Berry's free throws lift No. 20 North Carolina past ND
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Joel Berry II hit two free throws with 7.1 seconds left as No. 20 North Carolina earned its first Atlantic Coast Conference road victory of the season Saturday with a 69-68 triumph over Notre Dame.
Berry finished with 15 points while Luke Maye had a double-double - 17 points and 11 rebounds - and Theo Pinson added 13 for the Tar Heels (14-4, 3-2). Sophomore point guard T.J. Gibbs got a game-high 19 points and six assists for the Irish (13-5, 3-2).
Gibbs dribbled downcourt and got off an errant shot but got a rebound which spun out at the buzzer. Senior center Martinas Geben hit his first career 3-pointer while scoring 14 for Notre Dame and reserve Nikola Djogo had a career-high 12 points as Notre Dame stayed close by hitting 10 of 24 (41.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Tar Heels led 40-37 after a competitive first half during which both teams endured long stretches without field goals. The lead changed hands 14 times.
The Tar Heels, who lost games at Florida State and Virginia earlier this month, got their first ACC road victory and avoided three straight ACC road losses for the first time since 2014. North Carolina has had winning road records in 11 of its 14 seasons under coach Roy Williams, who got the 830th victory of his career to tie him with Mount St. Mary's Jim Phelan on the all-time list.
Matt Farrell, who has missed the last 2 1/2 games with a sprained ankle, dressed and led Notre Dame out of tunnel for pre-game warmups but sat on the bench with fellow senior Bonzie Colson (broken left foot, eight weeks) as Brey used eight players, with five of them finishing in double digits in minutes in the first 20 minutes.
UP NEXT:
North Carolina: Hosts No. 19 Clemson on Tuesday.
Notre Dame: Hosts Louisville on Tuesday.
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Louisville tops Virginia Tech 94-86 in back-and-forth game
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Topping Deng Adel's happiness in hitting shots when Louisville needed them was his satisfaction making timely defensive contributions that helped the Cardinals earn another hard-fought victory.
Adel had a career-high 27 points, scoring seven consecutive during a critical second-half stretch that put the Cardinals ahead, and made two big defensive plays late that helped them beat Virginia Tech 94-86 on Saturday.
The junior forward's 3-pointer with 5:28 remaining gave Louisville a 74-72 lead before he added two free throws and a one-handed basket to make it 80-76. Adel then grabbed a key defensive rebound before blocking Justin Robinson's shot, followed by another big rebound to finish with a season-high 11 boards.
Louisville teammates weren't shocked by the breakout performance its leading scorer had been building toward all season. It was certainly necessary in an entertaining back-and-forth game featuring 17 lead changes and 10 ties.
Ray Spalding (six points, five rebounds, four blocks) and Ryan McMahon combined for the next seven points. Senior guard Quentin Snider added six free throws to tie a season high with 19 points, and V.J. King (16 points) made one as Louisville (13-4, 3-1) held off the Hokies for their second consecutive Atlantic Coast Conference victory.
Robinson had 23 points, Kerry Blackshear Jr. 19 and Ahmed Hill 17 for Virginia Tech (13-5, 2-3), which shot 49 percent but committed 19 turnovers.
UP NEXT:
Virginia Tech: Hosts Florida State on Saturday.
Louisville: Visits Notre Dame on Tuesday in the lone season meeting between the schools. The Cardinals haven't won in South Bend since Feb. 26, 1994.
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Grantham leads No. 19 Tigers to 72-63 win over No. 18 Canes
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) - Donte Grantham had 18 points, including four 3-pointers, and Mark Donnal had 12 points, including two critical second-half 3s, to help Clemson (15-2, 4-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) continue its best start in nine years.
The Tigers had a season-high 12 3-pointers, four of those coming in the final 10 minutes of a tie game. Donnal, the Michigan graduate transfer, had two straight, no-doubt-about-it 3s to put Clemson ahead 50-44. With Miami in striking range at 60-57 in the final 2 minutes, Marcquise Reed and Grantham struck with long-range shots to put the game away.
Miami pushed the pace much of the way, grabbing a seven-point lead early and driving the lane whenever the Hurricanes could. Miami kept things tight most of the way until the Tigers got hot from the outside once more. Anthony Lawrence II and Lonnie Walker IV had 16 points each for Miami (13-3, 2-2).
Miami coach Jim Larranaga said his game plan was to take away Clemson's 3-point shooting. The Tigers, though, ended up 12 of 21 (57.1 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Hurricanes are loaded with lengthy, mobile players confident in driving to the basket and knowing what to do when they get there. Miami had 30 of its points in the paint. Also, 17 of their 37 rebounds came on the offensive glass, nearly double the nine Clemson had.
The Tigers had a short turnaround from their first ACC loss of the season at North Carolina State on Thursday night to their Saturday afternoon contest. And they looked a bit out-of-step early as they fell behind 22-15. But Clemson rallied to close the half on a 19-8 run to lead 34-30 at the break.
UP NEXT:
Miami returns home to face No. 7 Duke on Monday night. Clemson gets its latest chance to break its 0-for-58 mark in Chapel Hill when it goes to North Carolina on Tuesday night.
