College Basketball Roundup: Bacot sets mark, UNC rolls past The Citadel

NC State, UNCA and UNCG all won

UNC guard Caleb Love drives in against Citadel forwards Stephen Clark and forward Jackson Price during the Tar Heels' win Tuesday in Chapel Hill. (Chris Seward / AP Photo)

CHAPEL HILL — Armando Bacot had 11 rebounds, reaching double digits for a program-record 62nd time, and scored 14 points as UNC rolled by The Citadel 100-67 on Tuesday night.

Bacot passed Billy Cunningham for the record while also posting his 55th double-double of his career and sixth this season. His 11 rebounds led a 47-31 advantage on the boards.

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Caleb Love hit four 3-pointers and scored 17 points for the Tar Heels (7-4), who made 15 of 31 from the arc for 48%, besting their 29% season average. Pete Nance and Tyler Nickel both had three 3-pointers and 16 points. Nickel’s point total is a career high.

Stephen Clark and Jackson Price scored 15 points apiece for the Bulldogs (5-5), who didn’t take their first free throw until more than midway through the second half. They finished 1 of 5 at the line to 21 of 27 for the Tar Heels.

The Citadel had a two-point lead 90 seconds into the game then the Tar Heels went on a 10-0 run and led the rest of the way. The Bulldogs did get within a point with an 8-0 spurt including 3s from Price and Austin Ash, but UNC outscored them 22-8 for the remainder of the half in a run that included five 3-pointers for a 48-33 lead.

The lead remained comfortably in double figures through the second half, reaching a game-high 36 points in the final minute.

UNC is 20-0 against The Citadel, the most wins for the Tar Heels against an opponent without a loss. The teams’ previous meeting came in 1991 when current Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis led Carolina with 16 points.

NC State 92, Furman 73

RALEIGH — Terquavion Smith scored 24 points, Casey Morsell added 17 points and NC State forced a season-high 20 turnovers in a 92-73 victory over Furman on Tuesday night.

Morsell scored 12 points in the opening eight minutes, making 3 of 4 3-pointers, to help NC State build a 26-10 lead. The Wolfpack led 48-29 at the break after shooting 52% from the field and scoring 15 points off 14 Furman turnovers. Smith led the way with 14 points for the Wolfpack.

Smith and Morsell each had a 3-pointer in the opening three minutes of the second half for a 27-point lead.

Jack Clark scored 15 points, LJ Thomas had a career-high 14 points and Jarkel Joiner added 10 for NC State (9-3), which rebounded from an 80-73 loss to Miami. D.J. Burns Jr. was the lone Wolfpack starter not in double figures with seven points in 17 minutes.

Nine different NC.State players had a steal, led by Thomas’ four and three apiece from Smith and Clark.

Mike Bothwell scored 14 points for Furman (7-4).

NC State plays Vanderbilt (5-5), coming off a loss to Grambling, on Saturday at the Legends of Basketball Showcase in Chicago.

UNC Asheville 94, South Carolina State 84

ORANGEBURG, S.C. — Tajion Jones’ 30 points led UNC Asheville over South Carolina State 94-84 on Tuesday night.

Jones added six rebounds for the Bulldogs (7-4). Nicholas McMullen scored 20 points while going 7 of 9 and 6 of 7 from the free-throw line, and added 10 rebounds. Drew Pember was 4-of-9 shooting and finished with 16 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks.

South Carolina State (1-11) were led in scoring by Rakeim Gary, who finished with 17 points, five assists and three steals. Raquan Brown added 14 points, seven rebounds and two steals. In addition, Rahsaan Edwards finished with 14 points.

UNC Greensboro 75, Marshall 67

GREENSBORO — Keyshaun Langley had 18 points in UNC Greensboro’s 75-67 victory over Marshall on Tuesday night.

Langley shot 7 for 13, including 4 for 7 from beyond the arc, for the Spartans (5-6). Keondre Kennedy scored 14 points and added seven rebounds. Bas Leyte recorded 10 points.

Taevion Kinsey finished with 24 points and six assists for the Thundering Herd (9-2). Marshall also got 17 points from Andrew Taylor. In addition, Kamdyn Curfman finished with nine points. The loss snapped the Thundering Herd’s nine-game winning streak.

No. 5 Houston 74, NC A&T 46

HOUSTON — Ja’Vier Francis had career highs of 17 points and 15 rebounds, Marcus Sasser scored 17 points, and No. 5 Houston rebounded from its first loss with a 74-46 win over North Carolina A&T on Tuesday night.

Sasser, a preseason All-American, was 6 of 10 from the field after shooting 2 of 11 and scoring nine points in Houston’s 71-65 loss to Alabama on Saturday. Francis was 7 of 10 as Houston (10-1) shot 50% on the night.

Emanuel Sharp scored 10 points off the bench.

Kam Woods scored 26 points to lead the Aggies (4-5). Woods scored 17 of North Carolina A&T’s 21 first-half points and finished 10 of 18 from the field. Demetric Horton added 11 points.

The Cougars outrebounded North Carolina A&T 46-26, including 14-7 on the offensive boards. Houston held a 22-6 advantage in second-chance points and a 42-14 advantage in the paint.

The Aggies shot 29%, including 6 of 25 on 3-pointers, as their three-game winning streak ended.

Leading 19-16 with 8:49 remaining in the first half, Houston closed the half on a 17-5 run to extend its advantage to 36-21. Francis scored six points during the spurt.

North Carolina A&T faces Texas Southern on Saturday at the HBCU Challenge in Las Vegas.

LSU 67, NC Central 57

BATON ROUGE, La. — KJ Williams scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Derek Fountain also recorded a double-double and LSU beat North Carolina Central 67-57 on Tuesday night.

Fountain scored 17 points on 6-for-9 shooting and recorded a career-high 14 rebounds. LSU (9-1) remained unbeaten at home posting its sixth win of the season. The Tigers have won 10 straight at home since suffering its last loss there on Feb. 1 against Ole Miss.

Knotted at 23 with 5:29 remaining before halftime, Williams threw down a dunk then made three foul shots and that ignited a 17-3 outburst to close the half and the Tigers were ahead the rest of the way.

North Carolina Central (5-6) scored the first seven points out of the break to close within 40-33, and Justin Wright’s 3-pointer brought the Eagles within 49-45 with 11:07 left but they couldn’t get closer.

Cam Hayes added 14 points for LSU, which plays Winthrop on Saturday.

Wright scored 14 points for the Eagles and Brendan Medley-Bacon and reserve Devin Butts scored 10 apiece.