BLACKSBURG, Va. — Terquavion Smith scored 22 points, Jarkel Joiner added 21 and NC State held back Virginia Tech’s late rally for a 73-69 victory on Saturday night.
NC State (13-4, 3-3 ACC) has won five of its last six games, including a 24-point win over 16-ranked Duke on Wednesday.
A 10-2 surge got Virginia Tech within 67-64 with 47 seconds left, but NC State scored the next three points from the free-throw line to make it 70-64. Darius Maddox answered with a 3-pointer to get the Hokies back within three, and a pair of Sean Pedulla free throws cut the deficit to 71-69 with seven seconds left. Smith made two free throws to seal it.
Smith and Joiner were a combined 12 of 32 from the field and 16 of 20 from the line, and the pair made three of the Wolfpack’s five from distance. Casey Morsell added 15 points and D.J. Burns Jr. had 10.
Pedulla scored 15 of his 19 points in the second half to lead Virginia Tech (11-5, 1-4). Maddox finished with 16 points, 13 in the second half, and Lynn Kidd added 14.
NC State opened on a 13-2 run, led 36-22 at the break and never trailed. Smith scored 13 points, and Joiner and Morsell combined for 15 in the first half. Kidd had 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting while the rest of the Hokies were 5 of 18 before the break.
NC State hosts 12th-ranked Miami on Saturday.
UNC Wilmington 66, N.C. A&T 61
GREENSBORO — Maleeck Harden-Hayes’ 25 points off of the bench helped lead UNC Wilmington to a 66-61 victory against N.C. A&T on Saturday night.
Harden-Hayes had six rebounds for the Seahawks (14-3, 4-0 Colonial Athletic Association). Shykeim Phillips scored 14 points and Amari Kelly added 10 points. The Seahawks picked up their 13th straight victory.
Kam Woods led the Aggies (6-11, 1-3) in scoring, finishing with 24 points. Demetric Horton added 14 points, eight rebounds and four steals for N.C. A&T. Love Bettis also put up 13 points.
Phillips scored 10 points in the first half for UNC Wilmington, who led 30-27 at halftime. Harden-Hayes’ 17-point second half helped UNC Wilmington finish off the five-point victory.
Both teams next play Wednesday. UNC Wilmington hosts Charleston (SC) while N.C. A&T visits Elon.
UNC Asheville 58, Campbell 55
ASHEVILLE — Drew Pember’s 22 points helped UNC Asheville defeat Campbell 58-55 on Saturday.
The Bulldogs trailed by one point heading to the final minute but made 6 of 7 free throws to win it.
Pember also contributed 10 rebounds and five blocks for the Bulldogs (11-6, 3-1 Big South). Tajion Jones added 12 points and six rebounds.
Ricky Clemons finished with 21 points and two steals for the Fighting Camels (6-10, 1-3). Jay Pal added 16 points, eight rebounds and two blocks for Campbell.
UNC Asheville’s next game is Thursday against Longwood at home. Campbell visits South Carolina Upstate on Wednesday.
UNC 81, Notre Dame 64
CHAPEL HILL — Armando Bacot scored 21 points with 13 rebounds, Caleb Love added 18 points and UNC defeated Notre Dame 81-64 on Saturday.
Love and Bacot combined for 25 points in the first half when UNC (11-5, 3-2 ACC) built a 13-point lead on its way to its sixth victory in seven games. The Fighting Irish (8-8, 0-5) remained winless in conference play while losing their third straight overall.
Bacot has scored 20 or more points in five straight games, a career first, and has 1,169 career rebounds, one better than Sam Perkins, for second on the Tar Heels’ career list. Tyler Hansbrough is first with 1,219. Bacot’s 58th double-double is two shy of Billy Cunningham’s school record.
RJ Davis added 13 points and Puff Johnson 11.
Nate Laszewski scored 17 points and Dane Goodwin and JJ Starling 10 each for Notre Dame. Goodwin played in his 143rd game for the Irish, a program record.
UNC is at Virginia on Tuesday.
No. 16 Duke 65, Boston College 64
BOSTON — Dariq Whitehead scored 18 points, Kyle Filipowski hit two clutch free throws and the No. 16 Duke rebounded from a miserable loss by beating Boston College 65-64 on Saturday.
