WINSTON-SALEM — Tyree Appleby scored 21 points with six assists and four steals and Wake Forest pulled away from cold-shooting Notre Dame in the second half to earn a 63-56 win on Saturday night.
The Irish struggled through two prolonged scoring droughts in the second half, scoring just a field goal over a nine-minute stretch, and after Ven-Allen Lubin scored five straight points, went scoreless for another three minutes.
Wake Forest struggled through a drought of its own, going more than four minutes without scoring.
The teams combined to score 75 points in the first half and just 49 in the second.
Appleby hit 5 of 12 from distance, Andrew Carr added 11 points with seven rebounds and Bobi Klintman posted a double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds for Wake Forest (18-11, 10-8 Atlantic Coast).
Notre Dame (10-19, 2-16) was led by Lubin’s 19 points with eight rebounds. Trey Wertz and Cormac Ryan each contributed 12 points. Wertz grabbed six rebounds and had five assists while Ryan had four steals.
Wake Forest’s Damari Monsanto underwent surgery to repair a torn patella tendon on Saturday after going down with an injury in the waning seconds of Wednesday’s game at NC State.
Wake Forest hosts Boston College on Tuesday in its final home game of the season. Notre Dame plays host to Pitt on Wednesday in Mike Brey’s final home game as coach of the Irish.
Duke 81, Virginia Tech 65
DURHAM — Jeremy Roach had 19 points and a career-high 10 assists, Mark Mitchell added 17 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Duke beat Virginia Tech 81-65 Saturday night for its 10th straight home win against the Hokies.
Virginia Tech had won back-to-back games in the series, including an 82-67 victory in the title game of 2022 ACC Tournament, but is 13-52 overall against the Blue Devils.
Seven different Duke players scored in a 17-2 run that culminated when Jacob Grandison hit a 3-pointer that gave the Blue Devils (21-8, 12-6 ACC) a 19-5 lead with 13 minutes left in the first half and Virginia Tech trailed the rest of the way. Mitchell made a layup that gave Duke an 11-point lead at intermission. Roach hit a 3 early in the second half that pushed the lead into double figures for good and Mitchell made two free throw to make it 61-37 with 13:34 remaining.
Dereck Lively II made 6 of 6 from the field and finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Duke. Kyle Filipowski scored 12 points and Tyrese Proctor added 10 points and five assists.
Grant Basile led Virginia Tech (16-13, 6-12) with 15 points and Sean Pedulla scored 12. Justyn Mutts and Rodney Rice added 11 points apiece.
The Blue Devils shot 56.7% (30 of 53) from the field and outrebounded Virginia Tech 37-26.
Duke has won four in a row following back-to-back road losses at No. 13 Miami and No. 6 Virginia.
Duke wraps up a three-game home stand Tuesday against NC State.
North Carolina A&T 73, Hampton 72 (OT)
GREENSBORO — Marcus Watson scored 20 points and Austin Johnson made the go-ahead layup with 51 seconds left in overtime and North Carolina A&T beat Hampton 73-72 to close out the Colonial Athletic Association regular season on Saturday.
Hampton missed its last two shots in the final 34 seconds for the chance to win.
Raymond Bethea Jr.’s layup with 20 seconds left in regulation tied it at 65 to force overtime.
Aggies’ (13-18, 8-10) reserves Duncan Powell scored 16 points and had 15 rebounds, Love Bettis scored 11 and Kyle Duke 10. Johnson grabbed 12 rebounds.
Jordan Nesbitt scored 29 points for the Pirates, Bethea scored 14 points and had 11 rebounds and Marquis Godwin scored 13.
UNC Asheville 76, Longwood 66
FARMVILLE, Va. — Fletcher Abee had 20 points in UNC Asheville’s 76-66 victory against Longwood on Saturday night.
Abee was 7-of-8 shooting (4 for 5 from distance) for the Bulldogs (24-7, 16-2 Big South Conference). Drew Pember scored 19 points and Nicholas McMullen added 10. The Bulldogs picked up their sixth straight victory.
The Lancers (20-11, 12-6) were led by Isaiah Wilkins, who recorded 17 points and four steals. DeShaun Wade added 12 points and six rebounds for Longwood. Leslie Nkereuwem also had 12 points and two blocks.
North Carolina Central 68, Howard 60
DURHAM — Justin Wright’s 24 points helped North Carolina Central defeat Howard 68-60 on Saturday night.
Wright had six rebounds for the Eagles (15-11, 8-4 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). Brendan Medley-Bacon added 12 points with seven rebounds and eight blocks. Nicolas Fennell recorded eight points.
Shy Odom finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Bison (17-12, 9-3). Howard also got 11 points, five assists and two steals from Elijah Hawkins. In addition, Kobe Dickson had 10 points and eight rebounds.
NC Central hosts Norfolk State on Monday.
Western Carolina 85, VMI 66
CULLOWHEE — Tre Jackson’s 22 points helped Western Carolina defeat VMI 85-66 in the regular season finale on Saturday night.
