 with 5½ minutes remaining before rallying to cut the lead to one in the final minute.
Brajkovic was fouled and made two free throws to cut the lead to four with 2:20 to go. Then, with 1:32 remaining, Davidson’s Foster Loyer was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws.
After Baldwin missed a driving layup, Davidson had a chance to take the lead, but Brajkovic was called for pushing off in the low post with 13.5 seconds left. Baldwin made 1 of 2 free throws, giving the Wildcats another shot to tie or take the lead.
But Brown-Jones blocked Brajkovic’s 3-point attempt with 2 seconds left.
It was a battle of conflicting styles.
With a big height advantage, Davidson was content to pound the ball inside to the 6-foot-10 Brajkovic and 6-foot-9 Sam Mennenga. VCU tried to use its speed and athleticism, pressing the Wildcats full-court throughout the game while settling for 3-point shots on the offensive end.
VCU shot 7 of 14 from long range while Davidson just 3 of 14 from beyond the arc.
VCU knocked down 7 of 11 3-pointers in the first half — including three by Jayden Nunn — to take a 37-29 lead at the break. Brajkovic had 14 points in the half, but the Wildcats were 2 of 7 from long distance and Loyer, a 47% 3-point shooter, couldn’t find the room to shoot over VCU’s taller guards.
Charlotte 71, Old Dominion 67
CHARLOTTE — Jahmir Young had 21 points as Charlotte edged past Old Dominion 71-67 on Wednesday night.
Austin Butler had 12 points for Charlotte (11-7, 4-2 Conference USA). Aly Khalifa added 10 points.
C.J. Keyser had 20 points for the Monarchs (7-12, 2-4), who have now lost four games in a row. Austin Trice added 15 points and 14 rebounds. Mekhi Long had 12 points and six rebounds.
UNC Greensboro 80, East Tennessee State 76
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — De’Monte Buckingham had 25 points as UNC Greensboro narrowly defeated East Tennessee State 80-76 on Wednesday night.
Buckingham made 5 of 7 3-pointers. He added seven rebounds. Kaleb Hunter had 13 points for UNC Greensboro (12-8, 4-4 Southern Conference). Dante Treacy added six assists.
UNC Greensboro totaled 40 points in the first half, a season high for the team.
Jordan King tied a career high with 23 points for the Buccaneers (12-10, 4-5). Ledarrius Brewer scored a season-high 22 points. David Sloan had 17 points and eight assists.
Campbell 75, Hampton 60
BUIES CREEK — Jordan Whitfield had 17 points as Campbell got past Hampton 75-60 on Wednesday night.
Joshua Lusane had 15 points and Cedric Henderson Jr. added 14 points for Campbell (11-7, 4-3 Big South Conference).
Russell Dean had 17 points and six rebounds for the Pirates (5-12, 1-5). Marquis Godwin added 15 points, and Najee Garvin had 14 points and 12 rebounds.
High Point 63, Radford 58
HIGH POINT — John-Michael Wright had 18 points and Zach Austin had 16 points and seven rebounds and High Point beat Radford 63-58 on Wednesday night for its fourth straight home win.
Jaden House and Brock Williams scored 10 points apiece for High Point (9-11, 3-3 Big South Conference).
Josiah Jeffers had 16 points and six rebounds for the Highlanders (6-13, 2-5).
Notre Dame 73, NC State 65
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Nate Laszewski scored 18 points, including eight straight to give Notre Dame the lead for good in the second half, and the Fighting Irish defeated NC State 73-65 on Wednesday night.
Laszewski made four 3-pointers and had 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double this season. Dane Goodwin also had four 3-pointers — his final one putting Notre Dame (13-6, 6-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) ahead by nine with 55 seconds left — and finished with 17 points and eight rebounds. Blake Wesley added 15 points and Prentiss Hubb 11 with five assists.
Dereon Seaborn had 21 points and eight rebounds for the Wolfpack. Jericole Hellems added 14 points and Casey Morsell and Cam Hayes 10 each.
After NC State scored five points to break a halftime tie, Notre Dame went on a 15-0 run over three minutes and led 45-35 with 14 minutes remaining, the first double-digit lead of the game. Laszewski scored the first eight points in the run and 11 total.
A Morsell 3-pointer got NC State within three midway through the half but Goodwin started a 7-0 run with a 3-pointer and the Wolfpack didn’t get that close again.
Notre Dame shot 39%, making 11 of 28 3-point tries and had a 20-9 edge in points off turnovers. NC State shot 43% with six 3-pointers.
Both teams shot 38% in the first half that had eight lead changes and ended at 30-all, the seventh tie.
Longwood 79, NC A&T 71
FARMVILLE, Va. — Leslie Nkereuwem had a career-high 24 points as Longwood won its seventh consecutive game, beating North Carolina A&T 79-71 on Wednesday night.
Nkereuwem hit 10 of 12 free throws.
Justin Hill had 15 points and six assists for Longwood (14-5, 6-0 Big South Conference). DeShaun Wade added 13 points.
Demetric Horton had 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Aggies (9-12, 4-3). Collin Smith added 12 points. Jeremy Robinson had 11 points.
The Citadel 68, Western Carolina 66
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Hayden Brown had 26 points and 12 rebounds as The Citadel narrowly defeated Western Carolina 68-66 on Wednesday night.
Brown converted a three-point play with 5.7 seconds left.
Stephen Clark had 15 points and three blocks for The Citadel (9-10, 3-5 Southern Conference). Jason Roche added 14 points.
Marlow Gilmore had 14 points for the Catamounts (8-13, 2-6), whose losing streak stretched to four games. Marcus Banks added 13 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Robinson had 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Bulldogs evened the season series against the Catamounts. Western Carolina defeated The Citadel 94-90 on Jan. 5.