Filipowski finished with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Mark Mitchell added 14 points for the Blue Devils (12-4, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference).
Duke was coming off its worst loss as a ranked team facing an unranked ACC opponent, 84-60 at NC State.
Quinten Post led the Eagles (8-8, 2-3) with 16 points and six boards, Makai Ashton-Langford had 12 points and DeMarr Langford Jr. added 11.
Duke hosts Pittsburgh on Wednesday.
Wake Forest 80, Louisville 72
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Damari Monsanto knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the final three minutes and Wake Forest held off a late Louisville rally to earn an 80-72 win Saturday.
Louisville trailed by 18 points after Cameron Hildreth’s jumper put the Demon Deacons up 62-44 with 7:22 left, but Jae’Lynn Withers hit two 3s and Mike James knocked down three more as the Cardinals roared back to cut the deficit to just three, 70-67, with 2:40 remaining.
Monsanto hit a wide-open 3 from the corner and Tyree Appleby hit two free throws to push the Wake Forest lead back to eight and after Withers hit two free throws, Monsanto stroked a deep 3 to make it a nine-point lead, 78-69 with 1:26 left.
Monsanto finished shooting 5 of 12 from distance, 8 of 16 overall from the floor, to lead Wake Forest (11-5, 3-2 ACC) with 21 points. Hildreth hit 8 of 10 from the floor and finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Appleby added 13 points and eight assists and Daivien Williamson hit 3 of 6 from distance off the bench and contributed 13 points.
Louisville trailed by 17 points at intermission after hitting just 11 of 30 from the floor. James, who was 1 of 3 from beyond the arc in the first half, hit 4 of 6 in the second half and finished with 24 points to lead the Cardinals (2-14, 0-5). El Ellis had 20 points and eight assists with a pair of steals and Withers added 11 points and five rebounds off the bench.
Wake Forest hosts Florida State on Wednesday.
Western Carolina 73, Mercer 45
CULLOWHEE — Russell Jones Jr. scored 23 points and Western Carolina rolled to a 73-45 victory over Mercer on Saturday.
Jones sank 9 of 13 shots from the floor, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, for the Catamounts (10-7, 3-1 Southern Conference). Tyzhaun Claude pitched in with 16 points and nine rebounds. Vonterius Woolbright scored nine with six assists.
Shawn Walker Jr. had 13 points to lead the Bears (7-10, 0-4).
The Catamounts outscored Mercer 42-22 in the second half.
Appalachian State 71, James Madison 62
HARRISONBURG, Va. — Terence Harcum’s 16 points helped Appalachian State defeat James Madison 71-62 on Saturday night.
Harcum was 5-of-11 shooting for the Mountaineers (9-8). CJ Huntley scored 15 points and added eight rebounds. Tyree Boykin was 5-of-13 shooting (2 for 7 from distance) to finish with 14 points.
Terrence Edwards finished with 17 points for the Dukes (11-6). James Madison also got 12 points and six rebounds from Takal Molson. Mezie Offurum had 11 points.
Morgan State 78, North Carolina Central 73 (OT)
BALTIMORE — Isaiah Burke had 28 points in Morgan State’s 78-73 overtime win over North Carolina Central on Saturday night in a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
Burke also had five rebounds for the Bears (7-8). Lewis Djonkam added 15 points with five rebounds, five assists and three blocks. It was his bucket with 16.3 seconds left in regulation that forced the overtime. Malik Miller finished with 11 points.
Kris Monroe finished with 19 points for the Eagles (7-8). Justin Wright added 13 points and three steals for North Carolina Central. Brendan Medley-Bacon also put up 13 points and two blocks.
North Carolina Central visits Coppin State on Monday.
Samford 70, UNC Greensboro 68
GREENSBORO — Logan Dye had 17 points in Samford’s 70-68 win over UNC Greensboro on Saturday night.
Dye had eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (10-7). A.J. Staton-McCray scored 17 points and Bubba Parham finished with 15 points.
Keondre Kennedy led the Spartans (9-8) in scoring, finishing with 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists. Keyshaun Langley added 16 points for UNC Greensboro. Mikeal Brown-Jones also had 11 points.
