TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Jared McCain set a Duke freshman record with eight 3-pointers and matched a school freshman mark with 35 points as the No. 9 Blue Devils beat Florida State 76-67 on Saturday.
McCain hit seven 3-pointers in the first half and shot 60% overall (12 for 20), including 8 for 11 from long distance in his seventh game scoring 20 or more points. His 3-point performance eclipsed the mark of JJ Reddick, and his point total tied Zion Williamson’s 35-point performance against Syracuse in 2019.
“That’s crazy,” McCain said. “That’s nuts. I just thank God. … It’s wild company to be with.”
McCain’s accuracy from 3-point range was a surprise. The 6-foot-3 guard had made a total of seven 3-pointers in his four games.
“A special performance,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “That was up there with any of them. JJ should watch out. It was just his grit, his will, his determination to win was special.”
Jeremy Roach scored 15 points as Duke (20-5, 11-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) won its fourth straight game. The Blue Devils have 20 or more wins for a 27th straight season. Kyle Filipowski had eight points and eight rebounds, helping Duke to a 35-22 edge in rebounds. The Blue Devils have won 12 of the last 14 games in their series with Florida State.
Jamir Watkins scored 15 points, his 11th straight game in double figures for Florida State (13-12, 7-7), which has lost three straight and five of six. Cameron Corhen added 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting and had nine rebounds.
Florida State had no answer for McCain, who scored 25 points on 9-for-10 shooting in the first half and helped Duke to a 44-34 lead at the break.
“I think all of us who played basketball, we seem to have one of those nights where you can’t miss regardless of how you defend it,” FSU coach Leonard Hamilton said. “I thought McCain had one of those nights. But that’s kind of the story of our season. There always seems to be one guy that always plagued us.”
Scheyer praised junior guard Jaylen Blakes and freshman forward Sean Stewart for providing quality minutes as Duke played without Tyrese Proctor, who is in the concussion protocol. It’s not known when he will be able to return.
Blakes played 10 minutes, scoring five points. Stewart played four minutes and pulled down four rebounds.
Duke plays at Miami on Wednesday.
Elon 73, UNC Wilmington 72
WILMINGTON — Max Mackinnon scored 21 points and Isaac Harrell grabbed a missed shot and scored with one second left to rally Elon to a 73-72 victory over UNC Wilmington on Saturday night.
Mackinnon added five rebounds and five assists for the Phoenix (12-15, 5-9 Coastal Athletic Association). TK Simpkins scored 14 points with five rebounds. LA Pratt had 13 points and Sam Sherry scored 12. Harrell had one point before hitting the winning shot.
Khamari McGriff finished with 14 points and two blocks for the Seahawks (19-7, 10-4), who saw a five-game win streak end. Maleeck Harden-Hayes added 13 points and Trazarien White scored 12.
UNC Greensboro 58, Wofford 47
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Donovan Atwell had 15 points in UNC Greensboro’s 58-47 win against Wofford on Saturday night.
Atwell shot 5 for 9, including 4 for 8 from beyond the arc, for the Spartans (19-8, 10-4 Southern Conference). Keyshaun Langley added 13 points and seven assists. Jalen Breath scored nine.
Corey Tripp led the way for the Terriers (15-12, 8-6) with 13 points. Jackson Sivills added eight points and six rebounds.
NC State 78, Clemson 77
CLEMSON, S.C. — DJ Horne scored 27 points, including the game-winner with 9.8 seconds left, and NC State scored the last five points to beat Clemson 78-77 on Saturday night, snapping a six-game losing streak in the series.
Horne scored six straight points and added a 3-pointer to cap a 16-6 run to tie it 71-all with 3:32 remaining. Clemson pushed ahead to 77-73 on a Jack Clark layup and a jumper from Joe Girard with 1:07 to play.
Michael O’Connell answered with a layup, and Mohamed Diarra split a pair of free throws to pull the Wolfpack to 77-76. Casey Morsell forced a Clemson turnover, and following a timeout, Horne drove the lane and floated in a one-handed jumper. Chase Hunter missed a layup on Clemson’s final possession.