Jackson added five rebounds for the Catamounts (17-14, 10-8 Southern Conference). Tyzhaun Claude added 18 points and seven rebounds. Vonterius Woolbright finished with 14 points while adding 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Tyler Houser finished with 26 points, six rebounds and two blocks for the Keydets (7-24, 2-16). Asher Woods added 16 points, nine rebounds and five assists for VMI. In addition, Taeshaud Jackson had 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Charlotte 70, Rice 54
CHARLOTTE — Brice Williams finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds to power Charlotte to a 70-54 victory over Rice on Saturday.
Lu’Cye Patterson had 11 points and Isaiah Folkes scored eight for the 49ers (18-11, 9-9 Conference USA).
The Owls (17-12, 8-10) were led by Quincy Olivari, who recorded 12 points and 12 rebounds. Travis Evee added 12 points for Rice. In addition, Cameron Sheffield had 10 points and two steals.
No. 1 Houston 76, East Carolina 57
GREENVILLE — Marcus Sasser scored 22 points to help top-ranked Houston beat East Carolina 76-57 and clinching outright possession of the American Athletic Conference regular-season title.
Tramon Mark added 20 points for the Cougars. J’Wan Roberts had 17 points and 12 rebounds to help Houston win its ninth straight game.
Ezra Ausar had 15 points to lead East Carolina. The Pirates made just 3 of 25 shots before halftime in their first visit from a No. 1-ranked team.
The Pirates host Tulane on Wednesday.
Towson 57, UNC Wilmington 53
WILMINGTON — Cameron Holden’s 22 points and 11 rebounds helped Towson defeat UNC Wilmington 57-53 on Saturday night.
Nicolas Timberlake scored 12 points and added three steals for the Tigers (20-11, 12-6 Colonial Athletic Association). Charles Thompson finished with 11 points.
The Seahawks (22-9, 12-6) were led in scoring by Donovan Newby, who finished with 13 points. Nick Farrar added seven points for UNC Wilmington. Amari Kelly also had six points, 10 rebounds and three blocks.
Delaware 70, Elon 54
ELON — Jameer Nelson Jr. had 22 points in Delaware’s 70-54 win over Elon on Saturday night.
Nelson added five rebounds for the Fightin’ Blue Hens (16-15, 8-10 Colonial Athletic Association). L.J. Owens added 13 points and Christian Ray finished with 12.
Sean Halloran had 15 points for the Phoenix (8-23, 6-12).
Delaware carried a slim three-point lead into halftime, as Nelson led the way with 11 points. Delaware outscored Elon in the second half by 13 points, with Nelson scoring a team-high 11 points in the final half.
East Tennessee State 63, UNC Greensboro 62
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. — Jordan King had 25 points in East Tennessee State’s 63-62 win over UNC Greensboro on Saturday night.
King was 8 of 17 shooting, including 5 for 10 from distance, for the Buccaneers (12-19, 8-10 Southern Conference). Jaden Seymour scored 17 points and added seven rebounds. Justice Smith finished with eight points and six rebounds.
Bas Leyte scored 12 points for the the Spartans (20-11, 14-4). Keyshaun Langley also scored 12 points and added three steals for UNC Greensboro. Kobe Langley also had 11 points.
USC Upstate 75, Gardner-Webb 69
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Khydarius Smith, Jordan Gainey and Trae Broadnax each had 16 points in South Carolina Upstate’s 75-69 win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday.
Smith was 6 of 9 shooting for the Spartans (15-14, 10-8 Big South Conference). Broadnax was 5 of 12 shooting, and Gainey shot 4 for 10 (2 for 7 from 3-point range).
Anthony Selden led the way for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (15-15, 10-8) with 21 points and two blocks. Kareem Reid added 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks for Gardner-Webb. In addition, DQ Nicholas finished with 13 points.
Winthrop 84, High Point 78
ROCK HILL, S.C. — Cory Hightower’s 25 points helped Winthrop defeat High Point 84-78 in the regular season finale for both schools on Saturday.
Hightower was 7 of 12 shooting, including 3 for 6 from distance, for the Eagles (15-16, 10-8 Big South Conference). Kelton Talford scored 15 points and added nine rebounds. Sin’Cere McMahon finished with 15 points.
The Panthers (14-16, 6-12) were led in scoring by Zach Austin, who finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Abdoulaye Thiam added 14 points and nine rebounds for High Point. Jaden House also had 12 points.
Radford 67, Campbell 65
RADFORD, Va. — Kenyon Giles scored 14 points as Radford held off Campbell 67-65 in the regular season finale on Saturday.
Shaquan Jules added nine points and eight rebounds for the Highlanders (18-13, 12-6 Big South Conference). Onyebuchi Ezeakudo recorded nine points.
Ricky Clemons led the Fighting Camels (13-17, 8-10) in scoring, finishing with 21 points. Campbell also got 16 points and seven rebounds from Anthony Dell’Orso. Jay Pal also put up 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.