UNC Greensboro travels to play VMI on Wednesday.
South Carolina Upstate 76, High Point 57
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Jordan Gainey had 18 points in South Carolina Upstate’s 76-57 victory over High Point on Saturday.
Gainey was 7 of 12 shooting, including 3 for 7 from distance, for the Spartans (8-7, 3-1 Big South). Trae Broadnax scored 12 points and added five rebounds. Justin Bailey also had 12 points.
The Panthers (8-8, 0-4) were led by Jaden House, who recorded 15 points. Abdoulaye Thiam added 13 points off the bench for High Point. Zach Austin, another backup, had 10 points, three steals and three blocks. The loss is the seventh in a row for the Panthers.
Both teams play on Wednesday. South Carolina Upstate hosts Campbell and High Point travels to play Charleston Southern.
Radford 63, Gardner-Webb 59
BOILING SPRINGS — DaQuan Smith scored 15 points as Radford beat Gardner-Webb 63-59 on Saturday.
Smith had seven rebounds for the Highlanders (8-9, 2-2 Big South Conference). Justin Archer added 12 points and also had eight rebounds. Josiah Jeffers finished with 12 points.
DQ Nicholas led the Runnin’ Bulldogs (7-9, 2-2) in scoring, finishing with 17 points and five assists. Gardner-Webb also got 14 points from Julien Soumaoro. Kareem Reid also had 10 points.
Gardner-Webb travels to play Presbyterian on Wednesday.
Florida Atlantic 71, Charlotte 67
BOCA RATON, Fla. — Alijah Martin had 17 points in Florida Atlantic’s 71-67 victory over Charlotte on Saturday.
Martin was 6 of 11 shooting (5 for 9 from distance) for the Owls (14-1, 4-0 Conference USA). Bryan Greenlee scored 12 points and Johnell Davis 10. The Owls picked up their 13th straight victory.
Brice Williams led the 49ers (11-5, 2-3) in scoring, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds. Charlotte also got 13 points from Lu’Cye Patterson and 11 from Montre’ Gipson.
Charlotte hosts UTSA on Saturday.
Memphis 69, East Carolina 59
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — DeAndre Williams scored 19 points as Memphis beat East Carolina 69-59 on Saturday.
Williams was 8 of 17 shooting for the Tigers (12-4, 2-1 American Athletic Conference). Kendric Davis added 14 points with six assists and three steals. Elijah McCadden finished with nine points.
Brandon Johnson finished with 15 points, three steals and three blocks for the Pirates (10-7, 1-3). RJ Felton added 10 points for East Carolina. Javon Small also had 10 points, four assists and three steals.
Williams scored 11 points in the first half and Memphis went into halftime trailing 33-25. Memphis used a 22-0 second-half run to come back from a seven-point deficit and take the lead at 51-36 with 11:55 remaining in the half before finishing off the victory. Davis scored 12 second-half points.
East Carolina visits Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Kennesaw State 76, Queens University 67
CHARLOTTE — Chris Youngblood had 22 points in Kennesaw State’s 76-67 victory over Queens University on Saturday night.
Youngblood shot 7 for 11 (4 for 6 from 3-point range) for the Owls (11-6, 2-1 Atlantic Sun Conference). Demond Robinson scored 19 points and added eight rebounds. Terrell Burden recorded 13 points and shot 6 of 9 from the field.
The Royals (12-5, 2-1) were led by AJ McKee with 17 points and eight rebounds. Chris Ashby added 15 points. Kenny Dye pitched in with 14 points and four assists.
Queens hosts Central Arkansas on Thursday.
VCU 89, Davidson 72
RICHMOND, Va. — Adrian Baldwin Jr. scored 19 points as VCU beat Davidson 89-72 on Saturday.
Baldwin added eight assists for the Rams (11-5, 2-1 Atlantic 10). David Shriver finished with 18 points and Brandon Johns Jr. had 14.
Sam Mennenga led the Wildcats (9-7, 2-2) in scoring, finishing with 20 points. Davidson also got 19 points and two steals from Desmond Watson. In addition, Grant Huffman had 16 points.