Horne was 10 of 20 from the field and made five of the Wolfpack’s nine 3-pointers. DJ Burns Jr. added 14 points before fouling out for NC State (16-9, 8-6 Atlantic Coast Conference), which ended a two-game skid. Jayden Taylor chipped in with 12 points and Diarra finished with 11.
Girard made four 3-pointers and scored 23 points for Clemson (17-8, 7-7). PJ Hall added 18 points, and Hunter and RJ Godfrey scored 10 apiece.
Clemson opened the second half on 16-4 run for a 51-43 advantage. Girard’s layup stretched the lead to 61-49 about midway through the second half.
NC State hosts Syracuse on Tuesday.
UNC Asheville 86, Charleston Southern 55
ASHEVILLE — Drew Pember had 25 points in UNC Asheville’s 86-55 victory against Charleston Southern on Saturday night.
Pember added 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs (19-9, 11-2 Big South Conference). Fletcher Abee scored 17 points and added five rebounds. Caleb Burgess finished with 12 points.
The Buccaneers (8-17, 4-8) were led by Kalib Clinton, who recorded 16 points. Charleston Southern also got 12 points and seven rebounds from A’lahn Sumler. Daren Patrick also put up nine points.
UNC Asheville visits Longwood on Wednesday.
Appalachian State 85, Louisiana 73
BOONE — Jordan Marsh scored 23 points as Appalachian State beat Louisiana 85-73 on Saturday night.
Marsh shot 6 for 9 (3 for 3 from 3-point range) and 8 of 9 from the free-throw line for the Mountaineers (22-5, 12-2 Sun Belt Conference). Donovan Gregory had 15 points and Myles Tate scored 10.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (17-10, 9-5) were led by Hosana Kitenge with 23 points and 13 rebounds. London Fields added 13 points. Joe Charles totaled nine points and eight rebounds.
Western Carolina 70, East Tennessee State 65
CULLOWHEE — Vonterius Woolbright and Russell Jones both scored 21 points as Western Carolina beat East Tennessee State 70-65 on Saturday night.
Woolbright added 10 rebounds for the Catamounts (19-8, 8-6 Southern Conference). Jones made three 3-pointers. DJ Campbell had 12 points.
The Buccaneers (13-14, 5-9) were led by Ebby Asamoah with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Quimari Peterson added 13 points and four assists. Jadyn Parker had nine points and three blocks.
Gardner-Webb 73, South Carolina Upstate 65
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — DQ Nicholas’ 17 points helped Gardner-Webb defeat South Carolina Upstate 73-65 on Saturday night.
Nicholas also contributed five rebounds for the Runnin’ Bulldogs (13-14, 8-4 Big South Conference). Julien Soumaoro scored 10 points and added six rebounds. Quest Aldridge added 10 points.
Trae Broadnax led the way for the Spartans (9-17, 4-9) with 18 points and two steals. Justin Bailey added 11 points for South Carolina Upstate. Ahmir Langlais also recorded 10 points, 12 rebounds and two blocks.
High Point 99, Radford 74
HIGH POINT — Kimani Hamilton’s 34 points led High Point past Radford 99-74 on Saturday night.
Hamilton was 13 of 16 shooting, including 6 for 8 from 3-point range, for the Panthers (22-6, 11-2 Big South Conference). Abdoulaye Thiam scored 21 points and Titas Sargiunas had 12 points.
Kenyon Giles finished with 24 points and four assists for the Highlanders (13-14, 3-9). Radford also got 11 points and six rebounds from Josiah Harris. DaQuan Smith recorded 11 points and five assists.
No. 21 Virginia 47, Wake Forest 47
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Reece Beekman scored 20 points and No. 21 Virginia overcame poor free-throw shooting to beat Wake Forest 49-47 on Saturday.
The Cavaliers (20-6, 11-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got 12 points from Isaac McKneely. He scored their only made free throw on their 11th and final attempt. Ryan Dunn added six points, nine rebounds and seven of Virginia’s 13 blocks.
Hunter Sallis led the Demon Deacons (16-9, 8-6) with 12 points and Efton Reid III scored 10. Wake Forest was denied a season sweep of the Cavaliers.
