CHAPEL HILL — RJ Davis scored 22 of hit 27 points in the second half and Armando Bacot had 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists to help UNC beat Wake Forest 88-79 Wednesday night in a back-and-forth game that featured nine ties and 20 lead changes.
Davis made 9 of 14 from the field and 5 of 8 from 3-point range and Bacot was 7-of-11 shooting and hit 7 of 10 from the free-throw line.
Seth Trimble made a layup to give UNC (10-5, 2-2 ACC) the lead for good, 65-64, with 8:55 to play. Bacot followed with a fast-break dunk then stole a pass and hit Davis for a 3-pointer to spark a 12-3 run that gave the Tar Heels an eight-point lead when Caleb Love hit a 3-pointer with 6:41 to play that capped the spurt.
Damari Monsanto led Wake Forest (10-5, 2-2) with 17 points, Andrew Carr had 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists and Tyree Appleby also scored 16 points and had nine assists.
Leaky Black made 6 of 8 from the field, including 3 of 5 from behind the arc, and finished with 16 points for UNC. Trimble, a 6-foot-3 freshman who went into the game with 34 points this season, added a career-high 11 on 4-of-4 shooting.
Wake Forest remains on the road to take on Louisville on Saturday, while UNC hosts Notre Dame on Saturday.
UNC Wilmington 81, Elon 66
Trazarien White had 26 points in UNC Wilmington’s 81-66 win over Elon on Wednesday night.
White added seven rebounds for the Seahawks (13-3). Amari Kelly scored 15 points and Jamarii Thomas finished with 12. It was the 12th win in a row for the Seahawks.
The Phoenix (2-14) were led by Zac Ervin, who recorded 16 points. Torrence Watson added 14 points and eight rebounds for Elon. In addition, Sean Halloran had 13 points and two steals. The Phoenix extended their losing streak to six in a row.
Both teams play N.C. A&T next. UNC Wilmington will play the Aggies on the road on Saturday, and Elon hosts them on Wednesday.
UNC Asheville 76, High Point 72
AMHERST, Mass. — Drew Pember’s 28 points helped UNC Asheville defeat High Point 76-72 on Wednesday night.
Pember added seven rebounds for the Bulldogs (10-6, 2-1 Big South). Nicholas McMullen added 15 points and he also had six rebounds. Tajion Jones recorded 13 points.
Jaden House led the way for the Panthers (8-7, 0-3) with 17 points. High Point also got 14 points and four assists from Bryant Randleman. Ahmard Harvey also recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds. The loss is the sixth straight for the Panthers.
Campbell 63, Gardner-Webb 58
BUIES CREEK — Laurynas Vaistaras scored 13 points as Campbell beat Gardner-Webb 63-58 on Wednesday night.
Vaistaras went 6 of 10 from the field for the Fighting Camels (6-9, 1-2 Big South). Joshua Lusane added nine points.
Quest Aldridge led the Runnin’ Bulldogs (7-8, 2-1) in scoring, finishing with 20 points. Anthony Selden added 13 points and two blocks for Gardner-Webb. DQ Nicholas had 10 points and four assists.
The loss ended Gardner-Webb’s five-game winning streak.
Both teams play again on Saturday. Campbell visits UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb hosts Radford.
Davidson 80, Loyola Chicago 57
DAVIDSON — Sam Mennenga’s 22 points helped Davidson defeat Loyola Chicago 80-57 on Wednesday night.
Mennenga added seven rebounds for the Wildcats (9-6, 2-1 Atlantic 10). Foster Loyer added 21 points, 16 in the second half, and also had six rebounds. David Skogman recorded 16 points.
Davidson visits VCU on Saturday.
UNC Greensboro 73, Chattanooga 61
GREENSBORO — Keyshaun Langley’s 19 points helped UNC Greensboro defeat Chattanooga 73-61 on Wednesday night.
Langley added five steals for the Spartans (9-7, 3-0 Southern). Mikeal Brown-Jones added 15 points and five rebounds. Dante Treacy finished with 10 points.
The Mocs (9-7, 1-2) were led in scoring by Jamal Johnson, who finished with 19 points, six rebounds and three steals. Jake Stephens added 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists for Chattanooga. In addition, Jamaal Walker finished with 10 points.
Western Carolina 71, ETSU 60
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Russell Jones had 21 points in Western Carolina’s 71-60 victory over East Tennessee State on Wednesday night.
Jones also added three steals for the Catamounts (9-7, 2-1 Southern). Tre Jackson added 17 points with six rebounds and three steals. Vonterius Woolbright scored 14 points while adding nine rebounds and six assists.
The Buccaneers (6-10, 2-1) were led in scoring by Jordan King, who finished with 13 points. Jaden Seymour added 12 points and 12 rebounds for East Tennessee State. In addition, Jalen Haynes had 10 points and six rebounds.
No. 23 Charleston 92, N.C. A&T 79
GREENSBORO — Dalton Bolon tallied his first career double-double with 22 points and 10 boards as No. 23 College of Charleston won its 14th straight game, notching a 92-79 victory over North Carolina A&T.
Charleston (15-1, 3-0 CAA) is off to its best single-season start since joining the Division I ranks in 1991.
Bolon – who was one of five Charleston players to score in double digits – made 10-of-16 shots for the Cougars and also dished out two assists. Ante Brzovic and Pat Robinson III each scored 12 points, while Raekwon Horton and Ben Burnham both had 11.
“Winning on the road is hard, and winning Division I games is hard,” Charleston coach Pat Kelsey said. “There were stretches in the game where we looked like a special team. I told those guys that I’m proud of them. We were stringing stops together and playing very efficiently offensively.”
Kam Woods scored a career-high 30 points to lead N.C. A&T (6-10, 1-2). Duncan Powell added 20 points for the Aggies, while Marcus Watson had 12 points and 12 boards.
N.C. A&T jumped out to a five-point lead early, but Charleston roared back to tie the game, and then used a 26-6 run to take a 22-point advantage into halftime. Ryan Larson and Bolon each scored eight points during that stretch.
Charleston went on to lead by as many as 30 points in the second half, pushing its advantage with a 12-5 run. Five different Cougars scored in that span.
The Cougars turned 12 turnovers by the Aggies into 14 points, and Charleston also grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and flipped them into 19 second-chance points. Charleston entered the game ranking 19th nationally in offensive rebounding, grabbing 13.4 per game.
“They got out in transition and opened that thing up. They’re a high scoring team and it doesn’t take long,” Aggies interim coach Phillip Shumpert said. “We got to protect the paint and not give up so many offensive rebounds. … Scoring ain’t the problem. Stopping somebody is what we need to get fixed.”
UNC Wilmington visits the Aggies on Saturday.
UCF 64, East Carolina 61
GREENVILLE — CJ Kelly recorded 30 points as UCF beat East Carolina 64-61 on Wednesday night.
Kelly shot 9 for 13 (4 for 6 from 3-point range) for the Knights (11-4, 2-1 American Athletic Conference). Taylor Hendricks scored 12 points and added five rebounds, and Darius Johnson finished with seven points.
Brandon Johnson led the Pirates (10-61-2) in scoring, finishing with 16 points. East Carolina also got 16 points from RJ Felton. Ezra Ausar also had 12 points.
East Carolina visits Memphis on Saturday.
