LEXINGTON, Ky. — Trazarien White scored a career-high 27 points to lead UNC Wilmington to an 80-73 victory over No. 12 Kentucky on Saturday.
The Seahawks (6-2) built a 14-point lead in the first half, leading 41-33 at the break. UNC Wilmington held off a second-half rally by the Wildcats, who were up 55-49 with 12:51 remaining.
White scored 18 of the last 31 points. It was the first road win against a ranked opponent in school history and the biggest for the program since defeating Southern California in the 2002 NCAA Tournament.
“This is a big-time win for us and a confidence booster,” White said. “We will celebrate a little bit, get back to our process because we don’t want to revert back to before now we’re on the high road.”
Donovan Newby scored 15 points, Shykeim Phillips added 13 and KJ Jenkins had 11 for UNCW in the first meeting between the two schools.
UNC Wilmington coach Takayo Siddle played on a Gardner-Webb team that defeated then-No. 20 Kentucky 84-68 on Nov. 20, 2007. He defeated the Wildcats as a coach the first time he faced them.
Siddle mentioned the win “briefly” to his squad but wanted them to focus on the task at hand.
“It was so long ago, but my message was believe. Anything can happen, and little Gardner-Webb came in here back in 2007 and we had the same outcome,” he said. “I think they understood the message I was trying to get across to them.”
Kentucky, one of the top-scoring teams in the nation, was held 20 points below its scoring average. The Wildcats (6-2) were averaging 94.4 points per game coming into the contest.
“They deserved to win the game and they did,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said. “I would have liked to have tried to steal the game from them, but they deserved to win it. They played well.”
Reed Sheppard led Kentucky with 25 points. Kentucky leading scorer Antonio Reeves scored 14 points before he fouled out with 2:56 remaining. Justin Edwards and Tre Mitchell scored 11 points each for the Wildcats.
Kentucky’s 7-foot-1 freshman center Aaron Bradshaw made his debut after missing the first seven games because of an injured foot. Bradshaw scored three points in his first outing with the Wildcats.
UNC Wilmington hosts Montreat on Dec. 10.
Gardner-Webb 82, Western Carolina 77
BOILING SPRINGS — Caleb Robinson had 29 points in Gardner-Webb’s 82-77 victory against Western Carolina on Saturday night.
Robinson had 13 rebounds for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (4-5). DQ Nicholas scored 13 points, and Julien Soumaoro added.
The Catamounts (6-1) were led by Vonterius Woolbright, who posted 35 points and 14 rebounds. Western Carolina also got 10 points from DJ Campbell. In addition, Corneilous Williams finished with eight points. The loss ended a six-game winning streak for the Catamounts.
NC State 84, Boston College 78 (OT)
BOSTON — DJ Horne scored 21 points, Jayden Taylor added 18 and NC State beat Boston College 84-78 in overtime on Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.
DJ Burns Jr. scored 17 points and Casey Morsell 12 for NC State.
Jaeden Zackery scored 20 points, Quinten Post 18, Claudell Harris Jr. 14 and Devin McGlockton 13 for Boston College.
The difference came down to the foul line where the Wolfpack made 18 of 21 compared to 14 of 26 for Boston College.
Taylor’s 3-pointer with 1:15 left in overtime put the Wolfpack (5-2) ahead 77-75 and they never trailed again. Zackery made two foul shots with 1:42 left to mark Boston College’s last lead at 75-74.
Harris’ 3 with 3:29 remaining in the extra session put Boston College up 73-71 and gave the Eagles (5-3, 0-1) their first lead since leading 7-6 five minutes in.
Zackery missed a contested layup at the rim with just under five seconds left in regulation. Off the miss, NC State’s Mohamed Diarra rebounded the ball and gave it to Taylor who drove the length of the floor but couldn’t get his runner in the lane to go between a pair of defenders to send it to overtime.
The Wolfpack host Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday,
Davidson 82, Wright State 73
DAVIDSON — Grant Huffman had 20 points in Davidson’s 82-73 victory against Wright State on Saturday.