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Early run spurs Georgia Tech to 69-54 win over Pitt
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A 20-0 start to a game is rare for any team, but for an inconsistent Georgia Tech squad, it was an especially rare outcome. Georgia Tech opened with 13 unanswered points and went on a 21-1 run against Pittsburgh to win 69-54 on Saturday afternoon.
''Normally, we don't do that,'' center Ben Lammers said. ''We have gotten better at starting, but we've never had a start like that. It was nice to have that 20-point cushion and be on the winning side of that.''
Lammers scored 11 points with 16 rebounds for his seventh double-double of the season. Georgia Tech (10-7, 3-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) dominated on the inside, outrebounding the Panthers 39-20 and outscoring them in the paint 40-16.
Pitt (8-10, 0-4) got within 10 points in the second half, but after Shamiel Stevenson missed a layup, Georgia Tech rattled off 13 straight points.
The Yellow Jackets have four players that average in double figures scoring, but it's been team defense that has led to their four-game winning streak. They've held four straight opponents to 60 points or fewer and are 7-0 when they do so. They're 2-7 when allowing more than 60 points.
The Panthers announced earlier in the week that senior forward Ryan Luther will miss the rest of the season with a stress reaction in his right foot. Luther had been primarily replaced by freshmen Terrell Brown and Peace Ilegomah, but sophomore junior college transfer Kene Chukwuka emerged as an option after a strong showing against Duke. Chukwuka started and held his ground against Lammers, an all-ACC preseason selection.
UP NEXT:
Georgia Tech: Will return home Thursday for a visit from No. 3 Virginia, which is currently the top-ranked team in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets are 2-0 at home in ACC play with wins over Miami and Notre Dame. The Cavaliers have won seven straight.
Pitt: Will visit Syracuse on Tuesday. The Panthers have won six of their last seven games against the Orange, but the lone defeat was their last trip to the Carrier Dome, a 77-66 loss last January.
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No. 23 Florida State defeats Syracuse 101-90 in double OT
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Briain Angola scored 24 points, including five in the second overtime, and Christ Koumadje added a career-high 23 as No. 24 Florida State defeated Syracuse 101-90 in double overtime on Saturday.
Tied at 82 at the end of the first overtime, the Seminoles scored the first six points of the second extra session to take control. Two free throws by Tyus Battle cut FSU's lead to 88-84 but it scored nine of the next 11 points to put it out of reach.
Phil Cofer added 16 points for Florida State (13-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast Conference), which played without leading scorer and rebounder Terance Mann, who missed the game due to a concussion. Battle, who had five points at halftime, led the Orange (12-6, 1-4) with 37 points and Oshae Brissett added 14.
This was Syracuse's third overtime game this year but the first time they have gone to double OT since the 76-71 six OT loss against UConn in the Big East Tournament in 2011. It was only Florida State's third overtime game over the past four seasons and its first in double OT since beating Wake Forest 82-76 on Jan. 28, 2015.
Battle is the first player to score 30 or more points in an overtime game for the Orange since Rakeem Christmas had 35 against Wake Forest on Jan. 3, 2005.
UP NEXT:
Syracuse: Hosts Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Florida State: Travels to Boston College on Monday.
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Bowman's quick start in 2nd half carries BC past Dartmouth
BOSTON (AP) - Bowman scored 19 points after being held scoreless nearly the entire first half, Jerome Robinson had 17 points and the Eagles rebounded from a loss to North Carolina by beating Dartmouth 86-72 on Saturday.
''To get him going, it was important,'' BC coach Jim Christian said. ''They were doing a good job corralling him and not letting him make plays.''
Bowman's first points of the game - an off-balance 3 from the top of the key - gave the Eagles a 41-38 edge at halftime.
Jordan Chatman scored 15, Nik Popovic added 14 with eight rebounds and Steffon Mitchell had 10 points with 10 boards for Boston College (12-6). The Eagles lost at No. 20 North Carolina by 30 points on Tuesday.
''We were really hungry because that was a really bad game against UNC,'' Popovic said. ''It was really important to come back. I played a really bad game that day and it was important for a lot of guys, too.''
UP NEXT
Boston College: Returns to league play on Monday, hosting No. 23 Florida State. The Eagles have played three Top-25 teams in their last five games.
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No. 7 Duke beats Wake Forest 89-71
DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - A virus kept Mike Krzyzewski from coaching No. 7 Duke. Even without Coach K, the Blue Devils came away from another Wake Forest game feeling pretty good.
With longtime assistant Jeff Capel in charge, the short-handed Blue Devils (15-2, 3-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) won their second straight and moved their conference record over .500 for the first time this season. Marvin Bagley III had 30 points and 11 rebounds, and Duke beat the Demon Deacons 89-71 on Saturday in a game the Hall of Fame coach missed.
Duke guard Gary Trent Jr. added 19 points and six 3-pointers, Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and 11 rebounds, Grayson Allen had a career-best 12 rebounds and reserve Alex O'Connell scored 13 points.
Bryant Crawford scored 21 points and Keyshawn Woods had 15 to lead Wake Forest (8-9, 1-4), which hasn't won at Cameron Indoor Stadium in 21 years.
UP NEXT
Wake Forest: Makes another cross-state trip to the Triangle to face North Carolina State on Thursday night.
Duke: Travels to No. 18 Miami on Monday night.
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