Sallis came in averaging 18.7 points and scored 21 when the Demon Deacons beat Virginia 66-47 in Winston-Salem on Jan. 13, but Beekman held him in check.
“I thought Reese had a heck of a game and we matched him up,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “We just tried to make him earn because he’s such a prolific scorer, and he did torch us last time we were there.”
The defensive battle featured long scoreless stretches for both teams.
The Cavaliers used a 10-2 run to open their largest lead at 41-34 with 9:14 left but then went scoreless for nearly four minutes as the Deacons closed to within 41-39.
It was 43-42 when Beekman fed McKneely in the corner for his only 3-pointer of the game, stretching the lead to 46-42, but both teams failed to score for more than 2½ minutes before Cameron Hildreth’s powerful layup pulled the Deacons to within 46-44 with 1:07 to play.
Blake Buchanan’s putback with 39.6 seconds left doubled the Cavaliers’ lead, but he missed an ensuing free throw. Virginia secured the rebound and Dunn was fouled, but he then missed the front end of a one-and-one. Beekman and McKneely later missed from the line, leaving the Cavaliers 0 for 10 before McKneely made the second of a pair with 6.7 seconds left to raucous cheers from the crowd.
“I thought we had great fight, great resiliency,” Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes said. “Tough game. They couldn’t get away from us. Tried. I’ve probably never seen a Tony Bennett team shoot that poorly from the free-throw line in a game.”
Wake Forest hosts Pittsburgh on Tuesday night.
Delaware knocks 62, N.C. A&T 54
GREENSBORO — Gerald Drumgoole Jr. had 23 points in Delaware’s 62-54 victory over North Carolina A&T on Saturday night.
Drumgoole was 9 of 15 shooting for the Fightin’ Blue Hens (17-10, 9-5 Coastal Athletic Association). Jalun Trent totaled 10 points and five rebounds. Cavan Reilly scored nine.
Camian Shell finished with 17 points to lead the Aggies (7-20, 5-9). Jalal McKie had 10 points and Jason Murphy added eight points and six rebounds.
Howard 90, North Carolina Central 82
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Marcus Dockery had 26 points, Bryce Harris scored 23 and Howard earned a 90-82 victory over North Carolina Central on Saturday night.
Dockery was 8-of-13 shooting, including 5 for 7 from 3-point range, for the Bison (11-14, 5-3 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference). Bryce Harris sank 7 of 9 shots with three 3-pointers. Dockery and Harris both grabbed six rebounds. Seth Towns had 12 points.
Fred Cleveland Jr. led the way for the Eagles (13-10, 5-3) with 20 points. Ja’Darius Harris added 18 points and Po’Boigh King scored 14.
Saint Bonaventure 81, Davidson 80 (OT)
OLEAN, N.Y. — Yann Farell, Charles Pride and Chad Venning scored 15 points each as Saint Bonaventure took down Davidson 81-80 in overtime on Saturday night.
Farell also had five rebounds for the Bonnies (16-9, 7-6 Atlantic 10 Conference). Charles Pride scored 15 points with five steals. Chad Venning finished with 15 points, and his two free throws with 1:44 left in OT gave the Bonnies the lead for good.
The Wildcats (14-11, 4-8) were led in scoring by Connor Kochera, who finished with 29 points and eight rebounds. Grant Huffman added 15 points, six rebounds, eight assists and three steals for Davidson. Reed Bailey also had 13 points and eight rebounds.
Drexel 81, Campbell 66
PHILADELPHIA — Luke House had 18 points in Drexel’s 81-66 victory against Campbell on Saturday.
House shot 6 for 11, including 6 for 8 from beyond the arc, for the Dragons (17-10, 10-4 Coastal Athletic Association). Kobe Magee scored 15 points with eight rebounds. Justin Moore finished with 13 points.
Anthony Dell’Orso led the way for the Fighting Camels (12-15, 6-8) with 23 points and four steals. Jasin Sinani added 16 points and two steals for Campbell. Laurynas Vaistaras also had 11 points and eight rebounds.
Both teams play Thursday. Drexel visits Hofstra and Campbell hosts Hampton.