Huffman also contributed five rebounds and seven assists for the Wildcats (5-3). David Skogman scored 19 points and added five rebounds. Reed Bailey had 14 points and eight rebounds.
Trey Calvin finished with 17 points for the Raiders (3-5). AJ Braun added 16 points for Wright State. In addition, Tanner Holden finished with 14 points.
Campbell 87, Southern Virginia 56
BUIES CREEK — Colby Duggan scored 16 points as Campbell beat Southern Virginia 87-56 on Saturday.
Duggan also contributed five rebounds for the Fighting Camels (3-5). Anthony Dell’Orso scored 13 points, and Mason Grant finished with 12 points.
Koa Baker finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Knights. Malakai Olson added 15 points for Southern Virginia. In addition, Tyler Kartchner finished with eight points.
High Point 86, North Florida 79
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Duke Miles’ 21 points helped High Point defeat North Florida 86-79 on Saturday.
Kimani Hamilton added 17 points, seven rebounds and three steals for the Panthers (6-3). Kezza Giffa added 14 points, making 10 of 13 free throws.
The Ospreys (4-5) were led in scoring by Ametri Moss, who finished with 19 points. Jasai Miles added 12 points for North Florida. In addition, Dorian James had 11 points and two blocks.
Georgia Tech 72, No. 7 Duke 68
ATLANTA — Baye Ndongo scored 21 points and his dunk with 44 seconds remaining pushed Georgia Tech ahead for good as the Yellow Jackets beat No. 7 Duke 72-68 on Saturday, handing the Blue Devils their second loss this week to an unranked team.
Miles Kelly had 16 points and Kowacie Reeves Jr. had 14 points for Georgia Tech (4-2, 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), which has now defeated two ranked teams this week. The Yellow Jackets beat No. 21 Mississippi State 67-59 on Tuesday.
Duke (5-3, 0-1) trailed most of the game, but the Blue Devils — who lost 80-75 on Wednesday at Arkansas — took a brief lead late before falling.
Jeremy Roach paced Duke with 20 points, and Kyle Filipowski and Caleb Foster added 12 each. Roach played all 40 minutes after guard Tyrese Proctor was lost to an ankle injury just 1:16 into the game.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer said his team didn’t adjust well “in real time” to losing Proctor.
“Credit Georgia Tech,” he said. “They were ready to play. They were ready to go, man, and we didn’t do enough. It’s a disappointing loss, something we have to learn from.”
Georgia Tech opened quickly, hitting 3-pointers on four of its first six possessions while Duke made its first shot and then missed its next nine as the Yellow Jackets built a 14-3 lead.
The Yellow Jackets led 35-31 at halftime and moved to an 11-point lead before the Blue Devils began whittling away.
The Blue Devils will be off for a week before playing host to Charlotte next Saturday.
South Carolina Upstate 85, North Carolina Central 82
DURHAM — Floyd Rideau and Ahmir Langlais scored 14 points apiece to guide South Carolina Upstate past North Carolina Central 85-82 on Saturday.
Rideau shot 5 for 7, including 4 for 6 from beyond the arc for the Spartans (4-5). Ahmir Langlais scored 14 points, while Justin Bailey finished with 13 points and three steals.
Perry Smith Jr. finished with 17 points and four steals for the Eagles (4-5). Po’Boigh King added 16 points for NC Central, and Josh Smith finished with 16 points and four assists.
The Citadel 85, NC A&T 68
GREENSBORO — Led by 34 points from AJ Smith, The Citadel defeated North Carolina A&T 85-68 on Saturday.
Smith shot 13 for 17 (5 for 6 from 3-point range) for the Bulldogs (5-4). Winston Hill added 14 points and had 17 rebounds. Quentin Millora-Brown scored 13.
The Aggies (0-7) were led in scoring by Landon Glasper, who finished with 18 points. Jeremy Robinson added 14 points for N.C. A&T. Nikolaos Chitikoudis also had 11 points and two blocks.
