RALEIGH — Jarkel Joiner scored 28 points to lead NC State to an 85-82 victory over Notre Dame on Tuesday night.
Cormac Ryan’s 3-pointer pulled Notre Dame within 69-68 with 4:59 remaining, but the Wolfpack answered with 7-1 spurt for a 76-69 lead. Joiner also made all eight of his free throws, including six inside the final minute as the Wolfpack built a six-point lead with five seconds left.
Terquavion Smith added 18 points for NC State (16-5, 6-4 ACC). Smith was just 2 of 14 from the field but made a pair of 3s and 11 of 13 from the free-throw line. D.J. Burns Jr. had 14 points and Casey Morsell 11.
The Wolfpack had just two turnovers and scored 18 points from 15 Notre Dame turnovers.
Ryan scored 19 points and J.J. Starling had 18 for Notre Dame (9-12, 1-9), which shot 52% from the floor and made nine 3-pointers and 17 of 21 free throws. Marcus Hammond added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
A Ryan 3 gave the Irish their only lead at 46-44 before NC State answered with an 11-0 run for a 55-46 advantage with 14:14 to play. Smith sparked the surge with a 3-pointer and Joiner had four points.
It was the Wolfpack’s fourth consecutive ACC home win, their longest since the 2013-14 season.
NC State plays at Wake Forest on Saturday.
UNC 72, Syracuse 68
SYRACUSE — Pete Nance scored 21 points, capped by a dunk with 19 seconds left that put UNC in front for good as the Tar Heels pulled out a hard-fought 72-68 win over Syracuse on Tuesday night.
Joe Girard hit from beyond the arc to put Syracuse up, 68-66 with 1:28 left, but after Nance hit the first of two free throws to get UNC within one, he missed the second free throw and in the scramble to gather in the rebound, the ball caromed toward the end line and Girard dove to save it. Instead, he flicked the ball right to Nance, who dunked for the lead.
Judah Mintz tried to drive the lane for a go-ahead layup but was called for an offensive foul that was upgraded to a flagrant foul. UNC took possession and Caleb Love converted three straight free throws to put the game away.
Armando Bacot scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds with four assists for UNC (15-6, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference). Love finished with 15 points and five assists.
Girard hit 4 of 9 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points to lead Syracuse (13-8, 6-4). Mintz scored 17 points and had three steals and Chris Bell hit 3 of 5 from deep and finished with 15 points.
UNC has a week off before playing host to Pitt on Feb. 1.
East Carolina 76, Tulsa 66
GREENVILLE — Brandon Johnson had 24 points and East Carolina beat Tulsa 76-66 on Tuesday night.
Johnson also contributed eight rebounds for the Pirates (11-10, 2-6 American Athletic Conference). RJ Felton scored 23 points and added five rebounds. Benjamin Bayela recorded 11 points. The Pirates ended a five-game skid with the win.
The Golden Hurricane (5-14, 1-7) were led by Bryant Selebangue, who posted 18 points and 10 rebounds. Tim Dalger added 15 points for Tulsa. In addition, Anthony Pritchard finished with 10 points and seven assists.
Davidson 64, La Salle 57
PHILADELPHIA — Sam Mennenga scored 27 points as Davidson beat La Salle 64-57 on Tuesday night.
Mennenga added 11 rebounds for the Wildcats (10-10, 3-5 Atlantic 10 Conference). Foster Loyer added 12 points and also had five rebounds, six assists, and three steals. David Skogman finished with 11 points.
Daeshon Shepherd finished with 14 points and two steals for the Explorers (8-12, 2-5). La Salle also got 11 points and three steals from Hassan Drame. Andres Marrero also recorded 10 points and six rebounds.
